ABSTRACT
Scholars and students of Arab politics have been confronted at one moment or another with the concept of Arab exceptionalism. A by-product of Orientalism, the notion of exceptionalism captures the belief that political and social phenomena across the region are so unique as to be exceptional and therefore cannot be studied or measured through many of the theoretical and methodological tools that comparative politics has to offer. Furthermore, Arab exceptionalism, whether acknowledged or implicit, prevents efforts at comparability often placing Arab political studies outside mainstream comparative politics. This chapter argues that the intellectual pursuits of scholars of the Arab world should attempt as much as possible to challenge exceptionalism and should focus on employing theoretical and methodological tools that encourage comparability with political and social phenomena occurring outside the region. The chapter does so by paying attention to studies of political parties and voting behaviour.
