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Bevir and Rhodes have offered a useful addition to the tools of political scientists by developing an interpretivist approach to political science. Interpretation is a crucial mechanism for understanding the social world but one that has been underused in political analysis. This article welcomes Bevir and Rhodes' emphasis on interpretivism but suggests that there are a number of problems in the way they use the approach. In particular: they use a narrow definition of interpretivism; they caricature the nature of existing work in political science; the concept of tradition does too much work; and they pay insufficient attention to power and power relations.

Vols. 4-38, 40-41 include Record of political events, Oct. 1, 1888-Dec. 31, 1925 (issued as a separately paged supplement to no. 3 of v. 31-38 and to no. 1 of v. 40) ; Microfilm. ; Mode of access: Internet. ; Issued by the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, 1909- ; by the Academy of Political Science, Edited by the Faculty of Political Science of Columbia University ; Vols. 1-15, 1886-1900. 1 v; Vols. 1-30, 1886-1915. 1 v.; Vols. 1-45, 1886-1930. 1 v.; Vols. 46-65, 1931-50. 1 v ; NEWS; MICROFILM 21252: See call no. H1 P8 for MAIN holdings on paper for this title. ; MAIN; AQ P66: Includes reprint editions when original not available ; SCP weekly serials 2007/2008. ; UPD

The study of comparative government is in a state of relatively limited development. Questions are still being raised about the specificity of the subject matter and of the methodology; the enthusiasm with which comparative political scientists went into grand models in the 1960s and early 1970s has been followed by a degree of scepticism This scepticism is not justified It was imprudent to move so quickly towards grand models, while what was critical for the development of comparative government was and continues to be twofold First, there has to be a substantial improvement in our knowledge of political life all over the world: this has begun to occur, but empirical studies must be pursued more systematically and in a true comparative manner Second, the major theoretical thrust has to relate to the understanding of structures, which arc the key elements in the life of political systems; this means in particular that we have to understand systematically and dynamically such questions as institutionalization, integration, legitimacy, as well as the relationship between values and structures. If this were to occur, as it can and if empirical studies develop at a rapid pace in parallel, there is no reason to be despondent about the future of comparative government.

Book reviewed in this article:Review symposium: the politics of housing in Britain and France: Duclaud‐Williams, R. H. 1978: The politics of housing in Britain and France.