Politics is the study of power and how it is distributed and exercised in society. Comparative politics is a field within political science that involves the systematic study and comparison of political systems in different countries/01%3A_Why_Study_Comparative_Politics/1.01%3A_What_is_Comparative_Politics). It seeks to explain why different political systems have similarities or differences and how developmental changes came to be between them. Comparative politics is characterized by the use of the comparative method or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries.

The scope of comparative politics is vast and includes the study of political institutions, political behavior, conflict, and the causes and consequences of economic development. It seeks to analyze and compare the political systems operating in various societies, taking into account all the three connotations of political activity, the political process, and political power. The following are the main subject matter included in the scope of comparative politics:

• Forms of political organizations, their properties, correlations, variations, and modes of change.
• Government structure and its functioning.
• Political processes, political activities, political relations, and power relations found in every part of the world.
• Regularities, similarities, and differences among the structures and functions of all political systems.
• Voting behavior.

Comparative politics is a realistic, empirical, relevant, and comprehensive study of political systems. Its approach is scientific and to proceed scientifically, it uses the comparative method, which involves the systematic comparison of cases in order to draw conclusions about them. Comparative politics is an essential dimension of the study of politics and is regarded as an autonomous discipline because of its vast scope and importance for a comprehensive understanding of politics in all societies.