CPT

What is it about?

Comparative process tracing (CPT) is a two-step methodological approach that combines elements of theory, chronology and comparison. First, for each studied case, the processes leading ‘from A to B’ are reconstructed and analysed in terms of ideal-type social mechanisms to make the findings portable to other contexts. Second, these processes are compared making use of the identified mechanisms and ideal-type periodisation. The central elements of CPT are ideas of path dependence, critical junctures and focal points, social mechanisms, context and periodisation. The article discusses these elements and compares CPT with approaches that view process tracing as a non-comparative ’within-case analysis’. Keywords: process tracing, comparison, path dependence, social mechanism, critical juncture

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Why is it important?

The publication describes an original approach to analyzing social and political processes that the authors have applied in their own research. This approach is in certain senses different from most other approaches to process tracing.

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