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Comparison is an essential research method in political science. This book helps students to understand comparison as a scientific instrument, to grasp its necessity and its effective purpose for research. For that reason, it replies to three ´simple´ questions: why compare, what to compare, and how to compare. The introduction distinguishes itself by considering not only the comparative tradition but also by taking methodological innovations of the last two decades into account.

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Leonardo Morlino is professor of political science at LUISS Guido Carli, Rome, Italy.

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