The case of case studies: On the methodological discussion in comparative political science

A look at comparative political science shows that many contributions to the field do compare, but do not reflect the methods used. This paper discusses the analytical differences between the comparative method, the statistical method and experiment. An overview of the methodological discussion shows that a case study and namely the analysis of deviant cases has its place in comparative analysis. The last part of this paper consequently deals with different forms of case study analysis and the underlying research interest. The discussion emphasizes that in-depth analyses of a limited number of cases is the core of comparative political science with a good ratio between methodological input and analytical results.