Illustrations and features
Preface
Guide to learning features
Guide to spotlight feature
Guide to the website
1 Key concepts
Key concepts: an overview
Government and governance
Politics
Power
The state, authority, and legitimacy
Ideology
Comparative politics
Classifying political systems
2 The state
The state: an overview
What is a state?
Emergence of the state system
The expansion of states
The diversity of states
Nations and nationalism
Challenges to the state
3 Democratic rule
Democratic rule: an overview
Direct democracy
Representative democracy
Liberal democracy
Democracy and modernization
Waves of democracy
Democratization
4 Authoritarian rule
Authoritarian rule: an overview
Hybrid regimes
Authoritarian regimes
Forms of authoritarian rule
The political impact of corruption
5 Theoretical approaches
Theoretical approaches: an overview
The changing face of comparative politics
The institutional approach
The behavioural approach
The structural approach
The rational choice approach
The interpretive approach
6 Comparing government and politics
Comparing government and politics: an overview
Comparative research methods
Case study method
Qualitative method
Quantitative method
The challenges of comparison
Historical method
7 Constitutions and courts
Constitutions and courts: an overview
The character of constitutions
The durability of constitutions
The role of courts
Judicial activism
Judicialindependenceand recruitment
Systems of law
Constitutions and courts in authoritarian states
8 Legislatures
Legislatures: an overview
Functions
Structure
Members
Legislatures in authoritarian states
9 Executives
Executives: an overview
Presidential executives
Parliamentary executives
Semi-presidential executives
Executives in authoritarian states
10 Bureaucracies
Bureaucracies: an overview
Evolution
Organization
Recruitment
New public management
E-government
Bureaucracies in authoritarian states
11 Sub-national government
Sub-national government: an overview
Multilevel governance
Unitary systems
Federal systems
Comparing unitary and federal systems
Local government
Sub-national government in authoritarian states
12 Political culture
Political culture: an overview
The civic culture
Political trust and social capital
Elite political culture
Post-materialism
Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations
Political culture in authoritarian states
13 Political participation
Political participation: an overview
Who participates, and why?
Public opinion
Women and political participation
Participation in authoritarian states
14 Political communication
Political communication: an overview
Media development
Media influence
Recent trends in political communication
Comparing media outlets
Political communication in authoritarian states
15 Political parties
Political parties: an overview
Origins and roles
Party systems
Party organization
Party membership
Party finance
Political parties in authoritarian states
16 Elections
Elections: an overview
Electing legislatures
Electing presidents
Election campaigns
Referendums, initiatives, and recalls
Elections in authoritarian states
17 Voters
Voters: an overview
Party identification
How voters choose
Voter turnout
Voters in authoritarian states
18 Interest groups
Interest groups: an overview
Types of interest group
The dynamics of interest groups
Channels of influence
Ingredients of influence
Social movements
Interest groups in authoritarian states
19 Public policy
Public policy: an overview
Models of the policy process
The policy cycle
Policy diffusion and convergence
Public policy in authoritarian states
References
Index