Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order - Hardcover

"Kopstein and Lichbach have assembled a compelling introduction to comparative politics for courses taught from the perspective of political development. Invited to examine six well-chosen and familiar cases (Britain and France as early, Germany and Japan as middle, and Russia and China as late developers), the contributors analyze the emergence of interests, the shifting range of social identities,and the interaction of both in shaping a particular institutional trajectory. Each section concludes with a synthesis by the co-editors comparing the trajectories of the preceding cases. An innovation is the extension of the analysis presented for the first six cases to 'experimental developers': Mexico, India, Iran, and South Africa. Throughout the volume the prose is lively and accessible, and each contributor provides a sufficient historical background on the country at hand to put every student in the picture regardless of prior preparation." Richard Anderson, UCLA "Kopstein and Lichbach's book is an impressive achievement. In contrast to most comparative politics texts which are often unimaginative and seem like clones of each other, this study represents a refreshing and intellectually stimulating approach to the field. The book is unusual in that it surveys both standard cases of political development, such as Great Britain and Germany, but combines them with somewhat less-known but no less intriguing cases, like India, Iran, and South Africa. Above all, what I like most about this book it that it actually encourages students, in a clearly-written and thoughtful fashion, to engage in real comparative analysis. For comparativists looking for a new way of engaging their students in the study of world politics, this book is definitely welcome news." A. James McAdams, Notre Dame "Sophisticated yet accessible, this textbook breaks out of the introductory comparative politics mold that crams country-specific case studies into a systemic or developmentalist model. Instead it attains thematic coherence and will maintain students' interest with its attention to world-historic context and to the normative stakes of development and also with its useful 'Stop and Compare' sections. This volume offers an excellent introduction to the diversity and depth of contemporary comparative politics." Laurence McFalls, Universite de Montreal "Jeffrey Kopstein and Mark Lichbach's excellent new comparative politics text offers things that others do not. The book situates an exceptionally broad range of European, Latin American, African, and Asian cases in the context of a common set of concerns--interests, identities, and institutions--and a common developmental framework. The authors of the country studies do not simply presume that the struggle for power is mainly a domestic and lawful affair; rather, they highlight the impact of international forces and the historical importance of armed struggles for power. In this, the volume breaks with implicit notions that the past is the problem of another discipline and international affairs the purview of a different subfield." Wade Jacoby, Brigham Young University

Why are the countries of the world governed so differently? How did this diversity of political orders come about? Will liberal capitalism retain its appeal and spread further around the globe in the 21st century, or will new and hostile challengers come on the scene? These are the questions that guide this new introductory text to comparative politics. Cast through the lens of ten theoretically informed and historically grounded country studies, it illustrates and explains how the three major concepts of comparative political analysis - interests, identities, and institutions - shape the politics of nations. A novel feature of this textbook is its explicit discussion of the international challenges to each country's chosen path of development. These challenges frequently alter domestic interests and identities, and force countries to find new institutional solutions to the problems of modern politics. Written in a style free of heavy handed jargon and organized in a way that speaks to contemporary comparativists' concerns, this textbook provides students with the conceptual tools and historical background they need to understand the politics of today's complex world.