Explain the different approaches to comparative politics

Macro-level - the global or national level interactions between structures (structuralism) which include but are not limited to relations between large social groups (e.g poor vs. elite) such as Skocpol’s “Theory of Social Revolutions” (comparing vanguard movements to marginal movements) or Collier’s “Theory of Political Modernisation” (comparing types of labour in shaping party systems) Meso-level - falls between macro and micro to refer to mid-range populations such as communities, organisations, institutions as well as ‘rules of the game’ e.g constitutions (institutionalism) such as comparing how institutions become stable over time or how the ‘rules of the game’ shape individual human behaviour. Micro-level - the smallest unit of analysis looking at an individual in their social setting and their interest (rational choice) such as research into psychology of political leaders or voting behaviour.