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Understanding Comparative Politics
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Understanding Comparative Politics
An Inclusive Approach

First Edition

Other Titles in:
Comparative Politics

November 2023 | 776 pages | CQ Press
"Baglione speaks cogently to our current generation of college students, who came of age amidst resurgent racism and an unprecedented pandemic."
—Audie Klotz, Syracuse University


It’s time for a new approach to help students engage more fully with comparative politics.

By elevating all the components of identity as core elements of any political system, Lisa A. Baglione's Understanding Comparative Politics helps students better appreciate the lived realities of people around the world. The book puts issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and religion in context, encouraging students to think critically about world regions and individual countries through the lens of current issues like social justice movements and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout the book, Baglione empowers students to be active learners in this sometimes-daunting subject by engaging them in important questions, grounding them in foundational concepts like geography, and helping them make personal connections.

This text is offered in Sage Vantage, an intuitive learning platform that integrates quality Sage textbook content with assignable multimedia activities and auto-graded assessments to drive student engagement and ensure accountability. Unparalleled in its ease of use and built for dynamic teaching and learning, Vantage offers customizable LMS integration and best-in-class support.

Watch this video walkthrough and see how Vantage works:


                              

 
Chapter 1: Getting Started: Inclusivity and Building a Foundation with Concepts and Data
An Inclusive Approach to Comparative Politics

 
Laying the Foundation: Four Glances at the World

 
Foundational Concepts in Comparative Politics

 
Basic Theory and Methods in Comparative Politics

 
Why Compare in an Inclusive and Systematic Fashion

 
Conclusion: Starting to Build Our Edifice of Comparative Politics

 
 
Chapter 2: Understanding Democracy: Definition, Institutions, Ideas, and Norms
Getting Started: Understanding Democracy in Europe and Elsewhere

 
What Is Democracy?

 
What Are the Basic Political Institutions of Democracy?

 
Economic Institutions and Democracy

 
Ideology in the Political Spectrum in European Democracies and Beyond

 
Democracy, Political Culture, and the Challenge of Inclusion

 
Conclusion: Democracy and Its Political Institutions, Political Economies, and Political Cultures

 
 
Chapter 3: Taking a Look at Europe
Getting to Know Europe

 
Taking a Look at European Geography

 
Taking a Look at Political Development in Europe

 
Taking a Look at Politics in Europe

 
Taking a Look at Economies in Europe

 
Taking a Look at Contemporary Social Conditions

 
One Last Look: A Glance at Some Cultural Data

 
Conclusion: Our Look at Europe

 
 
Chapter 4: Politics in the U.K.: How Did British Politics Go from Staid to Unstable?
UK: Land and People

 
Political Development

 
Contemporary Political Performance and Political Institutions

 
Economic Performance and the Political Economy: Successful and Increasingly Liberal Britain

 
British Culture and Political Culture

 
How and Why Did Instability Come to This Previously Staid System?

 
Conclusion: The State of Contemporary British Democracy

 
 
Chapter 5: Overview of Communism: Revolution, Political Institutions, Political Economy and Political Culture
Understanding Communist Revolutions

 
Political Institutions under Communism

 
Political Economy of Communism

 
Political Culture of Communism

 
What Is Totalitarianism?

 
Conclusion: Understanding Communism

 
 
Chapter 6: Taking a Look: Post-Soviet States
Getting to Know the Post-Soviet Super Region

 
Geography of the Post-Soviet States

 
Political Development of the Post-Soviet States

 
Taking a Look at Politics in the Post-Soviet Region

 
Taking a Look at Economics in the Post-Soviet Region

 
Taking a Look at Social Conditions in the Post-Soviet States

 
One Last Look: A Glance at Some Cultural Data

 
Conclusion: Our Foray into the Post-Soviet States

 
 
Chapter 7: Politics in Russia: Why Is Authoritarianism So Seemingly Stable Despite Earlier Hopes for Democratic Change?
Introduction: Hopes for Russian Democracy Dashed in the Twenty-First Century

 
Russia: Land and People

 
Political Development: From Russian Empire to USSR to Russia

 
Russia’s Post-Soviet Political Performance and Institutions

 
Russia’s Economic Performance and Political Economy: A State Capitalist Kleptocracy

 
Russia’s Political Culture: Culture Wars and Russian Nationalism

 
What Is Putinism and How Stable Is It?

 
Conclusion: Understanding Russian Politics

 
 
Chapter 8: Taking a Look: East, Southeast, and South (ESEA) Asia
Introducing Three Regions of Asia

 
Geography in East, Southeast, and South Asia: Taking a First Look at These Parts of the World

 
Political Development: Unifying Recent Historical Experiences

 
Taking a Look at Regime Type in ESES Asia

 
Taking a Look at the Economies in ESES Asia

 
Taking a Look at Social Conditions in the ESES Asian Super Region

 
One Last Look: A Glance at Some Cultural Values

 
Conclusion: Our Look at ESES Asia

 
 
Chapter 9: Politics in China: How Can Such Economic Success Exist with Political Repression?
Introduction: China’s Remarkable Transformation and Ongoing Agenda

 
Land and People

 
Political Development: End of Empire, Communism, and Market Reforms

 
China’s Political Performance and Institutions

 
Economic Performance and Political Economy: Party-State Capitalism

 
China’s Political Culture: Blending Confucianism, Maoism, and Market Liberalism?

 
China’s Contemporary Authoritarianism: As Repression Grows, Can Economic Success Continue?

 
Conclusion: Firmly Authoritarian with Significant Headwinds Ahead

 
 
Chapter 10: Overview of the Global South: Experiences with Globalization
Representing What Is Important

 
Understanding Economic Globalization since 1500: A Process of Creating Hierarchies of Wealth

 
Understanding Political Globalization: A Process of Creating Hierarchies of Power

 
Globalization and the Reality of Structural Violence

 
Globalization and Democracy: A Complex Relationship

 
Conclusion: The Global South

 
 
Chapter 11: Taking a Look at Latin America
Getting to Know Latin America and the Caribbean

 
Basic Geography of Latin America and the Caribbean

 
Unifying Post-Colonial Experiences in these Regions

 
Taking a Look at Regime Types and States in Latin America

 
Taking a Look at the Economy in Latin America

 
Taking a Look at Contemporary Social Accomplishments and Challenges in Latin America

 
One Last Look: A Glance at Some Cultural Data for LA

 
Conclusion: Our Look at Latin America

 
 
Chapter 12: Politics in Mexico: How Can Democratization Proceed with Such Inequality, Corruption, and Violence?
Mexico: Land and People

 
Political Development: Persisting Inequality, Violence, and Authoritarianism

 
Mexico’s Politics: Dashed Hopes and Violent De-Democratization

 
Economic Performance and Political Economy: Development in a Narco-State Capitalist Context

 
Culture and Political Culture: Mexico’s Ambiguous Attitudes

 
What Does AMLO’s Fourth Transformation Mean for Mexican Politics?

 
Conclusion: Dashed Hopes and Democratic Reversal

 
 
Chapter 13: Taking a Look at the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Getting to Know MENA

 
Basic Geography of the MENA Region

 
Political Development in MENA: Religion and Conquest Brings Unity, Resentment, and Authoritarianism

 
Taking a Look at Regime Types and States in MENA

 
Taking a Look at the Economies in MENA

 
Taking a Look at Social Conditions and Challenges in MENA

 
One Last Look: A Glance at Some Cultural Data for MENA

 
Conclusion: Our Look at the Middle East and North Africa

 
 
Chapter 14: Politics in Egypt: Why & How the “Arab Spring” Became the Egyptian Winter
Egypt: Land and People

 
Political Development: Colonialism, Leadership, and Military Dominance

 
Regime Performance and Political Institutions in Egypt: Repression, Presidentialism and the Deep State

 
Egypt’s Economic Performance and Political Economy: The Persistence of Statism and Rentierism, Despite Reform Efforts

 
Political Culture: Islam, Democracy, 2011, and After

 
2011 and After: Why and How the Uprising Failed

 
Conclusion: What a Difference a Decade Makes: Regression on Democracy and Inclusion

 
 
Chapter 15: Taking a Look at Sub-Saharan Africa
Basic Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa

 
Taking a Look at Political Development in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1500

 
Taking a Look at Regime Types and States in SSA

 
Taking a Look at Economies in SSA

 
Taking a Look at Social Conditions and Challenges in SSA

 
One Last Look: A Glance at Some Cultural Data

 
Conclusion: Colonialism, Clientelism, and Likelihood of Transformation

 
 
Chapter 16: Politics in Nigeria: Why Can’t the Giant of Africa Awake?
Nigeria: Land and People

 
Political Development: The Overwhelming Challenge of Building Democracy in a Neo-Patrimonial, Patriarchal, Military-Dominated, and Highly Diverse State

 
Nigeria’s Political Performance and Institutions: Why and How Democracy Is So Hard to Achieve

 
Nigeria’s “Cursed” Political Economy: Oil, Inequality, and Corruption

 
Nigerian Political Culture: No Enthusiasm for Democracy

 
Nigeria: Is the Sleeping Giant Poised to Wake?

 
Conclusion: The Tragedy of Africa’s Sleeping Giant

 
 
Chapter 17: Concluding Your Studies: What You’ve Learned from a Data-Intensive, Interactive, Concept-Focused, and Inclusive Approach to Comparative Politics
What You Have Seen: Summary of the Conditions around the World

 
What You Have Seen: Summary of the Conditions in Our Case Studies

 
How Comparison, with the Aid of Concepts, Has Helped Us Understand

 
Conclusion: An Inclusive Approach to Comparative Politics

 

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"Understanding Comparative Politics stands out among recent textbooks in comparative politics in its refined and inclusive 'hybrid' approach, which integrates an analytic understanding of enduring concepts in the field with empirical insights about a set of important countries, each discussed within their respective regional settings and historical contexts. Students will get to know about the world while also learning how to think comparatively about familiar topics in political science as well as oft-ignored issues like gender."

Rudra Sil
University of Pennsylvania, Perelman Center for Political Science & Economics

"Baglione speaks cogently to our current generation of college students, who came of age amidst resurgent racism and an unprecedented pandemic. Instead of concentrating only on countries or trumpeting the triumph of democracy, this innovative textbook sets the global context by highlighting core concepts across geographical regions and time periods. And by systematically incorporating intersectionality, Baglione offers a model for both pedagogy and research."

Audie Klotz
Syracuse University

What I really like about this new volume is that it explicitly engages DEI issues: the issue of gender, for example, is particularly well-woven throughout all the chapters. Political science classes are highly informed by ongoing national headlines and national political discourses. Given this, DEI discussions have been central. I am glad that this book integrates them directly.

Dilshod Achilov
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

The book focuses on regional politics and important introductory concepts are explored within regions and case studies. Up-to-the-minute current events are included, and the treatment of gender and intersectionality is compelling and novel, without sounding high-minded and paternalistic or in any way sacrificing academic rigor.

Trevor J. Allen
Central Connecticut State University

It is written in an easy-to-follow style, the chapters are not too long, and the organization of the book is ideal for how I would like to teach this course: balancing abstract concepts, theories, and themes with specific examples from the real world.

Allison Evans
University of Nevada, Reno

The book does a good job of showing how intersectional issues permeate politics, which could be really useful for my students, who don't typically think of the world in these terms. The historical discussion is clear and engaging, and the examination of different approaches to ethnic conflict is accessible.

Matthew Rhodes-Purdy
Clemson University

The use of unique and often marginalized regions and concepts is distinct. It is much less Euro-centric than many other Comparative texts on the market.

Emily B. Stacey
Rose State College

This book seems to have a rather innovative approach that really helps incorporate a more constructivist perspective by identifying the significance of gender, religion, and other societal attributes.

Zachary Taylor
University of Wyoming

This text is a well-written and well-organized introduction for students of all majors to Comparative Politics.

Erich Frankland
Casper College

This textbook provides comprehensive coverage of important country case studies but uses a new approach by focusing on intersectionality in terms of gender, race, class, etc.

Gunther M. Hega
Western Michigan University