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Principles of Comparative Politics - International Student Edition
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Principles of Comparative Politics - International Student Edition

Fourth Edition

Other Titles in:
Comparative Politics

October 2024 | 768 pages | CQ Press
Principles of Comparative Politics offers a view into the rich world of comparative inquiry, research, and scholarship. This groundbreaking text gives students meaningful insight into how cross-national comparison is actually conducted and why it matters. William R. Clark, Matt Golder, and Sona N. Golder walk us through the enduring questions that scholars grapple with, the issues about which consensus has started to emerge, and the tools comparativists use to analyze the complex and interesting problems at the heart of the field.
 
The thoroughly revised Fourth Edition includes streamlined discussion and analysis of key topics and theories in the field.
 
1. Introduction
Political Ideology

 
Overview of the Book

 
 
2. What Is Science?
What Is Science?

 
The Scientific Method

 
An Introduction to Logic

 
Myths about Science

 
Conclusion

 
 
3. What Is Politics?
The Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Game

 
Solving the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Game

 
Evaluating the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Game

 
Conclusion

 
Preparation for the Problems

 
 
4. The Origins of the Modern State
What Is the State?

 
The Social Contract View of the State

 
The Predatory View of the State

 
Conclusion

 
Preparation for the Problems

 
 
5. Democracy and Dictatorship: Conceptualization and Measurement
Early Democracy versus Modern Democracy

 
Classifying Democracies and Dictatorships

 
Conclusion

 
 
6. The Economic Determinants of Democracy and Dictatorship
A Brief Overview of Modernization Theory

 
Income and Democracy

 
Modernization Theory and Democracy

 
The Conditionality of Modernization Theory

 
Inequality and Democracy

 
Conclusion

 
 
7. The Cultural Determinants of Democracy and Dictatorship
Classical Cultural Arguments: Mill and Montesquieu

 
Does Democracy Require a Civic Culture?

 
Are Some Religions Incompatible with Democracy?

 
Theorizing about Culture

 
Conclusion

 
 
8. Democratic Transitions
Bottom-Up Transitions to Democracy

 
Top-Down Transitions to Democracy

 
Conclusion

 
Preparation for Problems Dealing with Incomplete Information Games

 
 
9. Varieties of Dictatorship
A Common Typology of Authoritarian Regimes

 
The Two Fundamental Problems of Authoritarian Rule

 
Selectorate Theory

 
Conclusion

 
 
10. Problems with Group Decision Making
Problems with Group Decision Making

 
Arrow’s Theorem

 
Conclusion

 
 
11. Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Democracies
Classifying Democracies

 
Governments in Parliamentary Democracies

 
Governments in Presidential Democracies

 
Governments in Semi-Presidential Democracies

 
A Unifying Framework: Principal-Agent and Delegation Problems

 
Conclusion

 
 
12. Elections and Electoral Systems
Elections and Electoral Integrity

 
Electoral Systems

 
Legislative Electoral System Choice

 
Conclusion

 
 
13. Parties, Party Systems, and Party Competition
Political Parties: What Are They, and What Do They Do?

 
Party Systems

 
Types of Political Parties

 
The Number of Political Parties

 
Party Competition

 
Conclusion

 
 
14. Institutional Veto Players
Federalism

 
Bicameralism

 
Constitutionalism

 
Veto Players

 
Conclusion

 
 
15. Consequences of Democratic Institutions
Majoritarian or Consensus Democracy?

 
The Effect of Political Institutions on Fiscal Policy

 
Electoral Laws, Federalism, and Ethnic Conflict

 
Presidentialism and Democratic Survival

 
Conclusion

 

This book provides an excellent introduction to the science of comparative politics. The authors have expertly crafted a thematic arrangement of topics that provides students with a cutting-edge introduction to the state of our discipline. The book really has few peers in this regard.

Christopher Hale
University of Alabama

The best textbook in comparative politics.

Thiago Silva
Texas A&M University

A scientific approach to the study of comparative politics. It is a book on comparative political *science* rather than a book that simply describes politics in other countries.

Robin E. Best
Binghamton University (SUNY)

For instructors

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ISBN: 9781071852538
£133.00