http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/comparative-politics Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Mon, 04 May 2026 16:50:39 -0400 Mon, 04 May 2026 16:50:39 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1919/how-religiosity-shapes-satisfaction-with-democracy-a-mediterranean-case-study By Julien Argoud - More and more countries are democratic, but at the same time, the number of people dissatisfied with it has constantly been increasing during the last two decades. Nevertheless, studying people’s “satisfaction with democracy” has been heavily debated in Comparative Politics. However, using this variable does make sense as it is possible to observe significant correlations between strong dissatisfaction with democracy and democratic backsliding globally. We argue in this paper that religiosity is a crucial factor to understand this phenomenon. Research has nonetheless come to... Tue, 26 Oct 2021 10:58 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1919/how-religiosity-shapes-satisfaction-with-democracy-a-mediterranean-case-study http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1889/single-payer-reform-and-rural-health-in-the-united-states-lessons-from-our-northern-neighbor By Jared M. Hirschfield - Single-payer health reform has secured its place in the mainstream American health policy debate, yet its implications for particular subpopulations or sectors of care remain understudied. Amidst many unanswered questions from policymakers and political pundits, rural health has emerged as one such area. This article explores rural Canada’s five-decade-long experience with a national publicly funded health insurance program as a valuable opportunity for cross-national learning. During March 2020, I conducted 13 semi-structured, elite stakeholder interviews with government officials, academic... Mon, 15 Mar 2021 02:29 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1889/single-payer-reform-and-rural-health-in-the-united-states-lessons-from-our-northern-neighbor http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1781/democratic-backsliding-in-the-us-and-why-the-rest-of-the-west-should-care By Joshua M.M. Portzer - ‘State fragility’ comes in many manifestations, ranging from violent civil conflict to state-sanctioned corruption. Often the term is paired exclusively with the developing world. This is a misnomer. Those within the liberal world order (LWO) are not immune to such societal ills.[1] Indeed, when a democratic State shows symptoms of fragility, it ought to give the West pause—a somber moment to reflect on their own democracies. The United States is providing the world with such a moment now. It is suffering from democratic backsliding.[2] This paper does four things. First, it... Fri, 28 Feb 2020 08:09 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1781/democratic-backsliding-in-the-us-and-why-the-rest-of-the-west-should-care http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1740/explaining-the-rise-of-populism-in-poland-the-post-communist-transition-as-a-critical-juncture-and-origin-of-political-decay-in-poland By Phillip S. Swallow - The Polish populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) overturned the mainstream consensus in Polish politics by returning to power in 2015 with a populist platform, decrying a selfish elite and advancing policies that critics saw as illiberal and authoritarian. In response to the PiS’s policies, the European Commission took the extreme step of triggering Article 7, which could result in suspension of Poland’s voting rights, among other sanctions(Baume, 2017). How did things go so wrong? Poland was once the shining example of the EU’s eastward expansion. Donald Tusk, its former president... Sat, 07 Jul 2018 10:14 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1740/explaining-the-rise-of-populism-in-poland-the-post-communist-transition-as-a-critical-juncture-and-origin-of-political-decay-in-poland http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1634/more-choices-more-voices By Nikko Bilitza - The relationship between party system fragmentation and voter turnout is not entirely understood in contemporary political science literature. It is often assumed that party system fragmentation is a primary driver of proportional representation's tendency to produce higher turnout, however its effects on turnout across electoral systems has been sparsely studied. This paper seeks to assess this relationship through a sample study of 17 countries with both majoritarian and proportional electoral studies. The study finds that increased party system fragmentation increases voter turnout in countries... Sun, 30 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1634/more-choices-more-voices http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1566/new-methods-of-democratic-consolidation-the-application-of-citizenship-laws-in-ethnically-fractured-states By Adam Goldstein - The consensus in scholarly circles regarding democratic consolidation stipulates the importance of a cohesive demos, or population, that is also congruent with a representative polity, or political class. One of the main inhibitors of this goal is ethnic conflict, which can easily derail democratic transitions and consolidations. I begin this article with a discussion of the flaws of the two established notions of conflict alleviation in ethnically fragmented states: consociationalism and federalism, especially in regards to how they define groups and segment political power. I then identify the... Sat, 31 Dec 2016 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1566/new-methods-of-democratic-consolidation-the-application-of-citizenship-laws-in-ethnically-fractured-states http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1500/the-political-rationality-of-terror-understanding-terrorism-as-the-result-of-organizational-goal-seeking By Guy Lowicz - In the early 1990s, two terrorist organizations, Hamas and the Fatah-led Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), were using terrorism to promote their political plight of Palestinian self-determination. Although both organizations vowed to use armed struggles to promote the Palestinian plight, Fatah chose to desert violence in favor of legitimate political channels. In the beginning, terrorism proved to be effective for both groups in mobilizing popular support, legitimizing their cause, and raising capital. After years of armed tactics that proved fruitful, Yassir Arafat, Fatah’s leader... Mon, 28 Nov 2016 12:50 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1500/the-political-rationality-of-terror-understanding-terrorism-as-the-result-of-organizational-goal-seeking http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1444/spectrums-of-nationalism-a-comparison-of-american-and-chinese-nationalism By Aeron L. Roach - American media generally depicts nationalism as a negative concept, which is threatening to peace and security. However, in its broadest sense, nationalism can incorporate two phenomena: “(1) the attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their identity as members of that nation and (2) the actions that the members of a nation take in seeking to achieve (or sustain) some form of political sovereignty.”1 Neither of these is inherently threatening to either peace or security. Why, then, is Chinese nationalism so often viewed as a threat? I propose that this perception... Mon, 12 Sep 2016 10:02 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1444/spectrums-of-nationalism-a-comparison-of-american-and-chinese-nationalism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1390/comparing-the-roots-of-conflict-in-europe-the-middle-east-and-africa By Jacob C. Potts - In public discourse, Africa and the Middle East have become synonymous with ethnic and religious conflict, whereas Europe is known as a bastion of peace and stability. But are areas known for their ‘high conflict’ truly more susceptible to regional conflict compared to the more 'peaceful' regions? Our findings indicate that the Middle East and North Africa are not as susceptible to the conflicts previously mentioned. We instead propose a more complex view of conflict, where ethnic and religious conflict occur in most regions and factors such as the Cold War in Europe and the existence... Fri, 15 Apr 2016 07:31 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1390/comparing-the-roots-of-conflict-in-europe-the-middle-east-and-africa http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1056/radical-populism-in-crisis-era-greece-examining-the-impact-of-populist-movements-on-greek-democracy By Tristan Smaldone - This study looks at populist movements in Greece that formed in reaction to the failures of elite statist politicians. Beginning with the 2008 student uprisings in Athens, this narrative follows the escalation of social and political activism as the country entered a period of economic crisis. The impact of austerity measures, imposed in 2010 and 2012 by the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank, is examined in relation to the prevalence of social indignation and the development of nation-wide social solidarity networks. The role of the deficient Greek... Sat, 18 Jul 2015 05:42 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1056/radical-populism-in-crisis-era-greece-examining-the-impact-of-populist-movements-on-greek-democracy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1044/the-arab-uprisings-and-the-blossoming-of-a-global-imaginary By Tristan Smaldone - The social uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that unfolded in late 2010 and early 2011 were the catalyst for a political awakening that soon after encompassed the globe. The same logic that allowed for localized social populism to flourish, in these cases, was at play in the subsequent blossoming of protest movements around the world. In Jacques Lacan’s terms, a ‘social imaginary’ or illusive unity was constructed, forming into a counter-hegemonic force of global proportions. This conceptual framework has been integrated into Ernesto Laclau and Chantel Mouffe’s discourse analysis... Mon, 01 Jun 2015 10:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1044/the-arab-uprisings-and-the-blossoming-of-a-global-imaginary http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/880/state-building-in-somalia-in-the-image-of-somaliland-a-bottom-up-approach By Kenneth C. Upsall - The creation of western-style government institutions has been unsuccessful in Somalia. This is a direct result of colonial administrations not laying the proper foundation for western government institutions to achieve legitimacy in a culture of clan and kinship based identity. In post conflict Somalia the top down approach to state building has been ineffective and a lack of government structure at the time of independence created an environment in which clan based fracturing of the government was inevitable. The existing clan and kinship examples of local governance replaced the central government... Sun, 30 Mar 2014 01:29 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/880/state-building-in-somalia-in-the-image-of-somaliland-a-bottom-up-approach http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1208/lessons-on-government-from-one-non-state-entity-to-another-how-the-irish-republican-movement-informs-hezbollahs-attempt-at-the-clausewitzian-political-arm By Paul Baumgardner - The great nineteenth-century military theorist Carl von Clausewitz changed the art of war forever with his masterwork, “On War.” This text illuminated one of Clausewitz’s greatest contributions to military thought: the Trinity of war. Clausewitz argued that a successful military campaign requires the balanced cooperation of three important levels of society: the political wing (the government), the military wing (the army), and the popular wing (the citizenry). In modern warfare, Clausewitz’s Trinity still remains an important lesson, especially for non-state actors. By... Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1208/lessons-on-government-from-one-non-state-entity-to-another-how-the-irish-republican-movement-informs-hezbollahs-attempt-at-the-clausewitzian-political-arm http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1210/revisions-to-lipsets-economic-theory-of-democratic-development-india-as-a-case-study By Anwesha Banerjee - Seymour M. Lipset dubbed economic development a “social requisite to democracy,” considering factors such as national wealth, a large degree of industrialization, and high levels of education to be necessary fertilizers to prepare a breeding ground for democracy. Citing many different cases throughout history leading up to the present (which, for him at the time of writing his article, “Some Social Requisites of Democracy,” was 1959), he famously posited that “the more well-to-do a nation, the greater the chances that it will sustain democracy.”1 While these... Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1210/revisions-to-lipsets-economic-theory-of-democratic-development-india-as-a-case-study http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/681/public-opinion-democracy-and-the-economy-case-studies-from-the-southern-cone By Jacob R. Elsen - Utilizing 2009 data from the Latinobarómetro public opinion survey and bivariate statistical methods, this study assesses the degree to which respondents’ evaluations of both national economic conditions and their personal economic conditions are associated with their overt and intrinsic support for democracy in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. This study finds that the three overt support for democracy variables employed in this analysis were highly volatile, both when compared among themselves and when compared across the countries sampled. The five intrinsic support variables... Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/681/public-opinion-democracy-and-the-economy-case-studies-from-the-southern-cone http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1240/hot-cocoa-agricultural-economics-and-the-ivorian-civil-wars By John Biberman - The recent International Criminal Court arraignment of former president Laurent Gbagbo on charges of crimes against humanity marks the culmination of a decade of conflict in Côte d'Ivoire--, one of the most protracted periods of strife in West African history. Following the 1993 death of longtime leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny, or "Le Vieux," the country gradually descended into a largely broken state, divided by two civil wars. The conflict has caused Côte d'Ivoire, whose economic capital Abidjan was once called "the Paris of Africa", to lose its designation as one of Africa... Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1240/hot-cocoa-agricultural-economics-and-the-ivorian-civil-wars http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/620/examing-almond-and-sartori-on-political-culture-and-stability By Dominykas Broga - Gabriel Almond and Giovanni Sartori provided fruitful insights into the approaches to political stability. Almond focused on socio-anthropological aspects of societal relations and argued that fragmentation of political cultures – a set of values, attitudes, meanings, and ideologies within which a political system is embedded, determines the extent of political instability.[2] On the other hand, Sartori made a distinction between stable and unstable political party systems.[3] He disputed that segmentation and polarization of the system depends on the number of relevant political parties... Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/620/examing-almond-and-sartori-on-political-culture-and-stability http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/516/custine-tocqueville-and-intellectual-autonomy-in-comparative-politics By Tristan Gans - The most obvious and immediate difference between Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and Astolphe de Custine’s Letters from Russia is one of style.[1] Put simply, Tocqueville’s text is an impersonal social-scientific treatise, while Custine’s is a personal narrative of observation. However, the two men traveled abroad with the common intention of examining societies that functioned through certain idealized political and social paradigms. More specifically, one might say that both examine the role of government and political culture in suppressing the subjective... Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:15 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/516/custine-tocqueville-and-intellectual-autonomy-in-comparative-politics