Power and Choice

This is a comparative, conceptual introduction to political science, organized topically rather than country-by-country, providing in-depth examples at the end of most chapters to provide greater richness about various countries than a topical treatment would normally provide. The theme of 'power and choice,' based on a definition of politics as the making of collective choices for a group or state through the use of power, runs through much of the text.

ISBN 0073379034   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780073379036 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 598 Publisher McGraw-Hill Education - Europe   Published in London Imprint McGraw Hill Higher Education   Previous ISBN 9780073403915 Format Paperback   Height (mm) 231 Publication date 01 Jan 2010   Width (mm) 162 DEWEY 320.01   Spine width (mm) 20 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Tertiary education Pages 480

Part One: The Idea of Politics Chapter 1. Politics: Setting the Stage Politics Politics as the Making of Common Decisions Politics as the Exercise of Power Politics as the Exercise of Choice Power and Choice Politics of the State Political Science The Pleasures of Politics Chapter 2. Modern Ideologies and Political Philosophy American Ideologies Liberalism The Conservative Reaction The Socialist Alternative Communism and Socialism Fascism Ideologies in the Twenty-first Century Religion, Politics, and Political Philosophy Political Philosophy in Other Historical Eras Part Two: The State and Public Policy Chapter 3. The Modern State The Development of the Modern State The Origin of States: Power or Choice? The State as a Device to Provide Public Goods "State," "Nation," and the "Nation-State" State-Building Government and the State Challenges to the State Some Possible Alternatives Example: State Building in Nigeria Example: State Building in the European Union Chapter 4. Policies of the State The Role of Government in the Third World Constraints and Conditions for Policy Defense Policy Education Research and Development Health and Social Welfare Democracy and Public Policy The Place of Power in Policy Analysis Example: The Demographic Challenge Example: Economic Development Compared with "Human Development" Example: Uganda: An African AIDS Success Story Chapter 5. Economic Policy of the State Economic Performance 1: Growth Economic Performance 2: Controlling Inflation and Unemployment Managing Distribution to Address inequality Independent Central Banks Corruption Other Measures Available to Government Globalization: Are States Losing their Ability to Make Economic Policy? Political Economy Example: Economic Policy in Germany Example: Economic Policy in Indonesia Chapter 6. What Lies Behind Policy: Questions of Justice and Efficiency The Problem of Justice Other Aspects of Justice: Procedural Justice Effectiveness A Basic Question of Effectiveness: Authority Versus the Market The Need to Act, Even Under Uncertainty Example: Political Choice Part Three: The Citizen and the Regime Chapter 7. Democracy and Autocracy Democracy The Coming and Going of Democracy Possible Explanations What Did We Learn From the Third Wave? Why Are Prosperous Countries Likely to Be Democracies? Democracy and Freedom Democracy and Capitalism Autocracy Military Government Why Aren't There More Military Governments? One-Party States Monarchies and Theocracies Democracy Versus Autocracy: Material Considerations "Power and Choice" Again Example: Democratization in Spain Example: Fragile Democracy in Peru Example: Theocracy in Iran Chapter 8. How Individuals Relate to the State, and the State to the Individual Legitimacy and Authority Sources of Legitimacy The "Democratic Citizen" How Well are These Requirements Met? Social Capital Political Culture An Application of Political Culture: Robert Kagan's Of Paradise and Power Religion and Politics Political Socialization Example: Building Authority and Legitimacy in West Germany After World War II Example: Declining Democratic legitimacy in the United States Part Four: The Apparatus of Governance Chapter 9. Constitutions and the Design of Government Variations in Formality The Virtue of Vagueness Other Principles of Constitutional Design Constitution-Writing The Geographic Concentration of Power "Federal" and "Unitary" States The Distinction Between "Unitary" and "Centralized" States How Much Centralization is Good? Constitutions and Guarantees of Rights "Constitutionalism" and the Rule of Law Example: Constitutional Government in Great Britain Example: Constitutional Government in Russia Chapter 10. Elections Elections as a Means of Building Support Elections as a Means of Selecting Leaders and Policies Electoral Systems Referendums Electoral Participation Effects of Choice and Information on Turnou

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