Overview

In the post-World War II era, the emergence of 'area studies' marked a signal development in the social sciences. As the social sciences evolved methodologically, however, many dismissed area studies as favoring narrow description over general theory. Still, area studies continues to plays a key, if unacknowledged, role in bringing new data, new theories, and valuable policy-relevant insights to social sciences. In Comparative Area Studies, three leading figures in the field have gathered an international group of scholars in a volume that promises to be a landmark in a resurgent field. The book upholds two basic convictions: that intensive regional research remains indispensable to the social sciences and that this research needs to employ comparative referents from other regions to demonstrate its broader relevance. Comparative Area Studies (CAS) combines the context-specific insights from traditional area studies and the logic of cross- and inter-regional empirical research. This first book devoted to CAS explores methodological rationales and illustrative applications to demonstrate how area-based expertise can be fruitfully integrated with cutting-edge comparative analytical frameworks.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ariel I. Ahram (Associate Professor of Government, Associate Professor of Government, Virginia Tech) ,  Patrick Köllner (Vice President and Director, Vice President and Director, German Institute of Global and Area Studies) ,  Rudra Sil (Professor of Political Science, Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 23.10cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 15.20cm
Weight:   0.386kg
ISBN:  

9780190846381

ISBN 10:   0190846380
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   15 March 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Comparative Area Studies: What It Is, What It Can Do Patrick Köllner, Rudra Sil and Ariel I. Ahram Part One: What Comparative Area Studies Brings to the Table 2. Comparative Area Studies: The Golden Mean between Area Studies and Universalist Approaches? Dirk Berg-Schlosser 3. Depth-Perception: Improving Analytical Focus Through Cross- and Inter-regional Comparisons Laurence Whitehead 4. Comparing Across World Regions: Assets and Pitfalls Christian von Soest and Alexander Stroh 5. Context, Concepts, and Comparison in Southeast Asia Mikko Huotari and Jürgen Rüland 6. American Political Development in the Mirror of Europe: Democracy Expansion and the Evolution of Electoral Systems in the 19th Century Amel Ahmed 7. Comparative Area Studies and the Study of Middle East Politics after the Arab Uprisings André Bank Part Two: CAS in Action: Leveraging Cross-Regional Comparison 8. Comparing Post-Communist Authoritarianism in Russia and China: The Case of Anti-Corruption Campaigns Cheng Chen 9. Comparative Area Studies and the Analytical Challenge of Diffusion: Explaining Outcomes in the Arab Spring and Beyond Ariel I. Ahram 10. Comparing Separatism Across Regions: Rebellious Legacies in Aceh, Balochistan and Kurdistan Benjamin Smith 11. Gaining by Shedding Case Selection Strictures: Natural Resource Booms and Institution Building in Latin America and Africa Ryan Saylor 12. Organizing Production Across Regions: The Wenzhou Model in China and Italy Calvin P. Chen Conclusion 13. Triangulating Area Studies, Not Just Methods: How Cross-Regional Comparison Aids Qualitative and Mixed-Method Research Rudra Sil Bibliography

Reviews

This book offers a bold, original, and necessary statement about the dual promise of comparative area studies research: new theoretical insights of broad utility and novel understandings of particular cases from multiple world regions. -James Mahoney, Northwestern University This volume stakes out a new and provocative position in the old debate between social science and area studies. The contributions are clear-eyed about the challenges of this style of work, but make a compelling case that it belongs in the comparativist's toolkit. - Thomas Pepinsky, Cornell University

Author Information

Ariel I. Ahram is associate professor of government and international affairs in Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs. Patrick Köllner is vice president of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), director of the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies, and professor of political science at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Rudra Sil is professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania where he is also SAS Director of the Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business.

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