Michael Bernhard, Methodological Disputes in Comparative Politics

This article gauges the impact on comparative politics of the methodological turn in political science through a review of four recent books on the role of comparative historical analysis in the subfield. Two volumes-one edited by James Mahoney and Dietrich Rueschemeyer and the other edited by Henry Brady and David Collier-defend the accomplishments and strengths of comparative historical analysis. In contrast, the book by Barbara Geddes advocates a scientific approach combining rational choice theory with regression. The article includes a discussion of the interviews conducted by Gerardo Munck and Richard Snyder with prominent comparativists and questions whether strategies of inference should be our most pressing concern.