The Power of the Comparative Area Studies Framework: Enhancing Area-Based Knowledge in Social Sciences

Rudra Sil, University of Pennsylvania 

Rudra Sil is a scholar whose research spans comparative politics, Russian and post-communist studies, Asian studies, labor politics, international development, qualitative methodology, and the philosophy of social science. His notable publications include Managing ‘Modernity’: Work, Community, and Authority in Late-Industrializing Japan and Russia (2002) and Beyond Paradigms: Analytic Eclecticism in the Study of World Politics (2010), coauthored with Peter Katzenstein.

Book Description

Rudra Sil will present his forthcoming co-edited volume Advancing Comparative Area Studies: Analytical Heterogeneity and Organizational Challenges (Oxford University Press, 2025), alongside Ariel I. Ahram and Patrick Köllner. This new book builds upon the foundation laid in their earlier volume, Comparative Area Studies: Methodological Rationales and Cross-Regional Applications (Oxford University Press, 2018), which articulated the unique contributions of Comparative Area Studies (CAS) within broader methodological debates in the social sciences.

The 2025 volume addresses emerging questions surrounding the epistemological scope of CAS and the institutional challenges its practitioners face. It introduces contributions from fifteen new scholars and highlights CAS's capacity to incorporate diverse methodological and epistemological approaches. The book expands the application of CAS beyond traditional comparative politics to include interpretive research, sub-national and inter-regional comparisons, and global themes like human rights and regional power dynamics. It also offers pragmatic strategies for adapting academic institutions to better support cross-regional scholarship while preserving rigorous area-specific training.

Through this work, the editors aim to reinvigorate area studies, foster collaboration among diverse area studies communities, and inspire innovative conceptual frameworks for the social sciences grounded in contextualized, cross-regional analysis.

Chair and discussants

• Stéphanie Balme, Research Professor at Sciences Po, Director of Sciences Po-CERI/CNRS
• Laurence Louër, Associate Professor at Sciences Po, Deputy Director for scientific affairs (Sciences Po-CERI/CNRS).