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This highly successful introduction to the world of politics has been fully revised and updated in collaboration with a new co-author, Nigel Jackson of the University of Plymouth. The new edition builds on the reputation for clarity and comprehensive coverage of the previous editions. It explores the varieties of political systems, the main political movements and key issues at the beginning of the twenty-first century.New to the fourth edition:
• Comparison of quantitative and qualitative methods
• More international examples
• Greater discussion of non-Western concepts of politics
• The problem of voter apathy and lack of trust in politicians
• More discussion of the ‘war on terrorism’
• Extended analysis of the role of the Internet in politics including blogs,
search engine censorship and e-democracy
• Analysis of further key concepts such as genocide and policy networks
• More links to web pages including case studies, further questions to
explore and additional learning activities.
Accessible in style and topical in content, this book assumes no prior knowledge of politics. These features make it ideal reading for general readers as
well as for those who are just beginning to study politics at undergraduate level.
well as for those who are just beginning to study politics at undergraduate level.
Content:-
List of illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
1 Politics
This chapter
Politics in everyday life
What is politics
Approaches to the study of politics?
Traditional scholarship
Social science and politics
Schools of political science
Theories, models, paradigms
Radical and postmodernist criticism
Conclusion
Recommended reading
Websites
2 Systems
This chapter
States and societies
Politics without the state: tribal societies
Feudalism
States without nations: kingdoms
States without nations: empires
Nations and states
The nation state and sovereignty
Politics between states
Politics beyond the state: international institutions
Multinational enterprises and ‘globalisation’
Politics as a universal activity
Recommended reading
Websites
3 Concepts
This chapter
Human nature and politics
Is the state necessary?
Why should i obey the state?
The nature of authority
What is justice?
Individualism versus collectivism
Rights: natural, human, legal
Equality
Positive and negative freedom
Analysing political concepts
Recommended reading
Websites
4 Ideologies
This chapter
Ideology
‘Right’ versus ‘left’
The old right: monarchism
The radical right: Nazism and fascism
Marxism
Leninism and Stalinism
Other Marxisms
Radicalism
Radical theism – Catholic, Protestant and Islamic
Ecology as political radicalism
Feminism as political radicalism
Liberalism
Conservatism
Thatcherism and neo-conservatism
Christian democracy
Socialism and social democracy
Communitarianism and the ‘third way’
Recommended reading
Websites
5 Processes
This chapter .
Political identity
Political socialisation and political culture
Localism, nationalism, religion and ethnicity
Racial and ethnic conflict
Dominance, assimilation and social pluralism
Elites, classes and political pluralism
Political change
Coups d’état and revolutions
Terror and terrorism
Class conflict in the twenty-first century
Post-industrial politics: the information polity?
‘North’ versus ‘South’?
Conclusion
Recommended reading
Websites
6 States
This chapter
Types of state
Democracy, the welfare state and the market
Forms of representative democracy
Military autocracy
Civil autocracy
Totalitarian governments
Nazi government
Soviet government
Islamic government – breaking the mould?
Multi-level government
European political institutions
Local government
Conclusion
Recommended reading
Websites
7 Democracy
This chapter
How can government be ‘democratic’?
Participation and direct democracy
Choosing rulers
Electoral systems
The executive
The legislature 177
The judiciary
Constitutions and constitutionalism
Rights and constitutions
Pluralist policy making
Corporatism
Centralisation
Political communication
Political parties
‘Spin’ and political marketing
The permanent campaign
Interest groups
The mass media
The Internet
Democracy and communication
Recommended reading
Websites
8 Policies
This chapter .
Public policy problems and solutions
The choice of social decision-making mechanisms
The case for the market
Problems of market decision making
Voluntary organisation
Rational policy making: bureaucracy
Problems with ‘rational’ policy making
Incremental decision making
The policy process
Implementing public policy
Managing local public policy
Multi-level governance
Evaluating public policy
Monitoring performance in public policy
Evaluating policy outcomes: the distribution of wealth and income
The political policy-making process
A crisis in democratic politics?
Taking political action
Recommended reading
Websites
Appendix: sources on politics
References
Index
Author Details
Stephen D. Tansey has taught Politics at the universities of Ife (Nigeria), Exeter and Bournemouth, for the Open University and the WEA. He is the author of Business, Information Technology and Society (also published by Routledge).
Nigel Jackson has worked as a parliamentary agent for a UK political party, for an MP and as a parliamentary lobbyist. Teaching at the University of Plymouth, his research interests are in political communication and political marketing, especially online.
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