By Michael G. Roskin
Descripción: 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.
Contenido: 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
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