This introduction does three things. First, it explains why we should bother to study comparative politics at all. Why is it important to know how foreign political systems work? Second, it considers the strengths and weaknesses of the comparative approach to political science. It argues that, in spite of its problems, comparative politics adds something of great importance to our ability to understand what goes on in the political world. And third, it provides some signposts to guide you through the book to make it easier and more interesting for you to understand and absorb its contents.

■ Why comparative politics?

Why do we bother to study comparative politics and government? There are many good reasons but three of the most important are: (1) we cannot understand our own country without a knowledge of others; (2) we cannot understand other countries without a knowledge of their background, institutions and history; and (3) we cannot arrive at valid generalisations about government and politics without the comparative method.

Understanding our own country

To understand our own country we must study other countries as well. This may sound like a strange statement, but it has some powerful logic to support it. We often take the political institutions, practices and customs in our own country for granted, assuming that they are somehow natural and inevitable. Only when we start looking around at other countries do we understand that our own ways of doing things are sometimes unique, even odd or peculiar.