Librería Portfolio

Includes an unparalleled amount of empirical material, in the text and online, for use in both illustration and analysis.
The only text to consider political bodies and systems above and below the level of the nation state.
Provides students and lecturers with cutting edge treatment of theories in comparative politics, giving a broad overview of all the main theories.
New to this Edition:

A brand new introductory chapter on the relevance of comparative politics, written by Professor Bo Rothstein.
Increased coverage of the Global South and its path towards democratisation.
A discussion of representation, inclusion and the varieties of democracy.
End of chapter questions designed to encourage critical thinking.



An outstanding group of internationally-renowned comparative political scientists provide a substantive introduction to comparative politics.

Thematic in organisation, readers are guided through a comprehensive analysis of the core methods, theories, and concepts in comparative politics. An unrivalled amount of empirical material in the text and on the supporting website illustrates key similarities and differences of political systems in practice. The wealth of empirical data also encourages students to go beyond the ´what´ of comparison to the ´how´.

Combining cutting edge treatment of theories and truly global geographical coverage, this exciting textbook is essential reading for all comparative politics students.



Table of Contents

Section I: Theories and methods
1: The relevance of comparative politics, Bo Rothstein
2: Approaches in comparative politics, B. Guy Peters
3: Comparative research methods, Hans Keman and Paul Pennings
Section II: The historical context
4: The nation-state, Gianfranco Poggi
5: Democracies, Aníbal Pérez-Liñán
6: Authoritarian regimes, Paul Brooker
Section III: Structures and institutions
7: Legislatures, Amie Kreppel
8: Governments and bureaucracies, Wolfgang C. Müller
9: Constitutions and courts, Alec Stone Sweet
10: Elections and referendums, Michael Gallagher
11: Unitary, federal, and local government institutions, John Loughlin
Section IV: Actors and processes
12: Political parties, Richard S. Katz
13: Party systems, Daniele Caramani
14: Interest groups, Roland Erne
15: Regions, James Bickerton and Alain-G. Gagnon
16: Social movements, Hanspeter Kriesi
17: Political culture, Christian Welzel and Ronald Inglehart
18: Political participation, Herbert Kitschelt and Philipp Rehm
19: Political communication, Frank Esser and Barbara Pfetsch
Section V: Public policies
20: Policy making, Christoph Knill and Jale Tosun
21: The welfare state, Kees van Kersbergen and Philip Manow
22: The impact of public policies, Jørgen Goul Andersen
Section VI: Beyond the Nation-State
23: The EU as a new political system, Simon Hix
24: Globalization and the nation-state, Georg Sørensen
25: Promoting democracy, Peter Burnell