Principles of Comparative Politics
1st Edition
Published on 8. September 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
764 pages
978-0-87289-289-7 (ISBN)
Description
An introduction to comparative politics should be a window onto the real world of comparative inquiry, research, and scholarship. At last, a groundbreaking text gives students meaningful insight into how cross-national comparison is actually conducted, and why it matters: the enduring questions that scholars grapple with, the issues about which consensus has started to emerge, and the tools comparativists use to get at the complex and interesting problems at the heart of the field.
Beginning with a clear and straightforward discussion of the comparative and scientific methods, each chapter outlines the debates about the political phenomena that drive current research, such as state failure, the economic and cultural determinants of democracy, or the effects of regime type and electoral system.
The authors show students how comparativists construct and test theories, applying the principles of the scientific method and simple game theory to a wide variety of examples and cases. Students won't get lost in detail they'll never use or remember and instead learn exactly why the variations across institutional structures and functions are important.
The book's outstanding pedagogy includes:
Chapter opener overviews to summarize key points from the text;
Bolded key terms and a marginal glossary to help students identify and manage concepts;
Rich and comprehensive data, helpfully schematized in more than 250 tables and figures;
An excellent photo and map program to highlight the book's thematic and substantive goals;
End of chapter lists of key concepts, with page references;
End of chapter problem sets of 5-10 problems each to help students work through the comparative puzzles and game theory examples;
A comprehensive bibliography;
Appendix materials to support chapter problems as well as encourage further research.
Beginning with a clear and straightforward discussion of the comparative and scientific methods, each chapter outlines the debates about the political phenomena that drive current research, such as state failure, the economic and cultural determinants of democracy, or the effects of regime type and electoral system.
The authors show students how comparativists construct and test theories, applying the principles of the scientific method and simple game theory to a wide variety of examples and cases. Students won't get lost in detail they'll never use or remember and instead learn exactly why the variations across institutional structures and functions are important.
The book's outstanding pedagogy includes:
Chapter opener overviews to summarize key points from the text;
Bolded key terms and a marginal glossary to help students identify and manage concepts;
Rich and comprehensive data, helpfully schematized in more than 250 tables and figures;
An excellent photo and map program to highlight the book's thematic and substantive goals;
End of chapter lists of key concepts, with page references;
End of chapter problem sets of 5-10 problems each to help students work through the comparative puzzles and game theory examples;
A comprehensive bibliography;
Appendix materials to support chapter problems as well as encourage further research.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Washington
United States
Publishing group
SAGE Publications Inc
Target group
College/higher education
Weight
1334 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-87289-289-7 (9780872892897)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
William Roberts Clark | Matt Golder | Sona N. Golder
Principles of Comparative Politics
Book
05/2012
2nd Edition
CQ Press
€153.01
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
William Roberts Clark is head of the Department of Political Science at Texas A&M University and a fellow at the Institute for the Study of Religion at Baylor University. He is the author of Capitalism, Not Globalism, and his articles have appeared in American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, Political Analysis, and European Union Politics, among other journals. He has been teaching at a wide variety of public and private schools (William Paterson College, Rutgers University, Georgia Tech, Princeton, New York University, and the University of Michigan) for more than three decades. Matt Golder was previously assistant professor of political science at Florida State University. He is the author of articles which have appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, Electoral Studies, and Political Analysis among other journals. He has taught classes on comparative politics, advanced industrialized democracies, quantitative methods, and European politics at the University of Iowa, Florida State University, and the University of Essex. Sona Nadenichek Golder was previously assistant professor of political science at Florida State University. She is the author of The Logic of Pre-Electoral Coalition Formation, and has published articles in the British Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies, and European Union Politics. She teaches courses on European politics, democracies and dictatorships, comparative institutions, game theory, and comparative politics at Florida State University and was a Mentor-in-Residence for the 2007 Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models Summer Program at UCLA .
Content
Preface
List of Tables, Figures, and Boxes
List of Maps
Introduction
Overview of the Book
The Approach of this Book
Key Concepts
What is Science?
Introduction
The Comparative Method
An Introduction to Logic
Science and Falsificationism
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
What is Politics?
The Exit, Voice and Loyalty Game
Solving the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Game
Evaluating the Exit, Voice and Loyalty Game
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
The Origins of the Modern State
What is a State?
The Contractarian View of the State
The Predatory View of the State
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy
Democracy and Dictatorship in Historical Perspective
Classifying Democracies and Dictatorships
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
The Economic Determinants of Democracy
Classic Modernization Theory
A Variant of Modernization Theory
Some More Empirical Evidence
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Cultural Determinants of Democracy
Classical Cultural Arguments: Mill and Montesquieu
Does Democracy Require a Civic Culture?
Religion and Democracy
Experiments and Culture
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Democratic Transitions
Bottom-Up Transitions to Democracy
Top-Down Transitions to Democracy
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Does Democracy Make a Difference?
Introduction
The Effect of Regime Type on Government Performance
Selectorate Theory
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Group Decision-Making and Democracy
Condorcet's Paradox
Median Voter Theorem
Arrow's Theorem
Varieties of Democratic Institutions
Key Concepts
Exercises
Parliamentary, Presidential, and Mixed Democracies: Making and Breaking Governments
Introduction
Classifying Parliamentary, Presidential, and Mixed Democracies
Making and Breaking Governments: Parliamentary Democracies
Making and Breaking Governments: Presidential Democracies
Making and Breaking Governments: Mixed Democracies
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Elections and Electoral Systems
Introduction
Elections: An Overview
Proportional Electoral Systems
Mixed Electoral Systems
An Overview of Electoral Systems around the World
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Social Cleavages and Party Systems
Political Parties: What are they and what do
Party Systems
Where do Parties Come From?
Types of Parties: Social Cleavages and Political Identity Formation
Number of Parties: Duverger's Theory
Conclusion
Institutional Veto Players
Federalism
Bicameralism
Judicial Review
Veto Player Theory
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
The Effect of Varieties of Democracy
Representation
Economic Performance
Ethnic Conflict
Democratic Survival
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Bibliography
Glossary
Appendix
Index
List of Tables, Figures, and Boxes
List of Maps
Introduction
Overview of the Book
The Approach of this Book
Key Concepts
What is Science?
Introduction
The Comparative Method
An Introduction to Logic
Science and Falsificationism
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
What is Politics?
The Exit, Voice and Loyalty Game
Solving the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Game
Evaluating the Exit, Voice and Loyalty Game
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
The Origins of the Modern State
What is a State?
The Contractarian View of the State
The Predatory View of the State
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy
Democracy and Dictatorship in Historical Perspective
Classifying Democracies and Dictatorships
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
The Economic Determinants of Democracy
Classic Modernization Theory
A Variant of Modernization Theory
Some More Empirical Evidence
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Cultural Determinants of Democracy
Classical Cultural Arguments: Mill and Montesquieu
Does Democracy Require a Civic Culture?
Religion and Democracy
Experiments and Culture
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Democratic Transitions
Bottom-Up Transitions to Democracy
Top-Down Transitions to Democracy
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Does Democracy Make a Difference?
Introduction
The Effect of Regime Type on Government Performance
Selectorate Theory
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Group Decision-Making and Democracy
Condorcet's Paradox
Median Voter Theorem
Arrow's Theorem
Varieties of Democratic Institutions
Key Concepts
Exercises
Parliamentary, Presidential, and Mixed Democracies: Making and Breaking Governments
Introduction
Classifying Parliamentary, Presidential, and Mixed Democracies
Making and Breaking Governments: Parliamentary Democracies
Making and Breaking Governments: Presidential Democracies
Making and Breaking Governments: Mixed Democracies
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Elections and Electoral Systems
Introduction
Elections: An Overview
Proportional Electoral Systems
Mixed Electoral Systems
An Overview of Electoral Systems around the World
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Social Cleavages and Party Systems
Political Parties: What are they and what do
Party Systems
Where do Parties Come From?
Types of Parties: Social Cleavages and Political Identity Formation
Number of Parties: Duverger's Theory
Conclusion
Institutional Veto Players
Federalism
Bicameralism
Judicial Review
Veto Player Theory
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
The Effect of Varieties of Democracy
Representation
Economic Performance
Ethnic Conflict
Democratic Survival
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Exercises
Bibliography
Glossary
Appendix
Index