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Understanding the Political World : A Comparative Introduction to Political Science

ISBN: 9780801332968 | 0801332966
Edition: 5th
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Pub. Date: 6/1/2000

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SummaryTable of Contents
Understanding the Political World is a dynamic and accessible introduction to the fascinating world of politics and the ways in which political scientists attempt to describe and explain it. Using a strong comparative framework, the text links the central analytical concepts of political science that have emerged over decades of research to the realities of the political world of the early 21st century. With a highly-praised art program and lively boxed features, Understanding the Political World engages students as it encourages them to think like political scientists. The Fifth Edition has been thoroughly updated so that students have the information and tools they need to think about the challenges and opportunities facing our world today.
Boxed Featuresxiii
Prefacexv
To the Readerxix
About the Authorxxi
PART ONE On Knowing the Political World1(22)
... MOREPolitics and Knowledge
3(20)
On Politics
3(2)
Types of Political Knowledge
5(3)
Description
6(1)
Explanation
7(1)
Prescription
8(1)
Sources of Political Knowledge
8(5)
Authority
8(4)
Personal Thought
12(1)
Science
13(1)
Political Science
13(4)
Political ``Science''?
17(3)
Criticisms of Political Science as a ``Science''
17(2)
Political Science as a Means of Understanding the Political World
19(1)
Where Is This Book Going?
20(1)
For Further Consideration
21(1)
For Further Reading
21(2)
PART TWO Political Behavior23(76)
Political Beliefs
25(22)
Individual Political Beliefs
25(2)
Belief Systems
27(4)
Belief Systems among Mass Publics
28(2)
Belief Systems among Elites
30(1)
Political Culture
31(2)
National Character Studies
31(1)
Survey Research
32(1)
Political Ideology
33(11)
Key Issues
35(1)
Conservatism
36(1)
Classical Liberalism
37(2)
Socialism
39(2)
Some Further Points about ``Isms''
41(3)
Looking Ahead
44(1)
For Further Consideration
44(1)
For Further Reading
44(3)
Political Actions
47(24)
Individual Political Actions
48(6)
Modes of Political Activity
48(1)
Political Activists
49(2)
Political Participation Studies
51(3)
Group Political Actions
54(1)
Political Interest Groups
55(6)
Activities of Political Interest Groups
55(3)
Constraints on a Group's Behavior
58(1)
Types of Interest Groups
59(2)
Political Parties
61(4)
Activities of Political Parties
61(4)
Doing Politics
65(1)
For Further Consideration
65(4)
For Further Reading
69(2)
Influences on Beliefs and Actions
71(28)
The Environment
72(3)
Agents of Political Socialization
75(10)
The Family
75(1)
The Schools
76(2)
Peer Groups
78(1)
The Media and Culture
78(6)
Events
84(1)
Personal Traits
85(2)
Political ``Personality''
87(8)
Personality
89(5)
Human Nature
94(1)
Concluding Observations
95(2)
For Further Consideration
97(1)
For Further Reading
98(1)
PART THREE Political Systems99(110)
States and Nations
101(26)
The State
101(6)
A Legal Definition
102(1)
A Structural-Functional Definition
103(3)
The Domain of State Action
106(1)
The Nation
107(5)
The Political System
112(11)
Systems in General
112(1)
The Political System Defined
112(4)
Conceptualization of the Political System
116(3)
System Persistence
119(1)
The Utility of the Political Systems Approach
120(3)
Three Major Concepts: A Reprise
123(1)
For Further Consideration
124(1)
For Further Reading
124(3)
Political Institutions I: Structures
127(24)
The Legislature
128(8)
Roles of the Legislature
128(3)
Structural Arrangements
131(1)
The Decline of Legislatures
132(4)
Executives
136(4)
Roles of Executives
136(2)
Structural Arrangements
138(2)
The Age of the Executive?
140(1)
The Administration
140(4)
Bureaucracy as One Form of Administration
140(1)
Administrative Functions and Power
141(3)
The Judiciary
144(3)
Aspects of Adjudication
144(1)
Judicial Structures
145(2)
Concluding Observations
147(1)
For Further Consideration
147(1)
For Further Reading
148(3)
Political Institutions II: Institutional Arrangements
151(34)
Broad Taxonomies
152(1)
Democracies and Nondemocracies
152(11)
Defining Democracy
153(3)
Defining Nondemocracies
156(4)
A Democracy-Nondemocracy Continuum
160(3)
Constitutional and Nonconstitutional Regimes
163(3)
Constitutions
163(2)
Constitutional Regimes
165(1)
Nonconstitutional Regimes
166(1)
A Real Distribution of Power
166(2)
Unitary State
166(1)
Federation
167(1)
Confederation
168(1)
Forms of Executive-Legislative Relations
168(7)
Presidential Government
169(1)
Parliamentary (Cabinet) Government
170(2)
Hybrid Systems
172(1)
Council Systems
173(1)
Assembly Systems
174(1)
Which Form Is Optimal?
175(1)
Political Party Systems
175(7)
Two-Party Systems
175(3)
Multiparty Systems
178(1)
Dominant-Party Systems
179(1)
One-Party Systems
180(1)
No-Party Systems
180(1)
Classification and Clarity
181(1)
For Further Consideration
182(1)
For Further Reading
182(3)
Political Economy
185(24)
Politics and Economics
185(1)
A Political-Economic Framework
186(5)
Factors, Firms, and Households/Consumers
186(3)
Getting and Spending
189(1)
The State (and the World) Join In
190(1)
Two Ideal-Type Political Economies
191(6)
The Market Economy: Total Private Control
194(2)
The Command Economy: Total State Control
196(1)
Key Problems for Each Ideal-Type Political Economy
197(3)
Market Economy
197(2)
Command Economy
199(1)
The Mixed Economy
200(1)
Politics Plus Political Economy: The Other ``Isms''
201(5)
The Three ``Isms''
201(1)
The Real World
202(4)
Concluding Observations
206(1)
For Further Consideration
207(1)
For Further Reading
207(2)
PART FOUR Political Processes209(70)
Politics as a Value Allocation Process
211(20)
The Elite Approach
212(3)
Key Concepts
212(1)
Major Theorists
213(1)
The Value Allocation Process
213(1)
The Prevalence of Elite-based Political Systems
214(1)
The Class Approach
215(4)
The Group Approach
219(6)
The Three Approaches Compared
225(3)
Which Approach Is Correct?
225(2)
Essential Similarities and Differences
227(1)
For Further Consideration
228(1)
For Further Reading
228(3)
Change and Political Development
231(26)
Change
232(1)
Development
233(11)
Characteristics of ``More Developed'' Social Systems
233(2)
The Process of Development
235(5)
The Dynamics of Economic Development
240(4)
Political Development
244(9)
Characteristics of Political Development
244(1)
The Process of Political Development
245(2)
Political Development as Democratization
247(3)
Political Institutionalization and Political Decay
250(3)
Achieving Political Development
253(1)
For Further Consideration
254(1)
For Further Reading
255(2)
Political Violence
257(22)
Violence
258(1)
Political Society
259(1)
Types of Political Violence
259(16)
State Violence against Individuals or Groups
260(1)
Individual Violence against an Individual
261(1)
Group Violence against an Individual
262(3)
Group Violence against a Group
265(2)
Individual or Group Violence against the State
267(8)
Evaluating Political Violence: Means and Ends
275(1)
For Further Consideration
276(1)
For Further Reading
277(2)
PART FIVE Politics Among States279(160)
Politics between States
281(30)
The Goals of States
282(3)
Realist and Idealist Perspectives on the State's ``Motives''
282(1)
Major Goals
283(2)
Mechanisms of Cooperation between States
285(7)
Diplomacy and Interstate Agreements
285(1)
International Law
286(3)
International Organizations
289(3)
Competition among States
292(7)
Balance of Power
292(1)
Balance of Terror
293(1)
Domination and Dependence
294(4)
Competition in the Post-Cold War World
298(1)
Violence between States
299(8)
Threat of Force
301(1)
Display of Force
301(1)
Use of Force
301(1)
War
302(3)
What Causes War?
305(1)
Is War Justifiable?
306(1)
For Further Consideration
307(1)
For Further Reading
308(3)
The Developed Countries
311(32)
An Introduction to the Next Three Chapters: Grouping the States in the Contemporary World
311(5)
The Developed Countries
312(1)
The Developing Countries
313(1)
The Transitional Developed Countries
313(3)
Images of the Developed Countries
316(1)
Political Culture
317(2)
Goal: Prosperity
319(9)
Mixed Economy
319(3)
Performance
322(1)
Challenges
323(5)
Goal: Stability
328(7)
Political Institutionalization
329(2)
Order Maintenance
331(1)
Challenges to Stability
332(3)
Goal: Security
335(3)
The Era of Colonialism
335(1)
The Cold War Period
335(2)
Challenges to Security in the Post-Cold War Period
337(1)
The Developed Countries Overall
338(1)
For Further Consideration
339(1)
For Further Reading
340(3)
The Developing Countries
343(44)
Third World Images
343(5)
Developmental Classification
343(1)
Regional Classification
344(4)
Goal: Prosperity
348(17)
Obstacles to Prosperity
349(4)
Strategies for Prosperity
353(4)
Overall Performance
357(7)
Prognosis
364(1)
Goal: Security
365(4)
Interstate Violence
365(3)
Economic Security
368(1)
Goal: Stability
369(14)
Challenges to Political System Effectiveness
369(2)
The Decline of Political Order
371(3)
Democratization
374(2)
Political Approaches
376(7)
Concluding Observations: It's Got to Get Better(?)
383(1)
For Further Consideration
384(1)
For Further Reading
384(3)
The Transitional Developed Countries
387(38)
The Post-Communist Developed Countries
387(2)
Political Culture
389(2)
Under Communism
389(1)
Post-Communism
390(1)
Goal: Prosperity
391(7)
Under Communism
391(1)
Post-Communism
391(7)
Goal: Stability
398(9)
Under Communism
398(3)
Post-Communism
401(6)
Goal: Security
407(2)
Under Communism
407(1)
Post-Communism
408(1)
The Newly Industrializing Countries
409(1)
Political Culture
409(2)
Goal: Prosperity
411(3)
Goal: Stability
414(6)
Goal: Security
420(1)
The Future of the Transitional Developed Countries
421(1)
For Further Consideration
422(1)
For Further Reading
423(2)
The Last Chapter: Looking Backward, Looking Forward
425(14)
Political Outputs
425(2)
Political Structures
427(1)
Political Processes
427(1)
Political Change
428(1)
Direction
428(1)
Rate
428(1)
Controllability
429(1)
Into the Twenty-first Century: Understanding and Action
429(7)
Challenge 1: The Quest for Harmony with Our Technology
429(1)
Challenge 2: The Quest for Harmony with Planet Earth
430(1)
Challenge 3: The Quest for Harmony with One Another
431(5)
Choosing a Future
436(3)
Appendix: Political Analysis439(13)
Glossary452(12)
References464(15)
Selected Internet Sites479(3)
Credits482(1)
Index483

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