Anthony Petros Spanakos is an associate professor of political science and law at Montclair State University.Francisco Panizza is Professor of Comparative and Latin American Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

"Concepts and comparisons go hand-in-hand. Beginning with Weber’s ideal types, which joined the general and the particular, comparative politics has grappled with the problem of delimiting the extension and intension of its language. This volume makes a significant contribution to this important discussion." —Mark Lichbach, University of Maryland"This book breaks new ground, or re-opens old ground, in the field of description and concepts in the social science, which have been sorely neglected in the rush to measure everything. Politics is a particularly apt terrain for reviving the importance of conceptualization in research because it is the place where people are most likely to disagree about the words they use. Three cheers for taking concepts seriously again!"—Bruce Gilley, Portland State University"Most ‘how-to-do-it’ manuals in political science pay little or no attention to the concepts being used in comparative research. This collection of essays fills the gap by exploring a wide range of topics in an equally wide variety of settings. I suspect that the volume as a whole will occupy a prominent place on the shelf of such manuals and that the editors’ introductory trilogy of the utility of concepts as ‘lenses,’ ‘building blocks’ and ‘scripts’ will become a valuable component of graduate and post-graduate training. "—Philippe Schmitter, European University Institute

• Selected Contents: 1. Conceptualising Comparative Politics: A Framework Anthony Petros Spanakos Part 1: Concepts as lenses 2. Conceptualising Europe as a ‘Region-State’ Vivien A. Schmidt 3. Bricolage as an Analytical Lens in New Institutionalist Theory Martin B. Carstensen 4. The Secular State: Proposing a New Perspective Birol Başkan 5. The Quality And Stability Of Subnational Elections In Africa: A Methodological and Conceptual Tool Ragnhild Louise Muriaas Part 2: Concepts as Building Blocks 6. Human Rights: Building Blocks for a Comparative Politics of Power Todd Landman 7. Reconsidering Electoral Contestation Through Voter Mobilization Allyson Lucinda Benton 8. Measuring or Redefining Concepts in Comparative Politics? Challenges in Comparative Public Opinion Zsolt Nyiri Part 3: Concepts as Scripts 9. Statehood and Segmentary Governance: An Essay on Political Change in a West African City Till Förster 10. Populism, Social Democracy and The Tale Of The "Two Lefts" In Latin America Francisco Panizza 11. Institutionalities and Political Change in Bolivarian Venezuela Anthony Petros Spanakos Part 4: Concluding Remarks Epilogue: Comparing Beyond Methods Francisco Panizza Index

Anthony Petros Spanakos is an associate professor of political science and law at Montclair State University.Francisco Panizza is Professor of Comparative and Latin American Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

"Concepts and comparisons go hand-in-hand. Beginning with Weber’s ideal types, which joined the general and the particular, comparative politics has grappled with the problem of delimiting the extension and intension of its language. This volume makes a significant contribution to this important discussion." —Mark Lichbach, University of Maryland"This book breaks new ground, or re-opens old ground, in the field of description and concepts in the social science, which have been sorely neglected in the rush to measure everything. Politics is a particularly apt terrain for reviving the importance of conceptualization in research because it is the place where people are most likely to disagree about the words they use. Three cheers for taking concepts seriously again!"—Bruce Gilley, Portland State University"Most ‘how-to-do-it’ manuals in political science pay little or no attention to the concepts being used in comparative research. This collection of essays fills the gap by exploring a wide range of topics in an equally wide variety of settings. I suspect that the volume as a whole will occupy a prominent place on the shelf of such manuals and that the editors’ introductory trilogy of the utility of concepts as ‘lenses,’ ‘building blocks’ and ‘scripts’ will become a valuable component of graduate and post-graduate training. "—Philippe Schmitter, European University Institute

• Selected Contents: 1. Conceptualising Comparative Politics: A Framework Anthony Petros Spanakos Part 1: Concepts as lenses 2. Conceptualising Europe as a ‘Region-State’ Vivien A. Schmidt 3. Bricolage as an Analytical Lens in New Institutionalist Theory Martin B. Carstensen 4. The Secular State: Proposing a New Perspective Birol Başkan 5. The Quality And Stability Of Subnational Elections In Africa: A Methodological and Conceptual Tool Ragnhild Louise Muriaas Part 2: Concepts as Building Blocks 6. Human Rights: Building Blocks for a Comparative Politics of Power Todd Landman 7. Reconsidering Electoral Contestation Through Voter Mobilization Allyson Lucinda Benton 8. Measuring or Redefining Concepts in Comparative Politics? Challenges in Comparative Public Opinion Zsolt Nyiri Part 3: Concepts as Scripts 9. Statehood and Segmentary Governance: An Essay on Political Change in a West African City Till Förster 10. Populism, Social Democracy and The Tale Of The "Two Lefts" In Latin America Francisco Panizza 11. Institutionalities and Political Change in Bolivarian Venezuela Anthony Petros Spanakos Part 4: Concluding Remarks Epilogue: Comparing Beyond Methods Francisco Panizza Index

Anthony Petros Spanakos is an associate professor of political science and law at Montclair State University.Francisco Panizza is Professor of Comparative and Latin American Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

"Concepts and comparisons go hand-in-hand. Beginning with Weber’s ideal types, which joined the general and the particular, comparative politics has grappled with the problem of delimiting the extension and intension of its language. This volume makes a significant contribution to this important discussion." —Mark Lichbach, University of Maryland"This book breaks new ground, or re-opens old ground, in the field of description and concepts in the social science, which have been sorely neglected in the rush to measure everything. Politics is a particularly apt terrain for reviving the importance of conceptualization in research because it is the place where people are most likely to disagree about the words they use. Three cheers for taking concepts seriously again!"—Bruce Gilley, Portland State University"Most ‘how-to-do-it’ manuals in political science pay little or no attention to the concepts being used in comparative research. This collection of essays fills the gap by exploring a wide range of topics in an equally wide variety of settings. I suspect that the volume as a whole will occupy a prominent place on the shelf of such manuals and that the editors’ introductory trilogy of the utility of concepts as ‘lenses,’ ‘building blocks’ and ‘scripts’ will become a valuable component of graduate and post-graduate training. "—Philippe Schmitter, European University Institute

• Selected Contents: 1. Conceptualising Comparative Politics: A Framework Anthony Petros Spanakos Part 1: Concepts as lenses 2. Conceptualising Europe as a ‘Region-State’ Vivien A. Schmidt 3. Bricolage as an Analytical Lens in New Institutionalist Theory Martin B. Carstensen 4. The Secular State: Proposing a New Perspective Birol Başkan 5. The Quality And Stability Of Subnational Elections In Africa: A Methodological and Conceptual Tool Ragnhild Louise Muriaas Part 2: Concepts as Building Blocks 6. Human Rights: Building Blocks for a Comparative Politics of Power Todd Landman 7. Reconsidering Electoral Contestation Through Voter Mobilization Allyson Lucinda Benton 8. Measuring or Redefining Concepts in Comparative Politics? Challenges in Comparative Public Opinion Zsolt Nyiri Part 3: Concepts as Scripts 9. Statehood and Segmentary Governance: An Essay on Political Change in a West African City Till Förster 10. Populism, Social Democracy and The Tale Of The "Two Lefts" In Latin America Francisco Panizza 11. Institutionalities and Political Change in Bolivarian Venezuela Anthony Petros Spanakos Part 4: Concluding Remarks Epilogue: Comparing Beyond Methods Francisco Panizza Index