Méthode comparative et analyse sociétale. Les implications théoriques des comparaisons internationales

In order to shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of three comparative approaches (functionalist, culturalist and societal), a typology is established on the basis of two questions : a) to what extent does each approach examine the linkage between the micro and macrolevels ? and b) is a hypothesis formulated about the continuity, or discontinuity, of the phenomena between various lands ? The characteristics and prospects of societal analysis are indicated. By using a vast range of examples of "national coherence", the ambition of this type of analysis is to stake out the way toward a more general theory.