Synopses & Reviews
Balancing theory and application, this comprehensive text uses a unique theme to engage students in thinking and discussing comparative politics--the theme of domestic responses to global challenges. COMPARATIVE POLITICS introduces the key concepts and examines the growing interdependence among strong and weak states through the discussion of 12 countries, including the U.S. and the European community. The countries discussed are categorized by economic development, helping students develop their skills of comparison, synthesis and interpretation amongst countries of similar economic status. Students will gain an understanding of some of the most important general trends, an exposure to politics in a number of countries, and a desire to dig more deeply into this fascinating and exciting field of comparative politics.
Review
"Compared to other texts I have used and reviewed, the Hauss text is the most balanced and comprehensible for the student of an introductory course. It is neither too dense nor too facile. The material is presented in a very accessible and easy to digest manner, well and coherently written and organized. The Hauss text is a good mix of the abstract necessities for future political science majors but with a balance of explanation and definition for general students."
"The three strengths are 1) accessibility and language, the text is thoroughly readable and digestible by undergraduates; 2) Good range of countries to choose from, including the EU and numerous LDCs which are often neglected by other texts; and 3) the chapters are easily organized which makes lecture preparation and students' organization of notes and lectures very useful."
Review
"I believe that Hauss has provided one of the most engaging and valuable texts for use in introductory comparative politics courses. Unlike most other texts the language, examples, and organization help students better understand and relate the complex theoretical concepts and phenomena of states and their political systems. The consistency from chapter to chapter provides an excellent framework for students to grasp and learn the fundamental arguments and dilemmas in comparative politics. I highly recommend this text to any faculty teaching an introductory comparative politics course."
Review
"The most important strength of this text is its extensive and comprehensive use of complementary materials, ranging from the Boxed Material and photographs, to the Web sites, InfoTrac, transparency masters, and video tape cases (which I found excellent!)."
Review
"The text is versatile in that it allows the professor to teach either by emphasizing the study of specific nations or by emphasizing the presence of different themes across several nations. The text offers coverage of specific nations, thus allowing the country-specific approach. But the themes followed within each chapter are similar across nations so that a thematic approach is also possible using this text."
Synopsis
This comprehensive text focuses on traditional issues and concepts in comparative politics, using a unique theme: domestic responses to global challenges. The author examines the growing interdependence among strong and weak states and discusses 12 countries, including the U.S. and the European community, to help students develop their skills of comparison, synthesis and interpretation, the author organized the text by economic development.
About the Author
Charles "Chip" Hauss wears three professional hats: adjunct professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; author of books on conflict resolution, comparative politics, and international relations; and Director of Policy and Research at Search for Common Ground USA. Before joining the faculty at George Mason in 1993, Hauss received his BA from Oberlin College and his MA and PhD from The University of Michigan. He then spent 1975 to 1992 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. From 1995 to 1998, he was Visiting Professor at Reading University in the United Kingdom. Hauss has taught a variety of courses in comparative politics, international relations, and peace studies. Geographically, he is most interested in Western Europe, the United States, and the former Soviet Union. Substantively, his teaching has concentrated on how societies implement large-scale social and political change in a nonviolent manner. He includes active use of the Internet in all of his teaching and is the author of seven books. COMPARATIVE POLITICS is one of the most widely used textbooks in the field. INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION was published in July 2001. BEYOND CONFRONTATION (1996) explores the need for and possibility of cooperative conflict resolution. In addition, he has written two books on French politics, one on the new left of the 1960s/1970s and the other on the first quarter century of Gaullist rule. He also has translated Bernard Chavance's THE TRANSFORMATION OF COMMUNIST SYSTEMS from French into English.
Table of Contents
"Hauss is excellent in clarity, style, content, and pedagogy. In fact, in pedagogy Hauss is the best I have seen; it clearly, concisely and cogently explains both basic and complex ideas to the students. Hauss contains excellent charts and graphs, leader profiles, and website connections and bibliographies.""Compared to other texts I have used and reviewed, the Hauss text is the most balanced and comprehensible for the student of an introductory course. It is neither too dense nor too facile. The material is presented in a very accessible and easy to digest manner, well and coherently written and organized. The Hauss text is a good mix of the abstract necessities for future political science majors but with a balance of explanation and definition for general students."
"The three strengths are 1) accessibility and language, the text is thoroughly readable and digestible by undergraduates; 2) Good range of countries to choose from, including the EU and numerous LDCs which are often neglected by other texts; and 3) the chapters are easily organized which makes lecture preparation and students? organization of notes and lectures very useful.""I believe that Hauss has provided one of the most engaging and valuable texts for use in introductory comparative politics courses. Unlike most other texts the language, examples, and organization help students better understand and relate the complex theoretical concepts and phenomena of states and their political systems. The consistency from chapter to chapter provides an excellent framework for students to grasp and learn the fundamental arguments and dilemmas in comparative politics. I highly recommend this text to any faculty teaching an introductory comparative politics course."