Nations and Government: Comparative Politics in Regional Perspective, 6th Edition

Cover Page......Page 1
About the Author......Page 4
Title Page......Page 5
Copyright Page......Page 7
BRIEF CONTENTS......Page 8
CONTENTS......Page 9
Features and Maps......Page 19
Preface......Page 21
PART I: Introduction......Page 28
1: Comparative Politics and the Regional Perspective......Page 31
Why Compare?......Page 32
The Logic of Comparative Politics......Page 34
Politics in Regional Perspective......Page 36
A Conceptual Framework: Three Questions......Page 61
SUMMARY......Page 66
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 67
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 68
NOTES......Page 69
The Idea of the State......Page 70
Democracy or Dictatorship: Procrustean Models......Page 71
Constitutional Democracy: Presidential Versus Parliamentary......Page 72
Authoritarian Systems......Page 80
Totalitarian and Post-Totalitarian Regimes......Page 85
Economic Models and Political Systems......Page 87
Politics and Development......Page 94
Closing the Circle: Development and Regime Type......Page 95
A Travel Advisory . . .......Page 96
SUMMARY......Page 97
KEY TERMS......Page 98
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 99
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 100
NOTES......Page 101
PART II: The New Europe......Page 103
3: The Western Political Heritage......Page 106
Regional Overview......Page 107
Environmental Influences......Page 108
Historical and Cultural Factors......Page 110
The New Ideological Marketplace......Page 115
Imperialism and the European System......Page 118
The Totalitarian Interlude......Page 121
War and Revolution: An Ambiguous Legacy......Page 122
Case Studies: The United Kingdom, France, and Germany......Page 124
STUDY QUESTIONS......Page 138
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 139
NOTES......Page 140
The Triumph of Parliaments and Pluralism......Page 142
Europe’s Postwar Economic Miracle......Page 143
The Problems of Postindustrial Society......Page 145
The United Kingdom: Mother of Parliaments......Page 148
France’s Fifth Republic......Page 169
Germany’s Unified Federal Democracy......Page 185
The European Union: An Embryonic State?......Page 200
KEY TERMS......Page 206
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 207
NOTES......Page 208
PART III: Russia and Slavic Europe......Page 210
5: Slavic Europeto 1989......Page 213
The Slavic Shatter Zone......Page 214
The Influence of Geography......Page 216
Invasion and Oppression: An Unkind History......Page 219
Rewriting History: Revolution, Terror, and Transformation......Page 220
Russia’s Post-Communist Political Culture......Page 233
Eastern Europe Before 1945......Page 235
Eastern Europe Under Soviet Tutelage......Page 237
Case Studies: Two Ill-Fated Slavic States......Page 239
SUMMARY......Page 249
KEY TERMS......Page 250
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 251
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 252
NOTES......Page 253
6: Russia: Democracy or Dictatorship?......Page 255
The Slavic Divorce: East Goes West......Page 256
Russia After Stalin(ism): The Legacy......Page 259
Post-Communist Russia......Page 268
KEY TERMS......Page 281
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 282
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 283
NOTES......Page 284
PART IV: Asia......Page 286
7: Civilizations and Empires......Page 289
Physical Environment and Population......Page 292
Economic Development: The Three Faces of Asia......Page 294
Cultural and Historical Patterns......Page 297
Case Studies: China, Japan, and India......Page 301
KEY TERMS......Page 314
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 315
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 316
NOTES......Page 317
8: Asia: Continuity and Change......Page 318
The Impact of War and Revolution......Page 319
Patterns and Trends......Page 321
Case Studies: China, Japan, and India......Page 326
KEY TERMS......Page 366
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 367
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 368
NOTES......Page 369
PART V: Latin America......Page 372
9: The Spanish Conquest and Its Aftermath......Page 375
Land, Population, and Resources......Page 376
Historical Background......Page 381
Political Culture......Page 388
Latin American Development and Dependency......Page 392
Case Studies: Mexico and Brazil......Page 395
SUMMARY......Page 401
KEY TERMS......Page 402
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 403
NOTES......Page 404
The Latin Authoritarian Model......Page 406
Winds of Change: Democracy, Debt, and Development......Page 409
A Region in Transition: Civilians Take Charge......Page 411
To the Brink and Back: The Debt Crisis......Page 415
Reforms, Regionalism, Recession: The 1990s......Page 418
Mexico: A Dysfunctional Democracy......Page 422
Brazil: Latin America’s Awakening Giant......Page 434
KEY TERMS......Page 449
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 450
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 451
NOTES......Page 452
PART VI: The Middle East......Page 454
Geography, Climate, and Natural Resources......Page 457
Religion, Culture, and History......Page 461
The Imprint of History......Page 466
The Challenges of Modernity......Page 468
An Arab Awakening?......Page 470
The Arab–Israeli Conflict......Page 471
The Middle East Chessboard......Page 473
Case Studies: Israel and Egypt......Page 476
SUMMARY......Page 484
STUDY QUESTIONS......Page 485
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 486
NOTES......Page 487
12: Monarchies, Dictatorships, and a Garrison State......Page 489
Modern Arab Regimes......Page 490
Peace and War, 1977–1982......Page 495
The Missing Peace, 1983–1993......Page 497
The Search for Peace, 1993–2009......Page 501
Israel: A Garrison State......Page 504
Egypt: The Mask of Democracy......Page 517
Postscript: Is the Arab World “Self-Doomed”?......Page 524
SUMMARY......Page 526
STUDY QUESTIONS......Page 527
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 528
NOTES......Page 529
PART VII: Sub-Saharan Africa......Page 531
Land, Climate, Resources, and Population......Page 534
Ethnicity, Culture, and History......Page 537
African Unity: The Elusive Ideal......Page 545
Case Studies: Nigeria and South Africa......Page 549
SUMMARY......Page 557
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 558
SUGGESTED WEBSITES......Page 559
NOTES......Page 560
14: The Long Road to Recovery......Page 562
Colonialism and Decolonization......Page 563
Political Patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa......Page 566
Roots of Despair: Black Africa in the 1980s......Page 574
What (Who) Is to Blame?......Page 579
Socialism and Self-Reliance: An African Model?......Page 582
A Garden of Eden in Decay......Page 585
Case Studies: Nigeria and South Africa......Page 588
Nigeria: So Rich, Yet So Poor. . .......Page 589
South Africa: In Mandela’s (Fading) Shadow......Page 593
A Democratic Africa?......Page 600
KEY TERMS......Page 603
SUGGESTED READINGS......Page 604
NOTES......Page 605
GLOSSARY......Page 609
INDEX......Page 627
CREDITS......Page 651