Central to this paper is the notion that the concepts and methods of comparative politics can shine light on political factors important for catalysing positive change on the governance climate change adaptation and food security in the developing world. I first introduce comparative politics, including discussion of epistemological and methodological issues, before reviewing three salient groups of political and economic factors identified by the comparative politics literature—institutions, ideas and interests—as well as highlighting the important relationship between international and domestic politics. Such organization is important because it draws attention to important gaps in the existing climate change adaptation and food security literature, which tends towards a form of normative analysis that
privileges institutions. The paper closes by making five recommendations for CCAFS future research.
