A Study On The Causal Explanation Model Of Comparative Historical Analysis

Comparative-historical analysis is seen as an appropriate method that can beused to study themes which are “too many variables and too small cases” byresearchers. Macro-phenomena are its themes,such as revolutions,politicalregimes,and welfare states, and so on, and, causal analysis is its aim. Meanwhile,comparative-historical analysis is Small-N analysis. This paper attempts to divide it totwo parts that founding causality and analysing causal mechanism from thelongitudinal perspective,and analyses them one by one so as to construct the causalanalytical pattern of it.The themes and aims of comparative-historical analysis stem from historicalsociology, and, historical institutionalism provide important inspiration for it tounderstand causal process. There are two major steps to proceed causal analysis,firstly,it is cross-case analysis to find explanatory variables by using methods ofdifference and agreement,then found causal relation with explanandum. Secondly,it explores causal mechanism which contribute to outcomes within cases.Comparative-historical analysis turn to history in the perspective cases, which makesit be in the sketch of temporal analysis,and, the conceptions such as critical junctureand path-dependence make process analysis not only analyze historical events buthave paradigmatic meaning.