Politics (Canadian Edition): An Introduction to the Modern Democratic State, Third Edition - Softcover

Johnston, Larry W.

9781551116228: Politics (Canadian Edition): An Introduction to the Modern Democratic State, Third Edition

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551116227 ISBN 13: 9781551116228

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division, 2007

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Politics offers a comprehensive, comparative, and interdisciplinary approach to the essential components of democratic politics in today's states. The book begins by addressing ways of thinking about politics, community, and society. Broad outlines of political theory are sketched; political ideas are treated by moving from an introduction, to political philosophers and their particular historical contexts, to the working out of their ideas in practical form as ideologies, and finally to the diffusion of political ideas within the culture of mass society. The institutions of constitutional government and the processes of electoral democracy are also covered.

A special effort has been made to explore alternative features such as proportional representation, multi-party systems, and coalition government, as well as the variations of presidentialism, federalism, and direct democracy. A section on the nature of governing examines the public policy process, the evolving role of the courts in interpreting and reviewing policy, and the economic and social policies associated with the welfare state and its dismantlement. The book concludes by critically considering the unique political and demographic situation of the world’s liberal democracies and the privileged economic position they occupy in the face of globalization, modernization, and technological transformation.

Updated to reflect recent developments in North American elections and world events, Politics continues to provide students of political science with a foundation for future study within the discipline and the tools for a more informed practice of democratic citizenship.

Politics is accompanied by a free CD-ROM for instructors that contains test questions and answers for each chapter of the book (approximately 300 questions in total).

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About the Author

Larry Johnston is the author of Ideologies: An Analytic and Conceptual Approach (1996) and Between Transcendence and Nihilism (1995). A legislative researcher in Toronto since 1998, he was an academic consultant to the Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform in 2006. He has taught a variety of politics courses at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and Ryerson University.

Review

Among the real strengths of this book is that it is one of the few that introduces students to the discipline by providing a well-written introduction to the conceptual apparatus of our political world. It is an excellent balance between the ideas and theories that animate politics and the political institutions that support democratic ideals. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants an engaging theoretical introduction to the study of politics.

(Jonathan Rose, Queen's University)

Larry Johnston’s third edition of Politics is easily one of the best introductions to political studies written in the last decade. It combines comprehensiveness, thoroughness, and accessibility with a nuanced style and a touch of interdisciplinarity. Among highlights, the first five chapters provide a superb introduction to the basic methodological, conceptual, and historical tools students need.

(Dimitrios Karmis, University of Ottawa)

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