ABSTRACT
Modern comparative development theory suffers from a number of fundamental ills which make a return to the classical study of politics seem an attractive alternative. The subfield of political culture theory attempts to address some of these ills, though it too falls short in many respects. It is revealing to show how modern comparative politics compares with classical comparative politics, as understood in the Aristotelian tradition, and it is timely for political scientists to recognize the inherent defects of modernization theory and appreciate why classical comparative theory continues to offer a useful guide for comparing regimes. To question the fundamental assumption of comparative politics modernization literature – that democracy is the best and only legitimate form of government – requires an appraisal of the universality of such an idea given the global variety of cultural diversity, and especially Asian political culture.
