Read complete books and articles on: Comparative Government

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15 of the Best Books and Articles on: Comparative Government

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Comparing State Polities: A Framework for Analyzing 100 Governments » Read Now
by Michael J. Sullivan III. 214 pgs.

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Since the end of the Cold War, many new countries have been created, and several new wars have broken out, resulting in new forms of politics and government for which Cold War paradigms are inadequate. Using extensive exhibits, this book provides a comparative framework for understanding governance...
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Since the end of the Cold War, many new countries have been created, and several new wars have broken out, resulting in new forms of politics and government for which Cold War paradigms are inadequate. Using extensive exhibits, this book provides a comparative framework for understanding governance in today's world. The author selects 100 countries as worthy of greater investigation, highlighting 50 of them as prone to ethnic-based problems and 33 as beset by violent domestic conflict, and provides a comparative political analysis of their governing structures.
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2.

Democratic Legislative Institutions: A Comparative View » Read Now
by David M. Olson. 184 pgs.

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3.

Parliamentary versus Presidential Government » Read Now
by Arend Lijphart. 258 pgs.

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Parliamentary and presidential governments--exemplified by most European countries for the former and the United States and Latin America for the latter--are the two principal forms of democracy in the modern world. Their respective advantages and disadvantages have been long debated, at first...
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Parliamentary and presidential governments--exemplified by most European countries for the former and the United States and Latin America for the latter--are the two principal forms of democracy in the modern world. Their respective advantages and disadvantages have been long debated, at first mainly by British and American political observers but with increasing frequency in other parts of the world, not only in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, but in Latin America and Asia as well. The recent world-wide wave of democratization has intensified both the debate and its significance. This volume brings together the most important statement on the subject by advocates and analysts--from Montesquieu and Madison to Lipset and Linz. It also treats the merits of less frequently used democratic types, such as French-style semi-presidentialism, that may be regarded as intermediate forms between parliamentarism and presidentialism.
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4.

Understanding Politics: The Cultures of Societies and the Structures of Governments » Read Now
by William S. Stewart. 226 pgs.

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...Includes index. ISBN 0-88316-558-9 pbk. 1. Political culture. 2. Political science 3. Comparative government. 4. Legitimacy of governments. I. Title. II. Series. JA75.7.S74...
5.

Government by Constitution: The Political Systems of Democracy » Read Now
by Herbert J. Spiro. 496 pgs.

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...subjects in the field of comparative government at Harvard. It is intended...use in college courses on comparative government, on the nature of the...
6.

Non-Democratic Regimes: Theory, Government and Politics » Read Now
by Paul Brooker. 288 pgs.

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Paul Brooker's text provides a comprehensive assessment of the nature of authoritarian regimes, their changing character in the post-Cold War world, and the main theoretical explanations of their incidence, character and performance.
7.

The Politics of Regime Transitions » Read Now
by Ronald A. Francisco. 177 pgs.

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Taking examples from Argentina, Haiti, Iran, South Korea, Ukraine, and other countries for a total of 40, Francisco (political science, U. of Kansas) traces political transformation from its roots to its results. He analyses how regimes fail, how new ones arise, and what it takes to forge stability...
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Taking examples from Argentina, Haiti, Iran, South Korea, Ukraine, and other countries for a total of 40, Francisco (political science, U. of Kansas) traces political transformation from its roots to its results. He analyses how regimes fail, how new ones arise, and what it takes to forge stability and democratic government. In a balance of theory and experience, he highlights the process from collapse to consolidation of power and such intermediate states as ethnic strife, economic disruption, nationalism, and fundamental religion.
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8.

The Decline of Military Regimes: The Civilian Influence » Read Now
by Constantine P. Danopoulos. 282 pgs.

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...Civil-military relations. 2. Comparative government. I. Danopoulos, Constantine...Orbis , Studies in Comparative Communism , Survey...military coups and governments is more...
9.

Participation and Democracy, East and West: Comparisons and Interpretations » Read Now
by Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Marilyn Rueschemeyer, Bjorn Wittrock. 290 pgs.

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Since Alexis de Tocqueville first made the linkage in his writings on America, a healthy democracy has been associated with the flourishing of civil society, as measured by popular participation in voluntary and civic activities and the vitality of organizations that mediate between the individual...
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Since Alexis de Tocqueville first made the linkage in his writings on America, a healthy democracy has been associated with the flourishing of civil society, as measured by popular participation in voluntary and civic activities and the vitality of organizations that mediate between the individual and the state.
Eminent social scientists from Europe and North America take a fresh look at the vitality of civil society in the context of post-communist Eastern Europe, the West European welfare states, and the United States. This volume takes a fresh look at this classic theme in the context of post-communist Eastern Europe, the West European welfare states, and the United States, asking:
-- What patterns of participation characterize the new democracies of Eastern Europe?
-- What levels of civic activism are characteristic of contemporary Western democracies?
-- What factors account for differences among countries and changing patterns over time?
-- What do the findings suggest about the prospects for democracy in the 21st century?
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10.

Policy Representation in Western Democracies » Read Now
by Warren E. Miller. 182 pgs.

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Policy Representation in Western Democracies offers a comparative analysis of policy representation in five Western Democracies: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the US. A leading group of authors examines the impact of belief systems and geographical and institutional characteristics...
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Policy Representation in Western Democracies offers a comparative analysis of policy representation in five Western Democracies: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the US. A leading group of authors examines the impact of belief systems and geographical and institutional characteristics on the match between the policy preferences of the electorate and those of their representatives. The book offers a variety of perspectives on the conceptualization, measurement, and interpretation of congruence between mass and elite opinion. The book also evaluates the consequences of different electoral systems for policy representation.
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11.

Divided Government in Comparative Perspective » Read Now
by Robert Elgie. 242 pgs.

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12.

Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics: An Introduction » Read Now
by Todd Landman. 292 pgs.

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Building on the strengths of the first edition, this accessible and user-friendly textbook explores the strategies of comparative research in political science. It begins by examining different methods, then highlights some of the big issues in comparative politics using a wealth of topical examples...
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Building on the strengths of the first edition, this accessible and user-friendly textbook explores the strategies of comparative research in political science. It begins by examining different methods, then highlights some of the big issues in comparative politics using a wealth of topical examples before discussing the new challenges in the area. Thoroughly revised throughout with the addition of extensive new material, this edition is also supplemented by the availability online of the author's datasets. The book is designed to make a complex subject easier and more accessible for students, and contains: * briefing boxes explaining key concepts and ideas * suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter * a glossary of terms.
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13.

Constitutional Democracy » Read Now
by Dennis C. Mueller. 388 pgs.

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Constitutional Democracy systematically examines how the basic constitutional structure of governments affects what they can accomplish. This relationship is especially important at a time when Americans are increasingly disillusioned about government's fundamental ability to reach solutions for...
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Constitutional Democracy systematically examines how the basic constitutional structure of governments affects what they can accomplish. This relationship is especially important at a time when Americans are increasingly disillusioned about government's fundamental ability to reach solutions for domestic problems, and when countries in the former Soviet block and around the world are rewriting their constitutions. Political economist Mueller illuminates the links between the structure of democratic government and the outcomes it achieves by drawing comparisons between the American system and other government systems around the world. Working from the "public choice" perspective in political science, the book analyzes electoral rules, voting rules, federalism, bicameralism, citizenship, and separation of powers. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of political economy.
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14.

The Architecture of Democracy: Constitutional Design, Conflict Management, and Democracy » Read Now
by Andrew Reynolds. 507 pgs.

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15.

Government Structures in the U.S.A. and the Sovereign States of the Former U.S.S.R: Power Allocation among Central, Regional, and Local Governments » Read Now
by James E. Hickey Jr., Alexej Ugrinsky. 474 pgs.

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This collection provides historical as well as contemporary contexts for an examination of government structures in the United States and the states of the former U.S.S.R. Throughout, the contributors look at federalism at both local and national levels, and they try to assess how and why the two systems developed as they did.