Limits of Comparative Political Analysis

Neera Chandhoke The general loss of all certainties has in particular posed problems for comparative political analysis which is based on grand theories and categories of understanding. The contemporary disenchantment with and philosophical scepticism towards grand theory, and the recovery of rigorous historical understanding are questioning the validity of totalising categories like modernisation and the nation-state. In such a situation of flux, the article argues for a methodology of concrete analysis of specific situations which will serve the aim of comparative politics by highlighting the distinctiveness of various social processes.