9780878720811 - Comparative Political Systems: Political Processes in Developed and Developing States by Mclennan, Barbara N (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Good. Second printing [stated]. xii, 307 pages. Endpaper map. Tables. Charts. Maps. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Glossary of Abbreviations. Glossary of Concepts. Glossary of Names. Cover has some wear and soiling. Index. Number stamped in red on fep. Previous owners mailing label is on the fep, over a scuffed area. No dust jacket present. Barbara McLennan has published eight books and numerous magazine and journal articles on various political, economic, and historical subjects. For two years she contributed columns and articles on local customs and local history to NorthernNeckdotcom, a local on line newspaper serving the Rappahannock region of Virginia. She has served as docent at Jamestown Settlement, the living history museum that commemorates the founding of the first permanent English settlement in North America. There she provided lectures and information to visitors. She also has been a consultant and Visiting Professor at The College of William and Mary. Holding Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison), J.D. (Georgetown), and honorary D. Litt. (American Sentinel University) degrees, Barbara McLennan is a former professor, association executive and high level official in the United States Departments of Commerce and Treasury. Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the comparative method or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relating to political institutions, political behavior, conflict, and the causes and consequences of economic development. When applied to specific fields of study, comparative politics may be referred to by other names, such as comparative government (the comparative study of forms of government). Comparative politics is the systematic study and comparison of the diverse political systems in the world. It is comparative in searching to explain why different political systems have similarities or differences and how developmental changes came to be between them. It is systematic in that it looks for trends, patterns, and regularities among these political systems. The research field takes into account political systems throughout the globe, focusing on themes such as democratization, globalization, and integration. New theories and approaches have been used in political science in the last 40 years thanks to comparative politics. Some of these focus on political culture, dependency theory, developmentalism, corporatism, indigenous theories of change, comparative political economy, state-society relations, and new institutionalism. Some examples of comparative politics are studying the differences between presidential and parliamentary systems, democracies and dictatorships, parliamentary systems in different countries, multi-party systems such as Canada and two-party systems such as the United States. Comparative politics must be conducted at a specific point in time, usually the present. A researcher cannot compare systems from different periods of time; it must be static. While historically the discipline explored broad questions in political science through between-country comparisons, contemporary comparative political science primarily uses subnational comparisons. More recently, there has been a significant increase in the interest of subnational comparisons and the benefit it has on comparative politics. We would know far less about major credible issues within political science if it weren't for subnational research. Subnational research contributes important methodological, theoretical, and substantive ideas to the study of politics. Important developments often obscured by a national-level focus are easier to decipher through subnational research. An example could be regions inside countries where the presence of state institutions have been reduced in effect or value. Comparative politics is significant because it helps people understand the nature and working of political frameworks aro.