Comparative practices are integral to global security politics. The balance of power politics, status competitions and global security governance would be possible without them. Yet, they are rarely treated as the main object of study.

Exploring the varied uses of comparisons, this book addresses three key questions:

• How is comparative knowledge produced?
• How does it become politically relevant?
• How do comparative practices shape security politics?

This book makes a bold, new step in uniting disparate streams of research to show how comparative practices order governance processes and modulate competitive dynamics in world politics.