Use when deciding whether a research question fits Comparative Political Studies (CPS) and how to frame its comparative contribution. Tests comparative leverage and travel; it does not design the study or write the paper.
SkillScore82Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 9/1/2026
What it changes
Passed 18 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 3 of 22 without it.
Without skill14%
With skill82%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Uses bracketed tag 【Next】
Uses bracketed tag 【Venue check】
Uses bracketed tag 【Comparative puzzle】
and 9 more in the full report
18 fixed0 passed either way1 still failing3 broke
Pass-rate lift
+68 pp
Tokens
-1%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-34%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 9/1/2026v118 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 18 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 18
Prompt
I am analyzing why military coups succeed in some West African nations while failing in neighboring states with similar economic conditions. Assess this research proposal for CPS fit using six output fields.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Uses bracketed tag 【CP literature engaged】
Missed
Passed
Links the research question to comparative politics literature on regime durability
Passed
Passed
case-14 · gemini-3.6-flash · 9/1/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md80 linessingle file
Topic Selection & Comparative Fit (cps-topic-selection)
CPS publishes work in comparative politics — democratization & regimes, political institutions,
political behavior & participation, ethnic politics & conflict, comparative political economy, and
parties & elections — where the contribution is comparative in design or in the portability of the
claim. The first job is to confirm the question earns a place in a comparative-politics journal, not a
single-country area journal and not a general poli-sci flagship.
When to trigger
Choosing a question or deciding if CPS is the right venue
A draft reads as a single-country case with no comparative leverage
A reviewer or colleague said "this is interesting but why CPS / why comparative?"
Deciding whether a single case can carry a portable theoretical claim
The comparative-fit test (run all four)
Comparative leverage. What varies across your cases or over time, and does that variation
identify the claim? "Why do some countries/regions/periods do X while others do Y?" is the CPS
question form. A snapshot of one country at one time has none.
Travel. State the argument as a mechanism, then name a different region or regime type where it
should also operate. If it only makes sense in your one country, it is area studies, not CPS.
Comparative-politics stake. Connect to a live CP debate (regime durability, institutional design,
ethnic mobilization, redistribution, electoral behavior). A comparativist outside your region should
see why the answer matters.
Right venue. CPS is the comparative specialist — not the general flagship (APSR/AJPS), not IR
(World Politics / International Organization), not UK-general (British Journal of Political Science).
See the sibling guard below.
Framing priority (highest first)
A comparative puzzle with leverage — variation across cases/time that the design exploits.
A portable mechanism — a causal story another comparativist can carry to a new setting.
A measurement or conceptual advance that improves how a CP phenomenon is compared cross-nationally.
A reappraisal of a comparative regularity with new cases, data, or design.
(Weak) A single descriptive country study with no comparative or theoretical leverage.
Single-case work that still fits
A single case can fit if it is a case of something general: a hard/least-likely test of a comparative