ABSTRACT
The preceding two chapters made it clear why and how to compare countries. Scholars compare to provide context, make classifications, test hypotheses, and make predictions. They do this by comparing many countries, few countries, or they provide in-depth studies of single countries. As there are many trade-offs associated with these different goals and methods of comparison, there are also important fundamental problems, which if not addressed explicitly can limit the types of generalizations that can be drawn from any study. While not representing insurmountable obstacles to comparison, it is important to address these problems and outline the strategies for overcoming them. This chapter discusses six complementary problems of comparison, which are associated with the choice of countries, the manner in which they are compared, the structure of the research design, and the nature of the evidence.
