Politics: An Introduction

Politics: An Introduction offers an accessible, comprehensive entry into political studies. Taking a comparative approach, authors George MacLean and Duncan Wood explore some essential questions of politics: Who has power in society, and why? Why is conflict so prevalent in the world today? How is wealth distributed, and why does such inequality exist? The text emphasizes Canadian content while maintaining an international scope, and ties theory to practice with current examples from Canada and around the world.

Beginning with a look at the fundamental nature of politics and the field of political studies, students are guided through the basics of ideology and institutions of political studies before they are introduced to more complex topics. These subject areas include the importance of government, political systems, political participation and culture, and a 'case study' look at politics in 'developed' and 'developing' states.

The final section of the book takes the study of politics to the world stage, examining the nature of the international system, the complicated issue of global insecurity, and the dynamics of international political economy. The last chapter covers applications and options for students in politics, responding to the important question, Where do we go from here?

George MacLean is Professor and Department Head of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of Clinton's Foreign Policy in Russia, co-author of Introduction to Politics: Power, Participation, and the Distribution of Wealth (with Duncan Wood), co-editor of Ideas, Interests, and Issues, and editor of Canada and the United States: A Relationship at a Crossroads? and Between Actor and Presence: The European Union and the Future for the Transatlantic Relationship. His articles on international relations, foreign policy, international political economy, and security have been widely published in journals and periodicals.

Duncan Wood is Professor, Director of the Program in International Relations, and Director of the Canadian Studies Program at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City. He is also a researcher in the Centro de Derecho Economico Internacional (CDEI) at ITAM. His research focuses on the reform of the Mexican energy sector, Latin American energy policy, migration and remittances, the political economy of international finance, Canadian and Mexican foreign policy, and Canada-Mexico relations. He has published on banking supervision, North American relations, Latin American oil companies, and Mexican migration.