The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics offers a critical survey of the field of empirical political science through the collection of a set of chapters written by 48 top scholars in the discipline of comparative politics. Part I includes chapters surveying the key research methodologies employed in comparative politics (the comparative method; the use of history; the practice and status of case-study research; the contributions of field research) and assessing the possibility of constructing a science of comparative politics. Parts II to IV examine the foundations of political order: the origins of states and the extent to which they relate to war and to economic development; the sources of compliance or political obligation among citizens; democratic transitions, the role of civic culture; authoritarianism; revolutions; civil wars and contentious politics. Parts V and VI explore the mobilization, representation and coordination of political demands. Part V considers why parties emerge, the forms they take and the ways in which voters choose parties. It then includes chapters on collective action, social movements and political participation. Part VI opens up with essays on the mechanisms through which political demands are aggregated and coordinated. This sets the agenda to the systematic exploration of the workings and effects of particular institutions: electoral systems, federalism, legislative-executive relationships, the judiciary and bureaucracy. Finally, Part VII is organized around the burgeoning literature on macropolitical economy of the last two decades.

About the Author
Carles Boix is Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. He has written the books Political Parties, Growth and Equality (Cambridge University Press, 1998) and Democracy and Redistribution (Cambridge University Press, 2003). Both books won the American Political Science Association Award for the best book on political economy. Boix has also published articles in leading journals such American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, International Organization, and World Politics. Susan Stokes: PhD, Stanford University, 1988. John S. Saden Professor of Political Science and director of the Yale Program on Democracy. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and the Russell Sage Foundation.

Reviews
This comprehensive work...provides a thorough and contemporary examination of the field of comparative politics and various central questions within it...there is more than enough material here (including detailed references) to keep scholars and bring graduate students completely up to date; indeed the analyses are often cutting edge. Lastly, inasmuch as this handbook series aspires to shape the discipline and not just describe it, many chapters in this handbook usefully conclude with a precise outline of the future research agenda as seen by the author. * Alan Siaroff Politics Studies Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199566020
Author Carles Boix
Format Paperback
Page Count 1034
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1781g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 171mm * 52mm