Drawing on classic and contemporary scholarship and empirical analysis of elections and public expenditures in 80 countries, the author argues for the existence of primary and secondary laws of politics.

Starting with how basic elements of politics-leadership, organization, ideology, resources, and force-coalesce in the formation of states, he proceeds to examine the operations of those laws in democracies and dictatorships. Primary laws constrain the support that incumbents draw from the electorate, limiting their time in office. They operate unimpeded in democracies. Secondary laws describe the general tendency of the state to expand vis-a-vis economy and society. They exert their greatest force in one-party states imbued with a totalitarian ideology. The author establishes the primary laws in a rigorous analysis of 1,100 parliamentary and presidential elections in 80 countries, plus another 1,000 U.S. gubernatorial elections. Evidence for the secondary laws is drawn from public expenditure data series, with findings presented in easily grasped tables and graphs. Having established these laws quantitatively, the author uses Cuba as a case study, adding qualitative analysis and a practical application to propose a constitutional framework for a future Cuban democracy.

Written in an engaging, jargon-free style, this enlightening book will be of great interest to students and scholars in political science, especially those specializing in comparative politics, as well as opinion leaders and engaged citizens.

About the Author

Alfred G. Cuzan is Distinguished University Professor of Political Science at the University of West Florida, U.S.A., where he teaches primarily American and comparative politics.

Reviews

"In political science, developing a grand theory of everything political seems like an unattainable goal. But Cuzan's Laws of Politics brings us several significant steps closer to it. This work is a major scientific achievement."

Arend Lijphart, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of California San Diego, U.S.A.

"Cuzan tests claims about state power around the world, in democracies and non-democracies alike. Drawing on data from elections and public expenditures in 80 countries, he advances sweeping propositions based on patterns that only such a broad-gauged analysis could reveal. Few works of comparative politics are so ambitious, or so thought-provoking."

John M. Carey, Professor of Government and Wentworth Professor in the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College, U.S.A.

"If the title of this book challenges people's assumptions about the political world, the content delivers a powerful punch. In this broadly comparative empirical study, Cuzan documents various laws of politics that operate in representative democracies and authoritarian systems, probing their causes and contemplating their consequences along the way. I heartily recommend it."

Chistopher Wlezien, Hogg Professor of Government at the University of Texas, U.S.A.

Book Information
ISBN 9780367759513
Author Alfred G. Cuzan
Format Paperback
Page Count 158
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 362g