具体描述
Covers all the core areas of comparative politics, allowing the book to be used on a variety of modules.
Expert contributors provide a diverse range of perspectives to offer students a full and sophisticated account of the subject.
A whole section is devoted to theories and methods to help students develop a conceptual understanding of comparative politics.
Empirical data and examples from both developing regions and advanced industrial countries are included throughout the book.
Student learning is aided by excellent learning features within the text and a wealth of additional resources provided on the accompanying Online Resource Centre.
New to this edition
The second edition has been fully updated and features more in depth coverage of national identity, nation building and nationalism, democratization, constitutional principles, and party positioning.
Chapter 14: 'Interest associations' has been expanded to include trade unions and networks of decision making.
In light of the global financial crisis concepts of deglobalization and economic nationalism are newly examined in chapter 24: 'Globalization and the nation state'.
Comparative Politics provides an exciting and authoritative introduction to one of the most important fields of political science. International experts explore the methods and theories of comparative politics as well as the institutions, actors, processes, and policies at the heart of political systems around the world. Alongside explanation of the most important themes, students are presented with a wealth of empirical data to demonstrate similarities and differences in practice, and to encourage research. By focusing on industrial and developing countries, together with political bodies and systems above and below the level of the nation state, Comparative Politics provides a fully comprehensive and up-to-date account of the discipline.
The second edition of this successful textbook is also supported by an innovative Online Resource Centre with the following features for students and lecturers:
Student Resources:
Comparative data sets for over 200 countries - files can be used for empirical analysis, essay writing and lab exercises
Web directory of data archives
Country comparator
Review questions and exercises
Flashcard glossary
Country profiles
Instructor Resources:
PowerPoint slides
Test bank
Figures and tables from the book
Readership: First, second and third year undergraduates undertaking a module in comparative politics typically taught as part of a political science degree.
作者简介
Edited by Daniele Caramani, Professor of Comparative Politics, University of St Gallen, Switzerland
Contributors:
Klaus von Beyme, University of Heidelberg
James Bickerton, St. Francis Xavier University
Paul Brooker, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Peter Burnell, University of Warwick
Daniele Caramani, University of St. Gallen
Larry Diamond, Stanford University
Roland Erne, University College Dublin
Alain G. Gagnon, Universite du Quebec a Montreal
Michael Gallagher, Trinity College, University of Dublin
Jorgen Goul Andersen, Aalborg University
Simon Hix, London School of Economics
Ronald Inglehart, Michigan University
Richard S. Katz, John Hopkins University
Hans Keman, Free University of Amsterdam
Kees van Kersbergen, University of Aarhus
Herbert Kitschelt, Duke University
Christoph Knill, University of Konstanz
Amie Kreppel, University of Florida
Hanspeter Kriesi, University of Zurich
John Loughlin, Cardiff University
Philip Manow, University of Heidelberg
Wolfgang C. Mueller, University of Vienna
Pippa Norris, Harvard University
B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh
Gianfranco Poggi, University of Trento
Philipp Rehm, Ohio State University
Georg Sorensen, Aarhus University
Alec Stone Sweet, Yale University
Jale Tosun, University of Konstanz
Christian Welzel, Leuphana University
目录信息
Section I: Theories and methods
1: H. C. Klaus von Beyme: The evolution of comparative politics
2: Guy Peters: Approaches in comparative politics
3: Hans Keman: Comparative research methods
Section II: The historical context
4: Gianfranco Poggi: The nation-state
5: Peter Mair: Democracies
6: Paul Brooker: Authoritarian regimes
Section III: Structures and institutions
7: Amie Kreppel: Legislatures
8: Wolfgang C. Muller: Governments and bureacracies
9: Alec Stone Sweet: Constitutions and judicial power
10: Michael Gallagher: Elections and referendums
11: John Loughlin: Federal and local government institutions
Section IV: Actors and processes
12: Richard S. Katz: Political parties
13: Daniele Caramani: Party systems
14: Roland Erne: Interest associations
15: James Bickerton and Alain G. Gagnon: Regions
16: Hanspeter Kriesi: Social movements
17: Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel: Political culture
18: Herbert Kitschelt and Philipp Rehm: Political participation
19: Pippa Norris: Political communication
Section V: Public policies
20: Christoph Knill and Jale Tosun: Policy making
21: Kees van Kersbergen and Philip Manow: The welfare state
22: Jorgen Goul Andersen: The impact of public policies
Section VI: Current issues
23: Simon Hix: The EU as a new political system
24: Georg Sorensen: Globalization and the nation-state
25: Peter Burnell: Promoting democracy
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读后感
用户评价
这本书，说实话，拿到手里的时候，我有点犹豫。封面设计得相当的朴素，那种老派的学术气息扑面而来，让我这个其实更偏爱那些包装鲜亮、观点犀利的当代政治评论的读者，心里咯噔了一下。我原本期待的是一些关于全球化冲击下不同政体如何应对的爆炸性案例分析，或者至少是能看到一些关于人工智能对民主进程影响的前沿探讨。然而，这本书的开篇，却沉浸在对“比较”这个动作本身的哲学性反思中，仿佛在问：我们到底拿什么来比较？是制度形式？是文化内核？还是说，我们只是在用自己熟悉的框架去套用陌生的现实？这种深入骨髓的追问，一开始让我觉得有点沉重，像是在读一本高阶的政治学理论导论，而不是一本面向“比较政治”这个具体领域的实操手册。我记得其中一章花了大篇幅讨论了“合适单位的选择”，那里面的论证逻辑非常严谨，几乎是把所有可能的比较维度都拆解成了最小的变量进行审视，这对于想快速掌握“A国和B国哪里不同”的读者来说，无疑是一种煎熬。它迫使你慢下来，去质疑那些你习以为常的比较起点，这种“慢”和“深”的基调，决定了它绝不是一本能让你迅速成为“专家”的速成读物。它更像一位老派的导师，要求学生先扎好地基，才能谈论盖楼。
这本书给我最大的启发，在于它对“政治文化”这个老生常谈的概念进行了一次彻底的“去巫术化”。很多政治读物在谈论文化时，很容易滑向那种宿命论的泥潭，将一个国家的政治困境简单归咎于其“根深蒂固的文化特质”，仿佛民众的思维模式是铁板一块、无法改变的。然而，这本书却极其细致地拆解了“文化”是如何在政治实践中被建构、被利用，甚至是被“发明”出来的。它不是把文化视为原因，而是将其视为一种“工具箱”或者“语境”。书中对几个特定案例的分析尤其犀利，它展示了政治精英如何娴熟地从历史的残骸中打捞出某些被遗忘的仪式或符号，并将其重新包装，用以巩固当前的权力结构。这让我开始重新审视自己在日常政治新闻中看到的那些关于“民族性”的论断，意识到它们往往是权力斗争的副产品，而非驱动力。这种对表象的穿透，使得全书充满了批判性的张力，它让人对任何看似坚不可摧的政治现实都保持一种必要的警惕和怀疑。
总的来说，这本书与其说是一本教材，不如说是一套严谨的“方法论训练手册”。它不提供简单的答案，它提供的是更复杂、更具韧性的提问方式。我最欣赏的地方在于，它坚持了比较政治学最核心的价值——对“他者”的严肃对待。它不会急于给出一个关于某个国家“是什么”的简洁定义，而是会展示出在这个定义背后，隐藏着多少复杂的博弈、多少被边缘化的声音，以及多少尚未实现的替代方案。我记得书中有一段话，大意是说，比较政治的真正目标，不是为了证明自己所处的政治模式是优越的，而是为了理解人类社会组织自身的无限可能性和局限性。读完之后，我感觉自己看待新闻报道的方式都变了。我不再满足于知道“谁赢了”或者“哪个法案通过了”，而是开始追问：这个结果是如何一步步被“造”出来的？支撑它的权力网络是什么？在更深层次上，哪些被忽略的群体正在为此付出代价？这种视角上的提升，才是这本书留给我最宝贵的东西。
这本书的论证结构，给我留下印象最深刻的是它对“权力的分散与集中”这个核心母题的执着探讨，但它处理的方式极其精妙，完全避开了那种二元对立的陷阱。我原本以为，作为一本“比较政治”的著作，它会毫不意外地将重点放在民主与威权国家的对比上，甚至可能对两种模式的优劣进行一番陈词滥调的辩论。但实际上，作者似乎对这种表面的区分不屑一顾。他真正感兴趣的是，在任何一个政治系统内部，权力的“有效性”和“合法性”是如何被协商和重塑的。书中有一段关于“嵌入式授权”的分析，简直让人拍案叫绝。它不是简单地描述某个国家的选举制度如何运作，而是追溯了权力在特定历史时刻是如何“嵌入”到社会结构、经济关系乃至意识形态之中的。这种叙事方式，让那些原本看似僵化的国家机构，一下子变得鲜活、可塑，甚至充满了偶然性。我记得对比了两个看似截然不同的发展中国家，一个是快速工业化的亚洲虎，另一个是深受后殖民主义困扰的非洲国家，但作者却通过分析它们各自精英阶层对“外部援助”的反应模式，揭示了深层结构上的同构性。这种跨越地理和文化边界的洞察力，是很多只关注案例细节的著作所无法企及的。
阅读体验上，这本书的文字风格是典型的学院派——精准、克制，但偶尔会冒出一些让人眼前一亮的精妙比喻。它最棒的一点在于，它有效地“去中心化”了西方政治理论的霸权地位。我读到它对非西方政治思想资源的引用时，感到非常振奋。比如，它在讨论社会动员和抵抗理论时，不是简单地套用马克斯主义或者涂尔干的框架，而是花了相当的篇幅去挖掘某些地方性政治哲学中关于“集体行动”的独特理解。这使得整本书的视野瞬间开阔。它不是在教你“如何用西方的尺子量度世界”，而是在搭建一个平台，让不同的政治逻辑得以平视对话。说实话，我特别喜欢它对“制度的生命周期”的描述。它没有把制度看作是永恒不变的蓝图，而是将其视为一个不断被实践者“重新诠释”和“磨损”的过程。这种动态的、过程性的视角，极大地挑战了我过去那种对“完美制度”的静态想象。它让我意识到，任何一种政治安排，都只是在特定时空下达成的一种脆弱的平衡，随时可能被新的社会张力所重塑。
comparative politics
比较政治学
comparative politics
比较政治学
比较政治学
