The Place and Purpose of Grand Theory

Howard J. Wiarda placed the clash of grand theories at the center of comparative politics. In his view, they drive politics forward, guide policy, and, not least, make political science interesting. Although his contributions were largely to cultural theory, Wiarda resisted claiming exclusivity for cultural explanations, and he explicitly allowed for the possibility that alternative grand theories could hold a piece of the truth; cultural, rational choice, institutional, and geographic explanations need not rule out one another. Given that these grand theories are usually meant to be mutually exclusive, his view is apparently self-contradictory. Nonetheless, it provides a valuable service in preventing theoretical tunnel vision that leaves us unprepared for unexpected events.