For freshman/sophomore-level courses in Comparative Politics, World Politics, as well as Introduction to Politics with a comparative focus. Written in aclear, jargon-free style, Comparative Politics emphasizes political institutions and behavior-rather than on abstract conceptual frameworks. This approach makes the text more accessible to introductory students than most other texts on comparative politics. It features both a cross-national approach which focuses helping students develop develop a comparative understanding of the types of institutions (e.g., constitutions, executives, legislatures, political parties, etc.)-as well as a country-by-country approach that examines those institutions within the contexts of eight different countries. This approach allows students to develop the ability to look how all the "pieces" fit together in various countries.

Table of Contents

I. Comparative Political Analysis: An Introduction II. Constitutions and Ideologies III. Political and Economic Development IV. Legislatures and Legislative Structures V. The Executive VI. Judiciaries and the Legal Order VII. Interest Groups, Political Parties VIII. The Individual and the Political Environment Part II: Area Studies IX. The British Political System X. The French Political System XI. The German Political System XII. The Japanese Political System XIII. The Mexican Political System XIV. The Nigerian Political System XV. The Russian Political System XVI. The Indian Political System XVII. Comparative Political Analysis: A Concluding Perspective