McCormick John. Comparative Politics in Transition

Date: 2009-02-03
Format: PDF
Pages: 656
The book combines a thematic framework with a country-by-country approach to provide a truly thoughtful and effective introduction to Comparative Politics.
If you are reading this book, then chances are that you have enrolled in — or
are thinking about enrolling in — an introductory course on comparative poli-
tics or government. So what can you expect in this book and in the course?
The main goal of comparative politics is to study different political sys-
tems in order both to better understand the different ways in which people
are governed, and to make comparisons that will give us the reference points
that we need to help us better understand politics and government. As you
study the chapters that follow, you will read about the structures of govern-
ment, the different ways in which societies are governed, the channels through
which people take part in the political process, the pressures that bear on that
process, and the manner in which political decisions are reached and imple-
mented. You will read about presidents and prime ministers, parliaments and
congresses, democracies and dictatorships, constitutions and coups, peace
and war, elections and assassinations, and heroes and villains. In short, you
will be reading about all the elements that make up government in its many
different and intriguing forms around the world.