Page 88 - Comparing Political Communication Theories, Cases, and Challenge

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Hans J. Kleinsteuber

teaching),howeverthetruecoreofcomparativeresearchisdefinedbythe
application of comparative methods. Such studies were in most cases de-
signedforstateswithinthewestern,industrializedregionoftheworld,or
for a comparison between them and other regions of the world. So far,
predominantly studies with a transatlantic logic have been presented,
comparing America with Europe (or specific European states), or be-
tween or within large geographical regions (Europe – Western/Eastern,
NorthAmerica with the interesting and unusual case of Canada, Latin
America, Asia, Africa, etc.) (Corner et al. 1997, 4–5).
An important aspect of every comparison is that not only the situation
ofdifferentregionsisportrayed,butthatone’sownsystemgainsnewand
clearercontoursthroughthecomparisonwithothers.Onlythroughsuch
comparisons does the broadcasting federalism characterizing Germany
reveal its uniqueness.

Methods of Comparative Research
In principle, all media systems, or research objects concerning politi-
cal communication, can be compared. The first distinction that should
be noted is that the comparative approach also exists within one country
(e.g., a comparison between the political communications of two par-
ties). This kind of approach is not included in this analysis, even if some
of the following methodological hints can also be of use for this kind
of comparison. Furthermore, it is a fact that the primary gathering of
cross-national data requires enormous effort. This is why most com-
parative studies rely on a secondary evaluation of existing material that
has already been produced in the country in question and is evaluated
according to comparative criteria (meta-analyses).
Some of the methods used in comparative contexts are:

Analysis of Documents and Academic Literature: Constitutions and
legal texts, government reports, and party programs are relatively
easy to compare. In addition, there are scientific studies, written
in the country in question. Nevertheless, mistakes in translation
or transcultural misunderstandings often occur. This highlights the
need of knowing the languages of the country studied in compara-
tive research – if this is at all possible. All comparative studies begin
with an evaluation of the literature of the country to be examined.
Content Analysis: The systematic comparison of contents (in the

form of texts, pictures, symbols, etc.) is appropriate for the de-
scription of similarities and differences in press coverage (a classical

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