Comparative Turn in Canadian Political Science

Over the past decade, the study of Canadian politics has changed profoundly. The introspective, insular and largely atheoretical style that informed Canadian political science for most of the postwar period has given way to a deeper engagement with, and integration into, the global field of comparative politics.

This volume is the first sustained attempt to describe, analyze, and assess the “comparative turn” in Canadian political science. Canada’s engagement with comparative politics is examined with a focus on three central questions: In what ways, and how successfully, have Canadian scholars contributed to the study of comparative politics? How does study of the Canadian case advance the comparative discipline? Finally, can Canadian practice and policy be reproduced in other countries?

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements

Part 1 Establishing Benchmarks

Introduction: The Comparative Turn in Canadian Political Science
Robert Vipond

A Quantitative Analysis of he Comparative Turn in Canadian Political Scienc
Eric Montpetit

Part 2 Multiculturalism, Diversity, Rights: Canada’s Comparative Advantage

Is Canadian Multiculturalism Parochial? Canadian Contributions to Theorizing Justice and Ethnocultural Diversity
Andrew M. Robinson

Canada as Counternarrative: Multiculturalism, Recognition, and Redistribution
Keith G. Banting

Canada’s Contribution to the Comparative Study of Rights and Judicial Review
Ran Hirschl

Marketing Canadian Pluralism in the International Arena
Will Kymlicka

Part 3 Federalism and Multilevel Governance: Canada’s Comparative Resurgence

Is the Secret to Have a Good Dentist? Canadian Contributions to the Study of Federalism in Divided Societies
Martin Papillon

Working around the American Model: Canadian Federalism and The European Union
Thomas O. Hueglin

Empirical Evidence and Pragmatic Explanations: Canada’s Contributions to Comparative Federalism
Jennifer Wallner

Part 4 Political Parties and Public Policy: Canada’s Comparative Potential

What’s So Bad about Cultivating Our Own Theoretical Gardens? The Study of Political Parties in Canada
Brian Tanquay

Canadian Voting Behaviour in Comparative Perspective
James Farney and Renan Levine

Policy Networks and Policy Communities: Conceptualizing State-Societal Relationships in the Policy Process
Grace Skogstad

How Can Comparative Political Economy Explain Variable Change? Lessons for, and from, Canada
Rodney Haddow

Conclusion: Are We on the Right Track?
Alan C. Cairns