Comparing Nations : Concepts, Strategies, Substance

This highly original collection of essays, written by some of the world's best-known political scientists elucidates state-of-the-art methodological approaches to comparative politics. Giovanni Sartori and Mattei Dogan examine the applicability and validity of statistical techniques in the field. Seymour Martin Lipset considers the effectiveness of binary comparisons while John D. Martz addresses similar questions in regard of multi-state comparisons in Latin America. John Forrest offers an `asynchronic comparison' of weak contemporary African States and similar in Medieval Europe. Ali Kazancigil looks at Turkey's `high stateness' as deviant, and Mattei Dogan concludes the volume with a consideration of the applicability of Weber's typology of legitimacy.