An increasing number of studies that analyses cases from different contexts (e.g. cross-culture studies) use fuzzy-set methods (fsQCA). Analyses of cases from different contexts actualize questions about the importance of contexts and contextual effects. The possibilities and limitations to analyze contextual effects with fsQCA have only rarely attracted attention in previous discussions. One exception is the methodological innovation of Comparative Multilevel Analysis (CMA), which presents a methodology for analyzing contextual effects with few cases (Denk 2010; Denk 2011). Previous studies on CMA have illustrated how it is possible to combine CMA with traditional methods (e.g. MDSD/MSSD) as well as with csQCA. This paper builds on these works of CMA, and illustrates how CMA combined with fsQCA provides opportunities for analyzing contextual effects in multilevel models. Further, the paper also presents how the issue of interdependence (dependent cases) can be handled when fsQCA is used for analyses of contextual effects in multilevel models. Interdependence is both a problem to deal with and a challenge to analyze when comparative multilevel analyses are conducted, but is marginal discussed in relation to QCA. With this, the paper addresses two central questions (multilevel modeling and interdependence) for the future developments of fsQCA.
