'...a very superior textbook, avoiding most of the pitfalls of the genre...the wheat-to-chaff ratio is gratifyingly high, in a field with more chaff than most...it must have been a difficult book to write; by any consumer test it rates a range of stars and a 'best buy' recommendation.' - Ivor Crewe, Times Higher Education Supplement '...a lively, readable introductory textbook.' - Talking Politics

This revised and updated edition of a core textbook - one of the most well-established texts in the field of comparative politics - offers a comprehensive introduction to the comparison of governments and political systems, helping students to understand not just the institutions and political cultures of their own countries but also those of a wide range of democracies and authoritarian regimes from around the world. The book opens with an overview of key theories and methods for studying comparative politics and moves on to a study of major institutions and themes, such as the state,...