"Comparative Politics Today" is the text that defined the discipline of comparative politics and continues to set the standard for the course with and the most current country study chapters available. The chapters on England, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, India, and the United States have all been thoroughly updated. As in the previous edition, theoretical chapters (Chapters 1-7) at the beginning of the book explore the "purpose of government" and provide students with a framework for understanding comparative politics. The theoretical section is followed by 12 individual country studies. All country studies are written by pre-eminent specialists on that particular country, ensuring that students have the most reliable information and insights into the political systems of those nations.