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The paper addresses the problem of explanation in comparative politics. Accepting the principles of methodological individualism, the analysis equates social mechanism with the general class of explanatory principles. Successful explanations join social mechanisms with rigorous empirical analyses. Advances in statistical modeling allow the application of these methods of detailing and defending the validity of the empirical claims to complex, reciprocal, and multi-level political phenomena, the stuff of comparative politics. The paper illustrates these general principles. It offers theoretical support for reciprocal political influence in households and it tests this interpretation against alternative social mechanisms, matters of importance in the politics of Germany and Britain, and it employs appropriate statistical methods to model these complex reciprocal relationships. More generally, seeking to demonstrate the power of the explanation offered -and not just to offer a plausible account or a story in line with theoretical principles the explanatory power of its claims -the analysis insists on the need of both social mechanisms and rigorous empirical tests. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]