The Role of Comparative Law in Political Science

Abstract

Comparing laws cross-nationally elucidates how they restrain political and societal actors and how actors may use law instrumentally to reach their goals. The Article analyzes the extant use of comparative law in political science and describes areas where a more in-depth comparative study of law may enhance understandings of how law shapes politics, particularly in the areas of governance, judicial behavior, rights protection, and democratic transitions and breakdowns. For meaningful use of comparative law in the study of politics, scholars must use causal research designs for cross-country analysis and rigorously choose cases for more detailed within-country qualitative analyses. Understanding how laws vary cross-nationally and what differences matter has the potential to shape theories and explanations of the explosive and sometimes subtle political changes witnessed in the twenty-first century.