A life in comparative politics: Chasing questions in five continents. Issue 5 (November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Stepan, Alfred
• Other Names: Kneuer Marianne guest-editor.; Geissel Brigitte guest-editor.; Lauth Hans-Joachim guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: International political science review. Volume 37:Issue 5(2016:Nov.)
• Page Start: 691
• Page End: 705
• Publication Date: 2016-11
• Subjects: Comparative politics -- question-driven research -- authoritarianism -- corporatism -- democratic breakdowns -- democratic transition theory -- civil–military relations -- political identities -- multiple secularisms -- twin tolerations -- Islam and democracy -- Brazil -- Chile -- Spain -- India -- Sri Lanka -- Turkey -- Indonesia -- Tunisia -- Senegal -- Juan J Linz; Political science -- Periodicals; 320.05
• DOI: 10.1177/0192512116661936
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0192-5121

Abstract

Why, as a comparativist, did I find it compelling to carry out field research in over 20 countries on five different continents? Because comparative politics should be question-driven, not driven by methodology or existing data. Good questions led to new countries. My book on how Brazilian civilian elites were complicit in coups led to a comparative book on how to transform such civil–military relations in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. My colleague Juan J Linz and I broadened the scope of questions of democratic transition theory by adding post-communist countries to the transition set. New questions and relevant new countries continue to emerge. What to do if more than one nation exists in a polity pursuing 'nation-state' policies? I helped create the concept of 'state-nation' and documented how 'multiple but complementary identities' were fostered in India. How did polities that respected the 'twin tolerations' emerge in Muslim-majority Indonesia, Senegal, and Tunisia?