Contending Perspectives in Comparative Politics

by Mayer, Lawrence C.

• ISBN13: 9780872899254
• ISBN10: 087289925X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-12-01
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

In addition to a well-chosen set of classic readings, Contending Perspectives also offers students access to cutting-edge research. By framing chapters around a central question in the field, the editors are able to show students how scholars approach inquiry with different perspectives, producing controversy and consensus in interesting and instructive ways. With these selections, students see work with data, theory, and analysis at its best and set in proper context&BAD:-not pieces chosen just for their currency or for pages of colorful detail. Chapter introductions and selection headnotes offer important background and critical thinking questions.

Author Biography

Lawrence Mayer is professor of political science at Texas Tech University. His current research interests include party system change, especially in the weakening of mainstream parties of the moderate left and right, and the emergence of populist parties of identity. His published books include Comparative Politics: The Quest for Theory and Explanation; Comparative Politics: Nations and Theories in a Changing World (with John H. Burnett, Suzanne Ogden, and John Tuman); Redefining Comparative Politics; Politics in Industrial Societies (with John H. Burnett); and Comparative Political Inquiry: A Methodological Survey. Dennis Patterson is associate professor of political science and concentration director for Texas Tech University's interdisciplinary graduate program in international studies. His areas of specialization include comparative politics, politics in Japan and Asia, political institutions, security issues in East Asia, and statistical and formal methods. His numerous articles and book chapters on topics including elections and electoral influences on policymaking in Japan have appeared in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, British Journal of Political Science, World Politics, Women and Politics, and Pacific Focus. He recently published (with Dick Beason) The Japan That Never Was: Explaining the Rise and Decline of a Misunderstood Country and is currently working on a project that examines the politics of election system change in comparative perspective. Frank Thames is assistant professor of political science at Texas Tech University. His current research focuses on legislative behavior in post-communist legislatures and the economic effects of electoral systems. His journal articles have appeared in Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Demokratizatsiya, Europe-Asia Studies, Social Science Quarterly, and Comparative Political Studies.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Methodology and Comparative Analysis
Does the Comparative Method Contribute to Building a Body of Explanatory Theory about Political Outcomes?	p. 1
The Epistemology of Social Science and the Comparative Method	p. 5
Beyond the Comparative Method	p. 20
What Is the Utility of Formal Theory in Comparative Analysis?	p. 25
Methodological Pathologies	p. 27
In Defense of the Rational Choice Approach	p. 40
The Practice and Context of Democratic Politics
Why Do Some Democracies Emphasize Representation While Others Emphasize Ruling?	p. 56
The Westminster Model of Democracy	p. 58
The Consensus Model of Democracy	p. 68
Ideological Change or Ideological Decline?	p. 75
The End of History?	p. 77
Post-Materialism in an Environment of Insecurity	p. 92
Value Change in Industrial Societies	p. 114
Systems and Institutions
Realignment or Dealignment?	p. 130
New Forms of Democracy? Reform and Transformation of Democratic Institutions	p. 134
The Extreme Right: Defining the Object and Assessing the Causes	p. 149
Do Electoral Institutions Matter?	p. 162
Why Study Electoral Systems? and General Features of Electoral Systems	p. 165
Who Has the Right to Vote?	p. 176
What Executive Style Is Most Favorable to Democracy?	p. 195
The Perils of Presidentialism	p. 200
What Makes Presidential Democracies Fragile?	p. 211
Juan Linz, Presidentialism, and Democracy: A Critical Appraisal	p. 228
The State and National Sovereignty
What Is the Importance of the Nation-State in an Age of Globalization?	p. 242
The Eclipse of the State? Reflections on Stateness in an Era of Globalization	p. 245
Sense and Nonsense in the Globalization Debate	p. 261
Should the Nation-State Be Replaced by Larger Political Units?	p. 270
The Case Against "Europe"	p. 272
The EU and Its "Constitution": Public Opinion, Political Elites, and Their International Context	p. 281
Understanding the Dutch "No": The Euro, the East, and the Elite	p. 289
Modernization
Does Modernization Lead to Stable and Effective Democracy?	p. 296
Rapid Growth as a Destabilizing Force	p. 299
Toward a Non-Ethnocentric Theory of Development	p. 309
Is Dependency Theory an Explanation or an Ideology?	p. 326
Dependency and Imperialism: The Roots of Latin American Underdevelopment	p. 327
Structuring the Concepts of Dependency Reversal	p. 344
Violence and Revolution
Which Approach, Macro or Micro, Best Explains Political Violence?	p. 362
A Causal Model of Civil Strife: A Comparative Analysis Using New Indices	p. 366
Social Revolutions and Mass Military Mobilization	p. 389
The Clash of Civilizations?	p. 404
Transitions to Democracy
What Causes Transitions to Democracy?	p. 419
Political Regime Change: Structure and Process-Driven Explanations	p. 422
Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model	p. 433
Can Democratic Transition Be Consolidated?	p. 447
Illusions about Consolidation	p. 449
Toward Consolidated Democracies	p. 463
Are There Cultural Requisites for Democracy?	p. 477
Review of Edward Friedman, Ed., The Politics of Democratization: Generalizing East Asian Experiences	p. 479
A Revised Theory of Modernization	p. 485
Index	p. 515
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