Principles of Comparative Politics

Principles of Comparative Politics provides an introduction to comparative politics. The book has three goals: (i) to introduce students to the major questions in comparative politics; (ii) to acquaint them with the field’s best answers to those questions; and (iii) to give them the tools to think critically about the answers.

The book is now in its third edition (2017). Among other things, the updates to the third edition include:

  • A thoroughly-revised chapter on dictatorships that incorporates a discussion of the two fundamental problems of authoritarian rule: authoritarian power-sharing and authoritarian control (Chapter 10);
  • A revised chapter on culture and democracy that includes a more extensive examination of cultural modernization theory (Chapter 7);
  • A new section on issues related to electoral integrity (Chapter 13);
  • An expanded assessment of different forms of political representation (Chapter 16);
  • A new intuitive take on statistical analyses that provides a clearer explanation of how to interpret regression results (Chapter 6);
  • Examples from the gender and politics literature have been incorporated into various chapters;
  • Empirical examples and data on various types of institutions have been updated;
  • The Problems Section at the end of each chapter have been updated and expanded;
  • Online videos and tutorials are available to address some of the more methodological components discussed in the book.

You can buy the book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.