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An examination of G. A. Almond's approach in the field of comparative res on pol'al systems, contained in his Introduction to THE POLITICS OF DEVELOPING AREAS, Princeton, NJ: 1960. His functional approach compares Western & nonWestern systems in terms of a common conceptual framework. However, there are theoretical & practical objections to Almond's work. There is, for instance, no clear theoretical reason why he selects particular functions rather than others; & when applied to existing systems, it becomes very difficult to distinguish pol'al soc'ization from recruitment. The functions presented in the Introduction are not made operational, & this difficulty must be solved before Almond's scheme may become a useful tool in comparative res. IPSA.