Comparative Politics: Continuity and Breakdown in the Contemporary World

Comparative Politics: Continuity and Breakdown in the Contemporary World is an exciting new core text for introduction to comparative politics courses, focusing on the dynamics of politics: modernization, revolution, coups and democratization.

Unlike other texts, Comparative Politics integrates thematic and extensive country-specific material in each chapter, striking a unique balance between discussing a wide range of countries and civilizations in detail, whilst using shorter focused textboxes to clearly illustrate key thematic points.

Key features and benefits include:

• explanations of core concepts such as state, nation, regime, legitimacy, modernization, globalization, revolution, and mass movements
• an introduction of key theoretical approaches such as institutionalism, structural functionalism, political culture, political economy, and game theory
• detailed coverage of democratization, advanced democracies, developing countries and communist and post-communist states
• a range of perspectives to present a nuanced view of the discipline and contemporary political developments
• case studies of individual countries including Germany, the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria, Zaire/Congo, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Pakistan, India, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China
• country-focused textboxes giving a chronology of key developments, including the United Kingdom, France, Afghanistan, and Kosovo.

Extensively illustrated throughout with maps, photographs, tables and explanatory boxes, Comparative Politics is an innovative core text, and essential reading for all students of Comparative Politics.

Paul W. Zagorski is Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of the International Studies Program at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, USA.