Introducing Comparative Politics; The Essentials

For Introducing Comparative Politics: The Essentials, the driving force is the pluralist, objective stance on introducing students to core concepts in Comparative Politics. The authors introduce key comparative questions while providing equal strengths and weaknesses of commonly debated theories, structures, and beliefs that push students beyond memorization of country profiles and ever-changing statistics and generate in-class debate over key concepts used in the science of comparative politics. While detailed case studies can go in-depth on specific countries and political systems, Introducing Comparative Politics: The Essentials, distills its country material into paragraph-long examples woven seamlessly into the narrative of the text, increasing diverse global awareness, current-event literacy, and critical-thinking skills.

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Stephen Orvis is Professor of Government at Hamilton College. He is a specialist on sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya in particular), identity politics, democratic transitions, and the political economy of development. He has been teaching introduction to comparative politics for more than twenty-five years, as well as courses on African politics, nationalism and the politics of identity, political economy of development, and weak states. He has written a book and articles on agricultural development in Kenya, as well as several articles on civil society in Africa and Kenya, and is currently doing research on political institutions in Africa.

Carol Ann Drogus is a retired Professor of Government at Hamilton College. She is a specialist on Brazil, religion, and women’s political participation. She taught introduction to comparative politics for more than twenty years, as well as courses on Latin American politics, gender and politics, and women in Latin America. She has written two books and numerous articles on the political participation of women in religious movements in Brazil.