Introduction to Comparative Politics: Political Challenges and Changing Agendas
Author: Mark Kesselman
Written by a distinguished group of comparativists, this innovative and accessible introductory text surveys 12 key countries organized according to their level of political development: established democracies, transitional democracies, and non-democracies. The country studies illuminate four comparative themes in a global context: the world of states, examining the interaction of states within the international order; governing the economy, covering the role of the state in economic management; the democratic idea, discussing the pressure for more democracy and the challenges of democratization; and the politics of collective identities, studying the political impact of diverse attachments and sources of group identity.
The theoretical framework developed in an expanded introduction provides a rich context for each country study, and clear prose makes the book accessible to students with little or no background in political science. Students will also benefit from the data sheet at the beginning of each chapter that includes basic demographic, socioeconomic, and political information, to aid in country comparisons. In addition, they can use the Geographic Setting sections in each chapter, as well as maps, tables, charts, photographs, and political cartoons to further their understanding of each country studied.
- New! Updated content includes coverage of recent events such as the May 2005 general election in Britain and the referendum in France.
- New! Civil liberties, security, political conflict, political identities and military policy are considered in the context of a post-September 11 world.
- All 12 country studies, as well as five additionalstudies, are available in an online database. Instructors may choose from among these chapters (a minimum of 7) to create a customized text. Recent additions to the database include studies of East-Central Europe, South Africa, Indonesia, Turkey, and Cuba.
- Key terms appear as bold in the text and a glossary at the end defines key concepts in comparative politics. In addition, an appendix explains the Human Development Index.
Table of Contents:
Contents- I. Introduction
- 1. Introducing Comparative Politics (Mark Kesselman, Joel Krieger, and William Joseph)
- The Global Challenge of Comparative Politics
- What—and How—Comparative Politics Compares
- Themes for Comparative Analysis
- Classifying Political Systems
- Organization of the Text
- II. Consolidated Democracies
- 2. Britain (Joel Krieger)
- The Making of the Modern British State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- British Politics in Transition
- 3. France (Mark Kesselman)
- The Making of the Modern French State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- French Politics in Transition
- 4. Germany (Christopher S. Allen)
- The Making of the Modern German State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- German Politics in Transition
- 5. Japan (Shigeko N. Fukai and Haruhiro Fukui)
- The Making of the Modern Japanese State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- Japanese Politics in Transition
- 6. India (Atul Kohli and Amrita Basu)
- The Making of the Modern Indian State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- Indian Politics in Transition
- 7. The United States (Louis DeSipio)
- The Making of the Modern American State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- United States Politics in Transition
- III. TransitionalDemocracies
- 8. Russia (Joan DeBardeleben)
- The Making of the Modern Russian State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- Russian Politics in Transition
- 9. Brazil (Alfred P. Montero)
- The Making of the Modern Brazilian State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- Brazilian Politics in Transition
- 10. Mexico (Merilee S. Grindle)
- The Making of the Modern Mexican State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- Mexican Politics in Transition
- 11. Nigeria (Darren Kew and Peter Lewis)
- The Making of the Modern Nigerian State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- Nigerian Politics in Transition
- IV Authoritarian Regimes
- 12. Iran (Ervand Abrahamian)
- The Making of the Modern Iranian State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- Iranian Politics in Transition
- 13. China (William A. Joseph)
- The Making of the Modern Chinese State
- Political Economy and Development
- Governance and Policy-Making
- Representation and Participation
- Chinese Politics in Transition
- The Global Challenge of Comparative Politics
Book review: Economia oggi
Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq
Author: Ahmed S Hashim
More than two years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a loosely organized insurgency continues to target American and Coalition soldiers, as well as Iraqi security forces and civilians, with devastating results. In this sobering account of the ongoing violence, Ahmed Hashim, a specialist on Middle Eastern strategic issues and on irregular warfare, reveals the insurgents behind the widespread revolt, their motives, and their tactics. The insurgency, he shows, is not a united movement directed by a leadership with a single ideological vision. Instead, it involves former regime loyalists, Iraqis resentful of foreign occupation, foreign and domestic Islamist extremists, and elements of organized crime. These groups have cooperated with one another in the past and coordinated their attacks; but the alliance between nationalist Iraqi insurgents on the one hand and religious extremists has frayed considerably. The U.S.-led offensive to retake Fallujah in November 2004 and the success of the elections for the Iraqi National Assembly in January 2005 have led more "mainstream" insurgent groups to begin thinking of reinforcing the political arm of their opposition movement and to seek political guarantees for the Sunni Arab community in the new Iraq.
Hashim begins by placing the Iraqi revolt in its historical context. He next profiles the various insurgent groups, detailing their origins, aims, and operational and tactical modi operandi. He concludes with an unusually candid assessment of the successes and failures of the Coalition's counter-insurgency campaign. Looking ahead, Hashim warns that ethnic and sectarian groups may soon be pitted against one another in what will be a fiercely contested fight over who gets what in the new Iraq. Evidence that such a conflict is already developing does not augur well for Iraq's future stability. Both Iraq and the United States must work hard to ensure that slow but steady success over the insurgency is not overshadowed by growing ethno-sectarian animosities as various groups fight one another for the biggest slice of the political and economic pie.
In place of sensational headlines, official triumphalism, and hand-wringing, Insurgency and Counter-insurgency in Iraq offers a clear-eyed analysis of the increasingly complex violence that threatens the very future of Iraq.
Author Bio:Ahmed S. Hashim is Professor of Strategic Studies at the U.S. Naval War College. His previous books include Iran: Dilemmas of Dual Containment and Iraq: Sanctions and Beyond, both written with Anthony H. Cordesman.
Library Journal
Hashim (strategic studies, U.S. Naval War Coll.; Iran: Dilemmas of Dual Containment) has written a much-needed assessment of the Iraqi insurgency. He has spent several months in Iraq from 2003 through 2005; his interviews and experiences there, combined with his use of primary sources, including a range of newspaper and Internet references, have resulted in a compelling account of the socioeconomic factors that spur the insurgency as well as the problems, both political and strategic, that have fed its growth and hampered U.S. counterinsurgency efforts. Hashim has succeeded in putting together an analysis of the violent situation in Iraq that avoids ideological posturing: his analysis is productive, and his intent is to explain rather than to proselytize. One regrettable omission: in a book covering people and organizations not likely to be familiar to all readers, a glossary would have been helpful. Highly recommended for all libraries with military collections and/or collections on current international affairs. John Russell, Georgia State Univ. Lib., Atlanta Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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