Rent 9780321391315 | Understanding the Political World : A Comparative Introduction to Political Science

Summary Table of Contents

Students value the book' s relevance to their experience of today' s world, its engaging, personal writing style, and the many intriguing examples (including more than 60 found in boxed discussions) from every part of the world, making concepts more vivid and memorable. The numerous political cartoons, compelling photographs, maps, and analytic diagrams effectively sustain students' interest and elaborate on key concepts. Instructors appreciate the book' s comprehensive coverage of key theories and concepts and the logical manner in which it ex... MORE

Preface	p. xii
To the Reader	p. xvii
About the Author	p. xviii
On Knowing the Political World
Politics and Knowledge	p. 3
On Politics	p. 3
Types of Political Knowledge	p. 4
Description	p. 7
Explanation	p. 8
Prescription	p. 8
Sources of Political Knowledge	p. 9
... MOREAuthority	p. 9
Personal Thought	p. 12
Science	p. 13
Political Science	p. 14
Political "Science"?	p. 18
Criticisms of Political Science as a "Science"	p. 18
Political Science as a Means of Understanding the Political World	p. 20
Where Is This Book Going?	p. 21
Political Behavior
Political Theory and Political Beliefs	p. 25
Normative Political Theory	p. 26
Thomas Hobbes	p. 26
Political Ideology	p. 27
Conservatism	p. 28
Classical Liberalism	p. 30
Socialism	p. 31
Some Further Points About "Isms"	p. 35
Individual Political Beliefs	p. 38
Types of Orientations	p. 39
Identifying Specific Beliefs	p. 40
Belief Systems	p. 41
Belief Systems Among Mass Publics	p. 42
Belief Systems Among Elites	p. 43
Political Culture	p. 44
National Character Studies	p. 44
Survey Research	p. 45
Looking Ahead	p. 48
Political Actions	p. 53
Individual Political Actions	p. 54
Modes of Political Activity	p. 54
Political Activists	p. 56
Political Participation Studies	p. 58
Group Political Actions	p. 62
Political Interest Groups	p. 63
Activities of Political Interest Groups	p. 63
Constraints on a Group's Behavior	p. 66
Types of Interest Groups	p. 69
Political Parties	p. 71
Activities of Political Parties	p. 71
Doing Politics	p. 75
Influences on Beliefs and Actions	p. 83
The Environment	p. 84
Agents of Political Socialization	p. 87
The Family	p. 87
The Schools	p. 88
Peer Groups	p. 89
The Media and Culture	p. 92
Events	p. 96
Personal Characteristics	p. 96
Political "Personality"	p. 102
Personality	p. 102
Human Nature	p. 105
Concluding Observations	p. 105
Political Systems
States and Nations	p. 111
The State	p. 111
A Legal Definition	p. 112
A Structural-Functional Definition	p. 115
The Domain of State Action	p. 118
The Nation	p. 120
The Political System	p. 124
Systems in General	p. 124
The Political System Defined	p. 125
Conceptualization of the Political System	p. 129
System Persistence	p. 131
The Utility of the Political Systems Approach	p. 135
Three Major Concepts: A Reprise	p. 135
Political Institutions I: Structures	p. 141
The Legislature	p. 142
Roles of the Legislature	p. 142
Structural Arrangements	p. 145
The Decline of Legislatures	p. 146
Executives	p. 149
Roles of Executives	p. 150
Structural Arrangements	p. 151
The Age of the Executive?	p. 154
The Administration	p. 154
Bureaucracy as One Form of Administration	p. 155
Administrative Functions and Power	p. 157
The Judiciary	p. 158
Aspects of Adjudication	p. 158
Judicial Structures	p. 159
Concluding Observations	p. 161
Political Institutions II: Institutional Arrangements	p. 169
Broad Taxonomies	p. 170
Democracies and Nondemocracies	p. 170
Defining Democracy	p. 172
Defining Nondemocracies	p. 178
A Democracy-Nondemocracy Continuum	p. 179
Constitutional and Nonconstitutional Regimes	p. 184
Constitutions	p. 184
Constitutional Regimes	p. 187
Nonconstitutional Regimes	p. 187
Areal Distribution of Power	p. 188
Unitary State	p. 188
Federation	p. 188
Confederation	p. 190
Forms of Executive-Legislative Relations	p. 191
Presidential Government	p. 191
Parliamentary (Cabinet) Government	p. 192
Hybrid Systems	p. 194
Council Systems	p. 196
Assembly Systems	p. 196
Which Form Is Optimal?	p. 197
Political Party Systems	p. 197
Two-Party Systems	p. 198
Multiparty Systems	p. 199
Dominant-Party Systems	p. 202
One-Party Systems	p. 202
No-Party Systems	p. 203
Classification and Clarity	p. 203
Political Economy	p. 209
Politics and Economics	p. 209
A Political-Economic Framework	p. 210
Factors, Firms, and Households/Consumers	p. 210
Getting and Spending	p. 213
The State Joins In	p. 214
The World Joins In	p. 215
The Grand Total	p. 216
Two Ideal-Type Political Economies	p. 216
The Market Economy: Total Private Control	p. 219
The Command Economy: Total State Control	p. 222
Key Problems for Each Ideal-Type Political Economy	p. 223
Market Economy	p. 224
Command Economy	p. 224
The Mixed Economy	p. 225
Politics Plus Political Economy: The Other "Isms"	p. 226
The Three "Isms"	p. 226
The Real World	p. 228
Concluding Observations	p. 231
Political Processes
Public Policy, Power, and Decision	p. 237
Public Policy	p. 237
Taxonomies of Public Policies	p. 238
Analysis of the Stages of the Policy Process	p. 240
Policy Impact Analysis	p. 241
Explaining Public Policy Decision Making	p. 242
The Elite Approach	p. 243
Key Concepts	p. 243
Major Theorists	p. 244
The Public Policy Process	p. 244
The Prevalence of Elite-Based Political Systems	p. 245
The Class Approach	p. 247
The Public Policy Process	p. 249
The Group Approach	p. 250
The Policy Making Process	p. 251
The Three Approaches Compared	p. 254
Which Approach Is Correct?	p. 254
Essential Similarities and Differences	p. 255
Change and Political Development	p. 261
Change	p. 262
Development	p. 263
Characteristics of "More Developed" Human Systems	p. 263
The Process of Development	p. 264
The Dynamics of Economic Development	p. 269
Political Development	p. 276
Characteristics of Political Development	p. 276
The Process of Political Development	p. 277
Political Development as Democratization	p. 281
Political Institutionalization and Political Decay	p. 282
Achieving Political Development	p. 284
World of Changes	p. 285
Politics Across Borders	p. 291
The Goals of States	p. 292
Realist and Idealist Perspectives on the State's "Motives"	p. 292
Major Goals	p. 293
Mechanisms of Cooperation Between States	p. 295
Diplomacy and Interstate Agreements	p. 295
International Law	p. 299
International Organizations	p. 300
Competition Among States	p. 307
Balance of Power	p. 307
Balance of Terror	p. 309
Domination and Dependence	p. 310
Globalization?	p. 314
Competition in the Globalized World	p. 318
Political Violence	p. 325
Violence	p. 326
Political Society	p. 327
Types of Political Violence	p. 327
State Violence Against Individuals or Groups	p. 328
Individual Violence Against an Individual	p. 329
Group Violence Against an Individual	p. 330
Group Violence Against a Group	p. 333
Individual or Group Violence Against the State	p. 337
Use of Force Between States	p. 343
War	p. 344
What Causes War?	p. 348
Evaluating Political Violence: Means and Ends	p. 351
Politics Among States
The Developed Countries	p. 359
An Introduction to the Next Three Chapters: Grouping the States in the Contemporary World	p. 359
The Developed Countries of the Global North	p. 360
The Developing Countries of the Global South	p. 361
The Transitional Developed Countries	p. 361
Images of the Developed Countries	p. 362
Political Culture	p. 364
Goal: Prosperity	p. 366
Mixed Economy	p. 366
Performance	p. 369
Challenges	p. 371
Goal: Stability	p. 376
Political Institutionalization	p. 376
Order Maintenance	p. 378
Challenges to Stability	p. 380
Goal: Security	p. 384
The Era of Colonialism	p. 385
The Cold War Period	p. 385
Challenges to Security in the Post-Cold War Period	p. 386
The Developed Countries Overall	p. 387
The Developing Countries	p. 393
Images of the Developing World	p. 393
Developmental Classification	p. 393
Regional Classification	p. 394
Goal: Prosperity	p. 398
Obstacles to Prosperity	p. 400
The Quest for Prosperity: Strategic Choices	p. 404
Current Outcomes	p. 411
Prognosis	p. 416
Goal: Security	p. 416
Interstate Violence	p. 416
Economic Security	p. 420
Goal: Stability	p. 421
Challenges to Political System Effectiveness	p. 421
The Decline of Political Order	p. 422
Democratization	p. 425
Political Approaches	p. 427
Concluding Observations: It's Getting Better all the Time(?)	p. 431
The Transitional Developed Countries	p. 437
The Postcommunist Developed Countries	p. 437
Political Culture	p. 439
Under Communism	p. 439
Postcommunism	p. 440
Goal: Prosperity	p. 440
Under Communism	p. 440
Postcommunism	p. 441
Goal: Stability	p. 447
Under Communism	p. 447
Postcommunism	p. 451
Goal: Security	p. 456
Under Communism	p. 456
Postcommunism	p. 457
The Newly Industrializing Countries	p. 457
Political Culture	p. 458
Goal: Prosperity	p. 459
Goal: Stability	p. 465
Goal: Security	p. 466
The Future of the Transitional Developed Countries	p. 467
The Postcommunist Developed Countries	p. 467
The NICs	p. 468
Next?	p. 468
The Last Chapter: Looking Backward, Looking Forward	p. 473
Political Outputs	p. 474
Political Structures	p. 475
Political Processes	p. 475
Political Change	p. 476
Direction	p. 476
Rate	p. 476
Controllability	p. 477
Into the Twenty-First Century: Understanding and Action	p. 477
The Quest for Harmony with Our Technology	p. 477
The Quest for Harmony with Planet Earth	p. 478
The Quest for Harmony with One Another	p. 484
Choosing a Future	p. 484
Political Analysis	p. 487
Glossary	p. 501
References	p. 511
Credits	p. 521
Index	p. 522
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