Synopses & Reviews
A perennial best-seller, this critical anthology introduces students to influential concepts, enabling them to analyze and understand the major crises of our time. A unique mix of classic and contemporary essays, this thought-provoking text covers the entire field of comparative politics. A review panel of political scientists drawn from the most prestigious universities in China singled out Brown's COMPARATIVE POLITICS as "a classic of the literature of the West," calling it "the most famous work in the field." Special attention in the new edition is given to issues and trends brought to the fore by the attacks of 9/11: clash and dialogue of civilizations, with reference notably to Islamism; the impact of modernization/globalization on the traditional state; and the growing uncertainties of democratization in post-communist systems and developing countries.
Synopsis
Comparative Politics is one of the longest-lived "classics" of political science, in print for almost four decades. It has been a perennial best-seller with over 140,000 copies in print. This anthology featuring a unique mix of classic and contemporary essays has provided several generations of instructors with a stimulating overview of tested theories and current trends in comparative politics. It is intended as a supplement for Comparative Politics, Introduction to Political Science, and Modernization and Political change courses found in the political science department.
Synopsis
A perennial best-seller, this anthology features a unique mix of classic and contemporary essays that have provided generations of instructors with a stimulating overview of tested theories and current trends in comparative politics.
About the Author
Bernard Brown received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, and taught at Vanderbilt University, SUNY (Buffalo), and then The City University of New York (Graduate School), where he is Professor Emeritus of Political Science. He received numerous awards (several Fulbrights, a Rockefeller Foundation Humanities Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship), and has been visiting professor at the universities of Rennes (France), McGill (Montreal), Delhi (India), Dakar (Senegal), and Saigon (Vietnam). He is the author or editor of over a dozen books and numerous articles on comparative and international politics and political theory. He has a long-standing interest in French politics and, more recently, the European Union.
Table of Contents
Preface. About the Editor. Introduction: On Comparing Nations. Section I: Methods Of Comparison. 1. Comparative Analysis: The Search for Focus, Roy C. Macridis. 2. Area Discipline, Robert H. Bates. 3. Preconception vs. Observation, Chalmers Johnson. 4. Rational Choice, Culture, and Problem-Oriented Research, Ian Shapiro. Part One: Political Change. Section II: Modernization And Post-Modernization. 5. The Dynamics of Modernization, Samuel H. Beer. 6. The Creation of Knowledge and Technique, David Landes. 7. British Rule in India, Karl Marx. 8. Values, Economic Development, and Political Change, Ronald Inglehart. 9. An Ecofeminist Perspective, J. Ann Tickner. Section III: Revolution And Protest. 10. Frameworks of the Great Revolutions, S. N. Eisenstadt. 11. Social Transformations of the Twentieth Century, Alain Touraine II. 12. Revolution and Anomie, Bernard E. Brown. 13. Democracy, Utopia, and Revolution, Francois Furet. Part Two: Patterns Of Legitimacy. Section IV: Ethnicity, Nation, State. 14. Varieties of Nationalism, Liah Greenfeld. 15. What Is a State?, Max Weber 16. Bringing the State Back in, Theda Skocpoliso. 17. Prisoners of the State, Charles Tilly. Section V: Democracies. 18. Horizontal Accountability in New Democracies, Guillermo O'Donnell. 19. Majoritarian Versus Consensual Democracy, Arend Liphart. 20. Democracy and Democratization, Carole Pateman. 21. Worker Democracy: A Test Case, Bernard E. Brown. Section VI: Authoritarianism: Old And New. 22. On Democracy and Tyranny, Aristotle. 23. What Was Communism?, Andrew C. Janos. 24. The End of Communism in China, Arthur Waldron. Section VII: Transitions To Democracy. 25. The Future of the Third Wave, Samuel P. Huntington. 26. Comparing East and South, Valerie Bunce. 27. Islam and Liberal Democracy, Bernard Lewis. Part Three: Political Dynamics. Section VIII: The Civil Society. 29. Bowling Alone, Robert D. Putnam. 30. The Paradox of Civil Society, Michael W. Foley and Bob Edwards. Section VIIII: Political Parties. 31. The Iron Law of Oligarchy, Robert Michels. 32. Leadership and Change in Party Systems, Klaus von Beyme. 33. Erosion of the Class and Religion Vote, Mattei Dogan. 34. The Rise of New Political Parties, Piero Ignazi. Part Four: Political Institutions. Section X: Do Institutions Matter? 35. Institutional Perspectives, James March and Johan Olsen. 36. Presidential vs. Parliamentary Democracy: A Debate. A. The Perils of Presidentialism, Juan J. Linz. B. Comparing Democratic Instititutions, Donald L. Horowitz. C. A Final Comment, Juan J. Linz. 37. Governance and Performancd, Joel D. Aberbach and Berta Rockman. 38. Judicial Review and the Arab World, Nathan J. Brown. Section XI: Political Performance. 39. Policy Paradigms, Social Learning, and the State, Peter A. Hall. 40. Equality versus Inequality, Roberta Dahl. 41. Corruption and Shifting Values, Yves Meny. Select Bibliography.