AP® Comparative Government and Politics review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/comp-gov/units/1/1-1)
Unit 1 · Topic 1.1
1.1 The Practice of Political Scientists
Comparative politics means comparing countries with evidence. You need to tell a fact from an opinion, a correlation from a cause, and know what the common measures (GDP per capita, HDI, the Gini index, Freedom House ratings, Transparency International's corruption scores and the Fragile States Index) actually measure and where they fall short.
Key terms
- empirical statement
- normative statement
- correlation vs. causation
- GDP per capita
- Human Development Index (HDI)
- Gini index
Empirical vs. normative statements
An empirical statement describes what is. You can check it with evidence, and it can be proven true or false. “Nigeria has 36 states” is empirical.
A normative statement says what should be. It's a value judgment, so evidence alone can't settle it. “Nigeria should create more states to give minorities a voice” is normative.
Watch for signal words. “Should,” “ought,” “better,” “worse,” “fair” and “unjust” usually mark a normative claim. Numbers, dates and descriptions of rules usually mark an empirical one. Political scientists try to make empirical claims and keep their own values out of the description.
Correlation vs. causation
Two things are correlated when they rise or fall together. That doesn't prove one causes the other. Richer countries tend to be more democratic, but that pattern alone can't tell you whether wealth causes democracy, democracy causes wealth, or a third factor (like education or a strong middle class) drives both.
Causation is especially hard to prove in comparative politics. Countries differ in many ways at once, and you can't run an experiment that changes one factor while holding the rest still. To argue causation you need more: a believable mechanism, the right timing (the cause comes first) and some way to rule out other explanations. On the exam, if a question asks what a table shows, describe the relationship. Don't claim one variable caused the other unless the question gives you a reason to.
The measures you need to know
| Measure | What it measures | Read it this way |
|---|---|---|
| GDP | Total value of goods and services a country produces in a year | Shows the size of an economy, not how well people live |
| GDP per capita | GDP divided by population | A rough average income; it hides how income is shared |
| GDP growth rate | Yearly percentage change in GDP | Shows whether the economy is expanding or shrinking |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | A UN score from 0 to 1 combining life expectancy, schooling and income per person | Closer to 1 means higher human development |
| Gini index | Income inequality, from 0 (everyone has the same income) to 1, often written 0 to 100 | Higher means more unequal |
| Freedom House ratings | Political rights and civil liberties, grouped as Free, Partly Free or Not Free | A judgment by an independent group, built from expert scoring |
| Corruption Perceptions Index | How corrupt experts and businesspeople believe a country's public sector is, from Transparency International, scored 0 to 100 | Higher score means less perceived corruption |
| Fragile States Index | Pressures that can make a state fail, from the Fund for Peace (called the Failed States Index until 2014, the name the course framework still uses) | Higher score means more fragile |
Limits of data
Evidence comes in two kinds. Quantitative data is numbers, like the measures above. Qualitative evidence includes speeches, constitutions, political cartoons, maps and news commentary. Political scientists use both, and they compare several countries to find patterns that one country alone can't show.
Every number has a source and a method. Authoritarian governments may report data that makes them look good, and very poor states may not be able to collect good data at all. Averages like GDP per capita can hide huge gaps between rich and poor, and indices like Freedom House's depend on experts' judgments.
Data also goes out of date. Always note the year of a figure, and compare countries using the same source and the same year so you're comparing like with like.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Reading a data table (hypothetical data)
The table below uses hypothetical data. Country A: GDP per capita $14,000, Gini 52, HDI 0.74. Country B: GDP per capita $13,500, Gini 33, HDI 0.80. Country C: GDP per capita $3,000, Gini 35, HDI 0.55. (a) Identify the country with the most unequal income distribution. (b) Describe how Countries A and B compare. (c) Explain one limit of using GDP per capita alone to compare these countries.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: (a) The Gini index measures inequality, and a higher score means more unequal. Country A has the highest Gini (52).
- Step 2: (b) A and B have almost the same GDP per capita ($14,000 vs. $13,500), but A is much more unequal (52 vs. 33) and has a lower HDI (0.74 vs. 0.80). Point to the numbers, not just “A is worse.”
- Step 3: (c) Connect the limit to the data: GDP per capita is an average, so it can't show how income is shared. A and B look alike on GDP per capita, yet the Gini and HDI show that people in B are likely better off on average in health and schooling.
Answer: (a) Country A. (b) Similar average income, but A is more unequal and has lower human development. (c) GDP per capita is an average that hides inequality and living standards, as the A–B comparison shows.
Common mistakes
- Calling a statement normative just because it sounds political. “Iran's Guardian Council vets candidates” is political but empirical, since you can check it.
- Reading the Fragile States Index backwards. A higher score means a more fragile state, not a stronger one.
- Saying a correlation in a table proves a cause. Describe the relationship, and only argue causation if you can give a mechanism and rule out other explanations.
- Treating HDI as a measure of democracy. It measures health, education and income, not elections or rights.
On the exam
- Multiple-choice questions often show a table or chart and ask which statement it supports. Pick the answer the data actually shows, not one that's true in real life but not shown.
- In the quantitative analysis free-response question, describe the data with specific numbers, name the pattern, and then connect it to a course concept.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 1.1 The Practice of Political Scientists. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
| Country | GDP per capita (US$) | HDI | Gini index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country A | 42,000 | 0.93 | 33 |
| Country B | 11,500 | 0.78 | 45 |
| Country C | 9,800 | 0.76 | 31 |
| Country D | 2,100 | 0.55 | 39 |
Hypothetical data for four countries in the same year
Which of the following statements is supported by the data in the table?
A student looks at the table and concludes that a higher GDP per capita causes a higher HDI. Which of the following is the best critique of that conclusion?
The HDI differs from GDP per capita because the HDI also takes into account
Which of the following is a normative statement?
0 of 4 answered