Doing comparative politics an introduction to approaches and issues

Synopsis

'Unlike most other introductory texts in comparative politics that focus on country cases, Lim's valuable book gives students the skills to become critical thinkers and to actually DO comparative politics themselves.' ?Claudio Holzner, University of Utah Systematic, coherent, and user friendly, this decidedly nontraditional introduction to comparative politics is designed to teach students how to think comparatively and theoretically about the world they live in.The core of the book is organized around a set of critical questions'why are poor countries poor? why is East Asia rich? what makes a democracy? what makes a terrorist? what makes a social movement'each the topic of a full chapter. These issue chapters are based on the solid methodological and theoretical foundation laid out in the first part of the book. Graphics and definition boxes enhance the text.Doing Comparative Politics will stimulate your students to critically engage with both the content and the methods of the field.Timothy Lim is associate professor of political science at California State University, Los Angeles, and associate director of the university's Center for Korean American and Korean Studies.Contents: The Basics. Introduction: What is Comparative Politics? ? Comparing to Learn, Learning to Compare ? Thinking Theoretically in Comparative Politics: An Introduction ? The Questions. Why Are Poor Countries Poor?: Explaining Underdevelopment ? Why is East Asia Rich?: Explaining Capitalist Development in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan ? What Makes a Democracy?: Explaining Democratic Transition and the Breakdown of Authoritarian Rule ? What Makes a Social Movement?: Explaining the Rise and Success of Social Movements ? What Makes a Terrorist?: Explaining Political Violence ? Recent Developments. Globalization and the Study of Comparative Politics.