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cps-theory-building

separate

Use when building or sharpening the theoretical argument of a Comparative Political Studies (CPS) manuscript so it yields portable, testable comparative implications. Builds the mechanism and its observable implications; it does not run the empirics.

When to use

• Turning a comparative puzzle into a stated argument with implications
• Addressing reviewer feedback that the paper lacks a theory or is descriptive
• Addressing reviewer feedback that the mechanism is a black box
• Creating a portable claim for findings
• Specifying scope conditions and contrast with rival accounts
• Building verbal-causal, formal, or comparative-historical theories

When not to use

• Running the empirics

Skill page

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