Author Description

"In a previous volume, Comparative Area Studies (Oxford University Press, 2018), the editors laid out the distinctive features and value-added of "comparative area studies" (CAS) against the backdrop of ongoing methodological debates in the social sciences. Since that time, more researchers have been keen to employ CAS to frame their own research, while others have raised new questions about the epistemological flexibility of CAS and about the organizational challenges that could limit further extensions of CAS. Advancing Comparative Area Studies tackles these issues while bringing in new voices, including those of fifteen scholars who had no connection to the first volume. The chapters collectively showcase how CAS can accommodate a broad range of scholarship predicated on more varied methodological and epistemological principles. This includes contextualized comparisons of countries from different regions as well as interpretive work, comparisons of sub-national units, as well as inter-regional comparisons on topics in international relations such as global human rights and the rise of regional powers. Moreover, the volume offers practical, realistic discussions of how our current institutional architecture can be adapted to support cross-regional comparative research and better connect different area studies communities - while acknowledging the long-standing value of deep area expertise. This book will be read by doctoral students in the fields of comparative politics and international relations; by scholars in the social sciences who do qualitative research; and by leaders of academic institutions, such as Deans and Provosts, who confront important decisions concerning the future of area studies centers and programs"-- Provided by publisher.