William Roberts Clark is head of the Department of Political Science at Texas A&M University and a fellow at the Institute for the Study of Religion at Baylor University. He is the author of Capitalism, Not Globalism, and his articles have appeared in American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, Political Analysis, and European Union Politics, among other journals. He has been teaching at a wide variety of public and private schools (William Paterson College, Rutgers University, Georgia Tech, Princeton, New York University, and the University of Michigan) for more than three decades. Matt Golder was previously assistant professor of political science at Florida State University. He is the author of articles which have appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, Electoral Studies, and Political Analysis among other journals. He has taught classes on comparative politics, advanced industrialized democracies, quantitative methods, and European politics at the University of Iowa, Florida State University, and the University of Essex. Sona Nadenichek Golder was previously assistant professor of political science at Florida State University. She is the author of The Logic of Pre-Electoral Coalition Formation, and has published articles in the British Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies, and European Union Politics. She teaches courses on European politics, democracies and dictatorships, comparative institutions, game theory, and comparative politics at Florida State University and was a Mentor-in-Residence for the 2007 Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models Summer Program at UCLA .

I am adjunct teaching this course and the main course leader used the book last year and recommended that I do the same. The book is very useful and we follow closely with narrative of the book and its themes. This provides the students who are faced with the subject for the first time with some degree of security. I am happy with the text and would use it again.

• Part I. What Is Comparative Politics?Chapter 1. IntroductionOverview of the BookThe Approach Taken in This BookKey ConceptsChapter 2. What Is Science?IntroductionWhat Is Science?The Scientific MethodAn Introduction to LogicMyths about ScienceConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsChapter 3. What Is Politics?The Exit, Voice, and Loyalty GameSolving the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty GameEvaluating the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty GameConclusionKey ConceptsPreparation for the ProblemsProblemsPart II. The Modern State: Democracy or Dictatorship?Chapter 4. The Origins of the Modern StateWhat Is a State?Somalia and Syria: Two Failed StatesThe Contractarian View of the StateThe Predatory View of the StateConclusionKey ConceptsPreparation for the ProblemsProblemsChapter 5. Democracy and Dictatorship: Conceptualization and MeasurementDemocracy and Dictatorship in Historical PerspectiveClassifying Democracies and DictatorshipsConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsChapter 6. The Economic Determinants of Democracy and DictatorshipClassic Modernization TheoryA Variant of Modernization TheorySome More Empirical EvidenceConclusionKey ConceptsAppendix: An Intuitive Take on Statistical AnalysesProblemsChapter 7. Cultural Determinants of Democracy and DictatorshipClassical Cultural Arguments: Mill and MontesquieuDoes Democracy Require a Civic Culture?Religion and DemocracyExperiments and CultureConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsChapter 8. Democratic TransitionsBottom-Up Transitions to DemocracyTop-Down Transitions to DemocracyConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsChapter 9. Democracy or Dictatorship: Does it Make a Difference?The Effect of Regime Type on Economic GrowthThe Effect of Regime Type on Government PerformanceConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsPart III. Varieties of Democracy and DictatorshipChapter 10. Varieties of DictatorshipA Common Typology of Authoritarian RegimesThe Two Fundamental Problems of Authoritarian RuleSelectorate TheoryConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsChapter 11. Problems with Group Decision MakingProblems with Group Decision MakingArrow’s TheoremConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsAPPENDIX: STABILITY IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL MAJORITY-RULE VOTINGChapter 12. Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential DemocraciesClassifying DemocraciesMaking and Breaking Governments in Parliamentary DemocraciesMaking and Breaking Governments in Presidential DemocraciesMaking and Breaking Governments in Semi-Presidential DemocraciesA Unifying Framework: Principal-Agent and Delegation ProblemsConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsChapter 13. Elections and Electoral SystemsElections and Electoral IntegrityElectoral SystemsConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsChapter 14. Social Cleavages and Party SystemsPolitical Parties: What Are They, and What Do They Do?Party SystemsWhere Do Parties Come From?Types of Parties: Social Cleavages and Political Identity FormationNumber of Parties: Duverger’s TheoryConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsChapter 15. Institutional Veto PlayersFederalismBicameralismConstitutionalismVeto PlayersConclusionKey ConceptsProblemsPart IV. Varieties of Democracy and Political OutcomesChapter 16. Consequences of Democratic InstitutionsMajoritarian or Consensus Democracy?The Effect of Political Institutions on Fiscal PolicyElectoral Laws, Federalism, and Ethnic ConflictPresidentialism and Democratic SurvivalConclusionKey ConceptsProblems