Countries and Concepts : Politics, Geography, and Culture

by Roskin, Michael G.

• ISBN13: 9780130867582
• ISBN10: 0130867586
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

For undergraduate Political Science courses including Introduction to Comparative Politics, Introduction to European Politics, and Introduction to Politics. Introduces the concepts and vocabulary of Comparative Politics through a country-by-country analysis and recent case studies. By demonstrating that political life is universal and comparable, the text also proves that no country is really alien, but rather that all countries are understandable.

Table of Contents

Feature Boxes	xiii
A Note to Instructors	xvii
The Concept of Country	1	(19)
The Classic Nation-State	2	(1)
The Modern State	3	(1)
The Rise of Nationalism	3	(2)
Looking for Quarrels	5	(1)
The Impact of the Past	6	(3)
The Key Institutions	9	(1)
Political Culture	10	(4)
Patterns of Interaction	14	(3)
What People Quarrel About	17	(1)
Key Terms	18	(1)
Further Reference	18	(2)
Part I Great Britain	20	(66)
Britain: The Impact of the Past	22	(12)
Magna Carta	23	(2)
The Rise of Parliament	25	(1)
Henry VIII	25	(1)
Parliament versus King	26	(2)
Cromwell's Commonwealth	28	(1)
The ``Glorious Revolution''	28	(1)
The Rise of the Prime Minister	29	(1)
The Democratization of Parliament	30	(2)
The Rise of the Welfare State	32	(1)
Key Terms	33	(1)
Further Reference	33	(1)
Britain: The Key Institutions	34	(15)
The Monarch	35	(1)
The Cabinet	36	(3)
The Prime Minister	39	(2)
The Commons	41	(2)
How the Commons Works	43	(2)
The New House of Lords	45	(1)
The Parties	45	(2)
Key Terms	47	(1)
Further Reference	48	(1)
British Political Culture	49	(12)
``Public'' Schools	50	(1)
``Oxbridge''	51	(1)
Class and Voting	52	(1)
The Deferential British?	53	(1)
British Civility	53	(1)
Pragmatism	53	(2)
Traditions and Symbols	55	(1)
Legitimacy and Authority	56	(2)
The Ulster Ulcer	58	(1)
A Changing Political Culture	59	(1)
Key Terms	59	(1)
Further Reference	60	(1)
Britain: Patterns of Interaction	61	(12)
National and Local Party	62	(2)
Politics within the Parties	64	(1)
Parties and Interest Groups	65	(2)
The Parties Face Each Other	67	(1)
The Cabinet and the Civil Servants	68	(2)
The Civil Service and Interest Groups	70	(1)
Key Terms	71	(1)
Further Reference	72	(1)
What Britons Quarrel About	73	(13)
The ``British Disease''	73	(1)
The Thatcher Cure	74	(3)
The Trouble with National Health	77	(2)
Is Northern Ireland Settled?	79	(1)
British Racism	79	(3)
Britain and Europe	82	(1)
Great Britain or Little England?	83	(2)
Key Terms	85	(1)
Further Reference	85	(1)
Part II France	86	(74)
France: The Impact of the Past	88	(15)
The Roman Influence	89	(1)
The Rise of French Absolutism	89	(3)
Louis XIV: The High Point of Absolutism	92	(1)
Why the French Revolution?	92	(2)
From Freedom to Tyranny	94	(3)
The Bourbon Restoration	97	(1)
The Third Republic	98	(1)
Vichy: France Splits Again	98	(2)
The Fourth Republic	100	(1)
Key Terms	101	(1)
Further Reference	102	(1)
France: The Key Institutions	103	(15)
A Semipresidential System	104	(3)
Premier and Cabinet	107	(1)
The National Assembly	108	(3)
A Senate That Fights Back	111	(1)
The French Multiparty System	112	(1)
France's Electoral System	113	(1)
The Constitutional Council	113	(4)
Key Terms	117	(1)
Further Reference	117	(1)
French Political Culture	118	(15)
Historical Roots of French Attitudes	119	(1)
A Climate of Mistrust	120	(2)
The Nasty Split	122	(1)
School for Grinds	123	(2)
The ``Great Schools''	125	(2)
The Fear of ``Face to Face''	127	(1)
Freedom or Authority?	128	(1)
Social Class	128	(2)
The Great Calming Down	130	(2)
Key Terms	132	(1)
Further Reference	132	(1)
France: Patterns of Interaction	133	(14)
The Emerging Party System	134	(1)
The Socialists and the Communists	135	(1)
The Fractured Right	135	(3)
The Stalemate Cycle	138	(2)
Referendum Madness	140	(1)
Fragmented Labor Unions	141	(1)
Business and the Bureaucracy	142	(1)
The Eternal Bureaucracy	143	(1)
Government by Bureaucracy	144	(1)
Key Terms	145	(1)
Further Reference	145	(2)
What the French Quarrel About	147	(13)
Big Guys versus Little Guys	149	(1)
The Privatization Question	149	(2)
What to Do about Unemployment	151	(3)
France's Racial Problem	154	(2)
France's Education Problems	156	(1)
The Covering Up of Things Past	157	(2)
Key Terms	159	(1)
Further Reference	159	(1)
Part III Germany	160	(74)
Germany: The Impact of the Past	162	(17)
Who Are the Germans?	163	(1)
The Fragmented Nation	163	(4)
The Rise of Prussia	167	(2)
German Nationalism	169	(1)
The Second Reich	170	(2)
The Catastrophe: World War I	172	(1)
Republic without Democrats	172	(1)
The Third Reich	173	(3)
The Occupation	176	(2)
Key Terms	178	(1)
Further Reference	178	(1)
Germany: The Key Institutions	179	(15)
The President	182	(1)
The Chancellor	182	(1)
The Cabinet	183	(1)
The Bundestag	184	(3)
The Constitutional Court	187	(1)
Germany's ``Two-Plus'' Party System	188	(1)
The Bundesrat	189	(1)
A Split Electoral System	190	(3)
Key Terms	193	(1)
Further Reference	193	(1)
German Political Culture	194	(13)
The Moral Vacuum	195	(1)
The Remembrance of Things Past	196	(2)
The Generation Gap	198	(3)
A Normal Germany?	201	(2)
The Disorienting Unification	203	(1)
The End of Shell Shock	204	(1)
The German Political Elite	204	(1)
The German Split Personality	205	(1)
Key Terms	205	(1)
Further Reference	206	(1)
Germany: Patterns of Interaction	207	(14)
Parties and the Electorate	209	(2)
The Chancellor and the Electorate	211	(1)
German Dealignment?	212	(1)
The Bundestag and the Citizen	213	(2)
The Union-Party Linkup	215	(1)
The Lander and Berlin	216	(1)
German Voting Patterns	217	(3)
Key Terms	220	(1)
Further Reference	220	(1)
What Germans Quarrel About	221	(13)
The End of the Miracle	222	(2)
How to Merge Two Economies	224	(4)
How Much Welfare?	228	(1)
The Flood of Foreigners	228	(3)
A Fourth Reich?	231	(2)
Key Terms	233	(1)
Further Reference	233	(1)
Part IV Russia	234	(70)
Russia: The Impact of the Past	236	(17)
The Slavic People	237	(1)
Russian Autocracy	238	(1)
Absolutism or Anarchy?	239	(1)
Forced Modernization	240	(1)
Westernizers and Slavophiles	241	(1)
From Frustration to Revolution	241	(1)
Marxism Comes to Russia	242	(2)
Curtain Raiser: The 1905 Revolution	244	(1)
World War I and Collapse	244	(3)
The Revolution and Civil War	247	(3)
War Communism and NEP	250	(1)
Key Terms	251	(1)
Further Reference	251	(2)
Russia: The Key Institutions	253	(14)
The Stalin System	253	(5)
The New System	258	(8)
Key Terms	266	(1)
Further Reference	266	(1)
Russian Political Culture	267	(12)
The Russian Difference	268	(2)
The Mask of Legitimacy	270	(1)
The Illusion of Ideology	271	(1)
The Rediscovery of Civil Society	271	(3)
Natural Egalitarians?	274	(1)
Russian Racism	274	(1)
Learning a Democratic Political Culture	275	(1)
Russia: Paranoid or Normal?	275	(3)
Key Terms	278	(1)
Further Reference	278	(1)
Russia: Patterns of Interaction	279	(1)
Reformers versus Conservatives	279	(2)
President versus Parliament	281	(4)
The Oligarchs	285	(1)
The Mafia	286	(1)
The Army	286	(4)
Key Terms	290	(1)
Further Reference	290
What Russians Quarrel About	278	(26)
Why the Soviet Union Collapsed	291	(1)
How to Reform?	292	(2)
Can Russia Now Reform?	294	(3)
Recover the Lost Republics?	297	(3)
A Middle Way for Socialism?	300	(1)
Which Way Russia?	301	(2)
Key Terms	303	(1)
Further Reference	303	(1)
Part V Japan	304	(70)
Japan: The Impact of the Past	306	(13)
Japanese Feudalism	307	(1)
The European Jolt	308	(1)
The Forced Entry	309	(1)
The 1868 Meiji Restoration	310	(2)
The Path to War	312	(2)
The Great Pacific War	314	(1)
Up from the Ashes	315	(2)
Key Terms	317	(1)
Further Reference	318	(1)
Japan: The Key Institutions	319	(13)
The Monarchy	319	(2)
The Diet	321	(1)
The Prime Minister	322	(2)
The Parties	324	(2)
Japan's Electoral System	326	(3)
The Ministries	329	(1)
Japanese Territorial Organization	330	(1)
Key Terms	330	(1)
Further Reference	331	(1)
Japanese Political Culture	332	(14)
The Cult of the Group	335	(1)
Education for Grinds	336	(3)
Death of a Sarariman	339	(2)
Political Suicide	341	(1)
The ``New Human Race''	342	(2)
Key Terms	344	(1)
Further Reference	344	(2)
Japan: Patterns of Interaction	346	(13)
Bureaucrats in Command	347	(3)
Corruption Scandals	350	(3)
No One in Charge?	353	(1)
No Losers	354	(1)
The Dangers of Multiparty Coalitions	355	(1)
The Blocked Society	356	(2)
Key Terms	358	(1)
Further Reference	358	(1)
What Japanese Quarrel About	359	(15)
The Japanese Economic Miracle	359	(1)
The Secret of Japan's Success	360	(4)
From Bubble to Burst	364	(3)
Should Japanese Live Better?	367	(2)
Should Japan Re-Arm?	369	(3)
A New Japan?	372	(1)
Key Terms	372	(1)
Further Reference	372	(2)
Part VI The Third World	374	(133)
China	376	(32)
The Impact of the Past	376	(2)
A Traditional Political System	378	(1)
The Long Collapse	379	(2)
From Empire to Republic	381	(2)
The Communist Triumph	383	(1)
The Key Institutions	384	(1)
The Soviet Parallel	384	(3)
The Party	387	(1)
The Army	388	(2)
Chinese Political Culture	390	(1)
Traditional Culture	390	(1)
Nationalism	390	(1)
Maoism	391	(1)
Concealed Anger	392	(3)
Patterns of Interaction	395	(1)
Cycles of Upheaval	395	(1)
Radicals and Moderates	396	(2)
Chinese Liberal and Conservative Politics	398	(1)
The Underlying Problem	399	(1)
What Chinese Quarrel About	400	(1)
A Market Economy for China?	400	(2)
A Middle Way for the Middle Kingdom?	402	(2)
Do Markets Lead to Democracy?	404	(1)
Which Is the Real China?	405	(1)
Key Terms	406	(1)
Further Reference	406	(2)
Brazil	408	(32)
The Impact of the Past	408	(1)
The Portuguese Influence	408	(1)
A Painless Independence	409	(2)
From Empire to Republic	411	(1)
The Old Republic	412	(1)
Vargas's ``New State''	413	(1)
The Rise and Fall of Jango Goulart	413	(3)
The Key Institutions	416	(1)
Flawed Structure	416	(1)
Congress and the Presidency	416	(2)
An Inchoate Party System	418	(1)
The Military as Political Institution	419
A Lack of Institutions	398	(24)
Brazilian Political Culture	422	(1)
The Easygoing Image	422	(1)
Brazilian Racism	422	(1)
Brazil's Poor: Passive or Explosive?	423	(2)
Uneven Democratic Attitudes	425	(2)
Patterns of Interaction	427	(1)
An Elite Game	427	(1)
The Mobilization-Demobilization Cycle	427	(2)
The Inflation Connection	429	(1)
The Corruption Connection	430	(1)
Resurgent Interest Groups	431	(1)
The Church as Opposition	432	(1)
What Brazilians Quarrel About	433	(1)
How to Make a Second Brazilian Miracle	433	(2)
Brazil's State Capitalism	435	(1)
Growth for Whom?	436	(1)
The Population Problem	437	(1)
Is Democracy Here to Stay?	438	(1)
Key Terms	438	(1)
Further Reference	439	(1)
South Africa	440	(32)
The Impact of the Past	440	(1)
The Great Trek	441	(1)
The Boer War	442	(1)
From Defeat to Victory	443	(2)
The Key Institutions	445	(1)
System in Flux	445	(1)
A Quasi-Presidential System	445	(2)
A Bicameral Parliament	447	(2)
The Cabinet	449	(1)
The Parties	449	(5)
Farewell to the Homelands	454	(1)
South African Political Culture	454	(1)
The Africans	454	(2)
The Afrikaners	456	(1)
The English-Speakers	457	(1)
Indians and Coloureds	458
The Browns	439	(20)
Patterns of Interaction	459	(1)
Politics within the ANC	459	(1)
The ANC and the Whites	460	(1)
The ANC versus Inkatha	461	(2)
A Dominant-Party System?	463	(2)
Harvest of Hatred	465	(1)
What South Africans Quarrel About	466	(1)
How to Manage a Revolution	466	(1)
Capitalism for South Africa?	466	(2)
Tyrants-in-Waiting?	468	(3)
Key Terms	471	(1)
Further Reference	471	(1)
Iran	472	(30)
The Impact of the Past	472	(1)
The Arab Conquest	472	(1)
Western Penetration	472	(3)
The First Pahlavi	475	(1)
The Last Pahlavi	476	(2)
The Key Institutions	478	(1)
A Theocracy	478	(2)
Iran's Executive	480	(1)
Iran's Legislature	480	(1)
Emerging Parties?	481	(1)
A Partly Free System	482	(2)
Iranian Political Culture	482	(2)
Islam as a Political Ideology	484	(1)
Democracy and Authority	484	(2)
Persian Nationalism	486	(2)
Patterns of Interaction	488	(1)
Religion as a Political Tool	488	(1)
Radicals and Moderates in Iran	489	(4)
The Revolution Burns Out	493	(1)
What Iranians Quarrel About	493	(1)
Which Way for Iran's Economy?	493	(3)
The Veiled Debate on Islam	496	(1)
What Kind of Foreign Policy?	497	(3)
Do Revolutions End Badly?	500	(1)
Key Terms	500	(1)
Further Reference	500	(2)
Lessons of Nine Countries	502	(5)
Glossary	507	(11)
Index	518