Political Science: An Introduction, 14e (e-Book VS 12m)

For courses in Introduction to Political Science.

Explore the Fundamentals of Political Science

Political Science: An Introduction shows students how the fundamental tenets of political science have helped important leaders make critical decisions for centuries. The authors present a balance of theoretical abstractions and applied reasoning to help students understand how to make calm, rational choices when it comes to political manipulation.

The Fourteenth Edition asks students to explore the controversial topic of exported democracy, and whether certain countries are ready and equipped to apply our form of government. By examining issues such as the Iraq war and the difficulty of adapting our own democracy in the U.S., the text prompts students to form their own opinions about democracy and political science. Geared toward those learning about the topic for the first time, the authors encourage students to consider different paradigms, viewpoints, and theories when developing their own political views.

Part I The Bases of Politics

Chapter 1 Politics and Political Science

What Is Politics?

Classic Works: Concepts and Percepts

What Is Political Science?

Classic Thought: “Never Get Angry at a Fact”

Methods: Learning a Chapter

Theory in Political Science

Theories: Models: Simplifying Reality

“Political Theory” versus Theory in Political Science

Classic Works: Not Just Europeans

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 2 Political Ideologies

What Is Ideology?

Theories: The Origins of Ideologies

Liberalism

Conservatism

Socialism

Nationalism

Methods: Theses

Ideology in Our Day

Case Studies: Islamism: A Political Ideology Emanating from Islam

Democracy: Authoritarian Capitalism

Is Ideology Finished?

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 3 States

Institutionalized Power

Classic Works: Aristotle’s Six Types of Government

Effective, Weak, and Failed States

Theories: Political Development in Three Stages

Unitary or Federal Systems

Methods: Sources

Case Studies: The Shaky Lives of Confederations

Electoral Systems

Case Studies: French and German Variations

States and the Economy

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 4 Constitutions and Rights

Constitutions

The Highest Law of the Land

Case Studies: The Dangers of Changing Constitutions

Case Studies: Canada’s New Constitution

Can Constitutions Ensure Rights?

The Adaptability of the U.S. Constitution

Theories: What Is a Right?

Freedom of Expression in the United States

Methods: References

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 5 Regimes

Representative Democracy

Democracy in Practice: Elitism or Pluralism?

Totalitarianism

Democracy: Dahl’s “Influence Terms”

Methods: Tight Writing

Democracy: Why Democracies Fail

Authoritarianism

Case Studies: Democracy in Iraq?

The Democratization of Authoritarian Regimes

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Part II Political Attitudes

Chapter 6 Political Culture

What Is Political Culture?

Classic Works: The Civic Culture

Democracy: Civil Society

Methods: Quotations

The Decay of Political Culture

Case Studies: Soviet Political Culture and the New Russia

Elite and Mass Subcultures

Theories: Culture and Development

Minority Subcultures

Case Studies: “Yes Scotland!” versus “Better Together”

Democracy: The Three Israels

Political Socialization

Classic Works: The Authoritarian Personality

Case Studies: China Builds Unity

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 7 Public Opinion

What Public Opinion Is and Isn’t

Democracy: A Short History of Polling

The Shape of Public Opinion

Classic Works: Almond’s Three Publics

Democracy: Opinion Curves

Public-Opinion Polls

Methods: Variables

American Opinion

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Part III Political Interactions

Chapter 8 Political Communication

The Mass Media and Politics

Classic Works: The Two-Step Flow of Mass Communications

Democracy: The Tendency to Media Oligopoly

Social Media

Case Studies: The Media and War

The Giant: Television

Methods: Defining Variables

Theories: The Framing of News

Are We Poorly Served?

Case Studies: The Media and Watergate

The Adversaries: Media and Government

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 9 Interest Groups

The Ubiquity of Interest Groups

Theories: Countervailing Power

Interest Groups and Government

Case Studies: French Antipluralism

Effective Interest Groups

Case Studies: Trade Unions and the Right to Strike in the U.K.

Methods: Tables

Interest Group Strategies

Classic Works: Olson’s Theory of Interest Groups

Interest Groups: An Evaluation

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 10 Parties

Methods: Cross-Tabulations

Functions of Parties

Democracy: Parties That Ignore Voters

Parties in Democracies

Theories: What Is a “Relevant” Party?

Classic Works: Duverger’s Three Types of Parties

Classifying Political Parties

Classic Works: Kirchheimer’s “Catchall” Party

Party Systems

Democracy: Multiparty Systems Are More Fun

Theories: Sartori’s Party Competition

The Future of Parties

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 11 Elections

Why Do People Vote?

Who Votes?

Theories: Downs’s Theory of Voting

Methods: Tendency Statements

Who Votes How?

Case Studies: Is the U.S. Electoral System Defective?

Electoral Realignment

Democracy: Partisan Polarization

What Wins Elections?

Democracy: Changing Positions

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Part IV Political Institutions

Chapter 12 Legislatures

The Origins of Parliaments

Presidential and Parliamentary Systems

Classic Works: Where Did the U.S. System Originate?

Bicameral or Unicameral?

What Legislatures Do

Methods: Longitudinal Studies

The Decline of Legislatures

Democracy: Pork-Barrel Politics

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 13 Executives and Bureaucracies

Presidents and Prime Ministers

Democracy: Israel’s Directly Elected Prime Ministers

Democracy: Putin’s Authoritarianism

Classic Works: Lasswell’s Psychology of Power

Executive Leadership

Democracy: An Imperial Presidency?

Methods: Graphs

Cabinets

Classic Works: American Paranoia

Bureaucracies

Classic Works: Weber’s Definition of Bureaucracies

The Trouble with Bureaucracy

Theories: Bureaucratic Politics

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 14 Judiciaries

Types of Law

Classic Works: The Roots of Law

The Courts, the Bench, and the Bar

Case Studies: Common Law versus Code Law

Comparing Courts

Classic Works: Marbury v. Madison

The Role of the Courts

Methods: Scattergrams

The Supreme Court’s Political Role

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Part V What Political Systems Do

Chapter 15 Political Economy

What Is Political Economy?

Case Studies: How High Are U.S. Taxes?

Government and the Economy

Methods: Maps

What Is Poverty?

Democracy: Poverty and Ideology

Case Studies: Welfare Spending versus Tax Expenditures

The Costs of Welfare

How Big Should Government Be?

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 16 Violence and Revolution

System Breakdown

Types of Violence

Methods: Thinkpieces

Theories: Rising Expectations

Terrorism

Case Studies: Revolutionary Political Warfare in Vietnam

Revolutions

Case Studies: The Iranian Revolutionary Cycle

After the Revolution

Case Studies: Violent versus Velvet Revolutions

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Chapter 17 International Relations

What Is International Relations?

Power and National Interest

Methods: Avoid “They”

Theories: Types of National Interest

The Importance of Economics

Why War?

Classic Works: Kennan’s Dinosaur Analogy

Keeping Peace

Beyond Sovereignty?

Democracy: The Democratic Peace

U.S. Foreign Policy: Involved or Isolated?

Theories: Klingberg’s Alternation Theory

Classic Works: Thucydides on War

Review Questions

Key Terms

Further Reference

Glossary

Index