Author Profile

Dr. Vishakha Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Dayanand Girls PG College, Kanpur.

About The Book

Comparative Politics primarily focuses on the study of political institutions, processes, and political behavior in countries other than the United States, although the United States may also be examined from a comparative perspective. Scholars in this field seek to answer a wide range of important questions, such as: Why do authoritarian regimes transition to democracy? Why do some nations achieve economic development while others remain trapped in poverty? Why do citizens' attitudes toward the state, religion, welfare policies, and democracy differ across societies? Are political parties still the most effective form of political representation in modern democracies? Why do some political parties emphasize policy programs while others rely on patronage networks? Can courts effectively hold governments accountable? Under what conditions do civil wars and revolutions occur? The Department of Political Science at the University of Florida offers a comprehensive and rigorous program in Comparative Politics. The department adopts a pluralistic approach to the discipline and trains students in a broad range of research methodologies, including experimental, statistical, and interpretive methods. Faculty members emphasize the careful selection of appropriate research methods according to the questions being studied and provide students with advanced methodological training. Many faculty members also support mixed-method approaches to strengthen the reliability and general applicability of research findings. The field of Comparative Politics at UF strongly emphasizes the importance of understanding politics within specific historical, cultural, and regional contexts. Students are encouraged to acquire deep regional expertise and language skills that enable them to conduct meaningful fieldwork. This objective is further supported through collaboration with nationally recognized Title VI centers specializing in African, European, and Latin American studies. Faculty members in Comparative Politics at UF conduct research in diverse areas, including democratization and regime change, political violence, political economy, institutional design, political development, ethnicity, legal institutions, the state and bureaucracy, and public attitudes and political behavior. Their research covers many regions of the world, with particular emphasis on Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1 Meaning, Nature and Scope of Comparative Politics
Chapter 2 Comparative Methods
Chapter 3 Approaches to the Study of Comparative Politics
Chapter 4 Political System: Meaning and Typology
Chapter 5 Democratic Political System
Chapter 6 Non Democratic Political System
Chapter 7 Political Parties
Chapter 8 Political Parties in U.K. and U.S.A
Chapter 9 Pressure Groups in India
Chapter 10 Political Participation
Chapter 11 Voting Behaviour
Bibliography