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# Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics

## Details

**Authors** Sartori, Giovanni

**Year** 1970

**Publisher** American Political Science Review, 64(4), 1033-1053

**Kind of work** article

**Discipline** Political Science

**Secondary disciplines** Philosophy, Logic

**Applied** false

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.2307/1958356) 
10.2307/1958356

## In authors' words

### What they set out to do (purpose)

To show how comparative political science forms concepts, and why careless concept formation undermines comparison and measurement.

### Who or what was studied (sample)

Concepts used in comparative politics, such as pluralism, integration, participation, mobilization and the structural-functional vocabulary.

### How they did it (methods)

Logical and conceptual analysis of intension (the properties that define a term) and extension (the class of things it covers), organized as a ladder of abstraction with high, medium and low levels.

### What they found (results)

Intension and extension vary inversely: a concept can gain extension by shedding attributes while keeping its remaining defining properties precise, whereas conceptual stretching widens application while blurring meaning. Classification by either-or membership logically precedes gradation and quantification, and measurement cannot define what is measured. Sartori argues that medium-level categories defined by genus and differentia are the weakest part of the field and proposes disciplined movement along the ladder.

## Commentary

### In short

Sartori argues that comparison in political science depends on forming concepts carefully. He shows how widening a concept's reach without tightening its definition empties it, and why classification has to come before counting.

### Response

The argument is built on the distinction structure: a concept is defined by what falls inside and outside it, high-level categories count as universals only if they retain an opposite, and either-or classification is placed before degrees. The ladder of abstraction also treats concepts as nested levels, which brings in part-whole structure. The fit for relationships and perspectives is not claimed. The paper is a logical argument and not an empirical test of whether following its rules improves comparative research.

**Patterns it shows** D, S

Formal proof or model

**Added** 2026-10-19

**How to cite this** Sartori, Giovanni (1970). Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics. American Political Science Review, 64(4), 1033-1053.