Comparative politics is the systematic study and comparison of the world's political systems. The course begins by discussing the factors and categories of analysis that political scientists and important international institutions like the World Bank, NATO, and the United Nations use regularly; it ends by comparing and contrasting governments from five different regions of the world: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Define the chief characteristics of a nation state; Identify and explain various comparative methodologies used to compare various political systems; Distinguish between unitary, federal, and confederal governmental models; Compare and contrast political cultures in selected countries; Compare and contrast political socialization in selected countries; Describe and explain patterns of representation and participation in selected countries; Compare and contrast the roles and functions of political parties in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of interest groups in selected countries; Identify and explain governance and policy-making in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the executive in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the judicial branch in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the bureaucracy and the policy process in selected countries; Describe and explain the political economy and development in selected countries; Identify and explain political challenges and changing agendas in selected countries. (Political Science 221)

Designed to meet the scope and sequence of your course, OpenStax Introduction to Political Science provides a strong foundation in global political systems, exploring how and why political realities unfold. Rich with examples of individual and national social action, this text emphasizes students’ role in the political sphere and equips them to be active and informed participants in civil society. Learn more about what this free, openly-licensed textbook has to offer you and your students.

This textbook introduces key feminist concepts and analytical frameworks used in the interdisciplinary Women, Gender, Sexualities field. It unpacks the social construction of knowledge and categories of difference, processes and structures of power and inequality, with a focus on gendered labor in the global economy, and the historical development of feminist social movements. The book emphasizes feminist sociological approaches to analyzing structures of power, drawing heavily from empirical feminist research.

Nature (the art whereby God hath made and governes the world) is by the art of man, as in many other things, so in this also imitated, that it can make an Artificial Animal.

In past decade or so, local governments across the United States have become more innovative in their approaches to civic engagement, with many of them investing in civic education programs often called citizens academies. These programs educate residents on virtually all aspects of local government to improve participants’ ability to effectively engage with their local government. Further, many community leadership programs include content on local government, and civic groups often look for informal learning opportunities for their members. This fifth edition of Local Government in North Carolina remains a great resource for K-12 education, particularly civics classes that often have very little information on local government. But this edition is also appropriate and useful as a resource for adult education programs of various kinds and has been designed to be adaptable to a variety of different uses.

Introductory -- Of the liberty of thought and discussion -- Of individuality, as one of the elements of well-being -- Of the limits to the authority of society over the individual -- Applications.

An audiobook production of American Government 3e by OpenStax, including audio recordings of all 17 chapters. The OpenStax American Government Audiobook is available on multiple streaming platforms. It is narrated and produced by Brian Barrick and Sarah Arya.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: American Government and Civic Engagement
Chapter 2: The Constitution and Its Origins
Chapter 3: American Federalism
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
Chapter 5: Civil Rights
Chapter 6: The Politics of Public Opinion
Chapter 7: Voting and Elections
Chapter 8: The Media
Chapter 9: Political Parties
Chapter 10: Interest Groups and Lobbying
Chapter 11: Congress
Chapter 12: The Presidency
Chapter 13: The Courts
Chapter 14: State and Local Government
Chapter 15: The Bureaucracy
Chapter 16: Domestic Policy
Chapter 17: Foreign Policy

The Prince -- Description of the methods adopted by the Duke Valentino when murdering Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, the Signor Pagolo, and the Duke di Gravina Orsini -- The life of Castruccio Castracani of Lucca.

The purpose of this book is to appraise the current relevance and validity of realism as an interpretative tool in contemporary International Relations. All chapters of the book are animated by a theoretical effort to define the conceptual aspects of realism and attempt to establish whether the tradition still provides the necessary conceptual tools to scholars. The chapters address important issues in contemporary world politics through the lens of realist theory such as the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East; the war against ISIS; the appearance of non-state actors and outlaw agents; the rise of China; cyberwarfare; human rights and humanitarian law. The collection also provides insights on some of the theoretical tenets of classical and structural realism. Overall, the collection shows that, in spite of its many shortcomings, realism still offers a multifaceted understanding of world politics and enlightens the increasing challenges of world politics.

Reader, thou hast here the beginning and end of a discourse concerning government; what fate has otherwise disposed of the papers that should have filled up the middle, and were more than all the rest, it is not worth while to tell thee.

Slavery to Liberation: The African American Experience gives instructors, students, and general readers a comprehensive and up-to-date account of African Americans’ cultural and political history, economic development, artistic expressiveness, and religious and philosophical worldviews in a critical framework. It offers sound interdisciplinary analysis of selected historical and contemporary issues surrounding the origins and manifestations of White supremacy in the United States. By placing race at the center of the work, the book offers significant lessons for understanding the institutional marginalization of Blacks in contemporary America and their historical resistance and perseverance.

Overview: An introductory text on US State and Local Government suitable for undergraduate studies (upper/lower division).

Originally published by Oregon State University (download link: https://open.oregonstate.education/government/, the authors have been regularly updating the text.

Subject: Political Science Level: Community College / Lower Division, College / Upper Division Material Type: Textbook Author: Brent S. Steel, Christopher A. Simon, Nicholas P. Lovrich, Virginia Edition updated by JamesJ.Tuite Date Added: 08/10/2020

License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike Language: English Media Format: Downloadable docs

Our book represents a unique opportunity for three generations of scholars to reflect upon and collectively consider their decades’ long research, and the meaning of that research to both the broader society and to students of contemporary politics. Nicholas Lovrich served as a graduate school mentor to Brent Steel, and Brent in turn mentored Christopher A. Simon as an undergraduate and guided him to study with Lovrich. Steel and Lovrich have collaborated on research for over 30 years, while Simon has frequently collaborated with Steel and Lovrich for nearly 20 years.

How do we evaluate ambiguous concepts such as wellbeing, freedom, and social justice? How do we develop policies that offer everyone the best chance to achieve what they want from life? The capability approach, a theoretical framework pioneered by the philosopher and economist Amartya Sen in the 1980s, has become an increasingly influential way to think about these issues.

Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: The Capability Approach Re-Examined is both an introduction to the capability approach and a thorough evaluation of the challenges and disputes that have engrossed the scholars who have developed it. Ingrid Robeyns offers her own illuminating and rigorously interdisciplinary interpretation, arguing that by appreciating the distinction between the general capability approach and more specific capability theories or applications we can create a powerful and flexible tool for use in a variety of academic disciplines and fields of policymaking.

This book provides an original and comprehensive account that will appeal to scholars of the capability approach, new readers looking for an interdisciplinary introduction, and those interested in theories of justice, human rights, basic needs, and the human development approach.