workers’ politics in Benxi; 2) the overall shape of workers’ politics in Northeastern
China; 3) aspects of workers’ politics in China as a whole; 4) more general dynamics of
politics and society in Northeastern China; 5) comparative insights into analogous
regions in other national contexts (e.g. the Urals, the U.S. Great Lakes, Northwest
England, etc.).
By applying this method, particularly to large heterogeneous countries, the
researcher is able to maximize advantages of micro-level empirical research along with
measured generalization. In short, rather than missing the forest for the trees or assuming
that all the trees are the same without ever setting foot in the woods, subnational
comparison of this kind allows one to record very detailed observations about individual
tress, make generalizations about certain species or clusters of trees, and draw more
accurate maps of parts of the forest with an increasingly clear sense of just which parts of
the forest they are and how they resemble similar portions of other forests.
28
Convention