Introduction to Comparative Politics : Political Challenges and Changing Agendas - Softcover

Mark Kesselman Joel Krieger William A. Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0395937043 ISBN 13: 9780395937044

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999

Synopsis

Introduction to Comparative Politics offers accessible material for an introductory comparative politics course. Edited by a highly respected team of scholars, each of the text's twelve country studies is written by an expert in the field.

Four innovative themes, each with a specific focus, form the framework of the text: The World of States, Governing the Economy, The Democratic Idea, and The Politics of Collective Identities.

• A classification system focuses on levels of democracy, including established, transitional, and non-democracies.
• A chapter on the United States follows the same lines of comparison as those on other countries.
• Every chapter includes four to six sidebars, which focus on different subjects, including leaders, citizen action, institutional intricacies, current challenges, and global connections.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Kesselman is senior editor of the International Political Science Review and professor emeritus of political science at Columbia University. His research focuses on the political economy of French and European politics. His publications include The Ambiguous Consensus (1967), The French Workers Movement (1984), The Politics of Globalization: A Reader (2012), and The Politics of Power (2013). His articles have appeared in The American Political Science Review, World Politics, and Comparative Politics.

Review

"To me, what makes this textbook unique is its well-chosen case studies. It provides a very balanced survey of different regime types, and different socio-economic development levels. I also like the fact that it provides a very appropriate level of coverage of the political, social, and economic features of various countries."

"I love the leaders/profiles feature. They provide interesting bits of information about the leaders. Many students also find this section interesting."

"[What makes this book unique and distinctive is the]..notion of historical junctures and political themes. I really like this element with regard to this text. In addition, I like how the authors include a section about ways in which these political systems are in transition... "

"...this text takes a country-by-country approach in covering the topic of comparative politics, its consistency allows instructors and students to move between chapters and compare and contrast similar and dissimilar systems of government, which is the main purpose of comparative politics."

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0395937043
• ISBN 13: 9780395937044
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2