Comparative Politics

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that comparative politics seek to find the similarities and differences between different countries in order to help explain the cause and effects of political actions. The paper looks at Peter Uvin's article "Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence" that seeks an explanation to ethnic violence in Burundi and Rwanda and how Burundi and Rwanda reached their level of violence resulting from politics. The paper also looks at Michael McFaul in "Transitions from Postcommunism," where he looks for the common factors that will lead to a transition from authoritarianism to democracy. The paper is of the opinion that McFaul and Uvin are both successful in comparing the political actions of different regimes to find a better understanding of the past in the hopes of creating a better understanding of the future.

From the Paper:

"McFaul examines post-communist states, but focuses primarily on three countries which have been successful in moving from authoritarianism to democracy. By focusing on Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine, McFaul is able to specifically account for the reasons that these three countries could be said to be more successful in their politics than other post-communist which have struggled to find their way after the fall of communism. In his own words, McFaul's study is "seeking to learn lessons from the democratic breakthrough" (McFaul 17). This means McFaul, in using countries that have become democratic, through comparison he not only can explain reasons but use these reasons to gain insight into the future to help identify future democratic countries, or perhaps more importantly to help encourage the transition to democracy in the many countries that are struggling to achieve democracy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• McFaul, Michael. "Transitions from Postcommunism." Journal of Democracy, Vol. 16 (2005): 5-19.
• Uvin, Peter. "Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence." Comparative Politics, Vol. 31 (1999): 253-271.

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• Comparison Essay # 20460 : "Politics, Economics and Stability"
• Term Paper # 17473 : "Methods of Comparitive Politics"

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