"Comparative literature," Earl Miner writes, "clearly involves something more than comparing two great German poets, and something different from a... Chinese studying French literature or a Russian studying Italian literature." But what would a true intercultural poetics be? This work proposes various ways to "study something other than what are, all things considered, the short and simple annals of one cultural parish at one historic moment."The first developed account of theories of literature from an intercultural standpoint, the book shows that an "originative" or "foundational" poetics develops in cultures with explicit poetics when critics define the nature and conditions of literature in terms of the then most esteemed genredrama, lyric, or narrative. Earl Miner demonstrates that these definitions and inferences from them constitute useful bases for comparative poetics.

"A wonderful resource, user friendly and very well written." - Timothy J. Horohol, John Jay CollegeA unique approach to studying police forces around... the globe How do police forces around the world move toward democratization of their operations and responses? Analyzing police forces from 12 different countries, Comparative Policing: The Struggle for Democratization assesses the stages of each country based on the author’s development of a “Continuum of Democracy” scale. Key Features Using five basic themes, this book uses the following criteria to rank and evaluate where each country falls on the continuum, clarifying how policing practices differ: · History of a democratic form of government · Level of corruption within governmental organizations and the oversight mechanisms in place · Scope of and response to civil disobedience · Organization structures of police departments · Operational responses to terrorism and organized crime Intended Audience: This unique analysis of policing is an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate courses in Comparative Criminal Justice, Police Studies, Policing and Society, and Terrorism in departments of criminal justice, criminology, sociology, and government.

This Lexington Books edition of Comparative Political Philosophy brings back into print a volume that was one of the first to move beyond a Eurocentric... bias in the study of political philosophy and provide a well-balanced critique of the perilous transition from tradition to modernity. The book is evidence of the benefits to be reaped from comparison, from a reading of Aristotle together with the Arthashastra, of Mahatma Gandhi with Eric Voegelin, of Voltaire with Confucius. Focusing on key texts from Chinese, Indian, Western and Islamic political philosophy, chapter authors both describe the very different contexts from which philosophic traditions arose and discover basic tenets they have in common. In a new introduction, editors Anthony J. Parel and Ronald C. Keith discuss the changes in political contexts since the book's first publication, and they underscore the increasing importance of the comparative approach.

This book is a textbook designed for teaching a new subfield in political science: the emerging field of "comparative political theory".  It is the... first such textbook.  As taught in American universities, political theory has been traditionally confined to the history of Western political thought from Plato and Aristotle to Hegel and Nietzsche. The editor believes strongly that this limitation is no longer tenable in our globalizing age when different cultures and civilizations are increasingly communicating and interacting with each other.   The text focuses on three areas:  Islamic civilization, Indian civilization, and Far Eastern civilizations.   In each area the text offers an introduction followed by readings dealing with ancient or classical teachings as well as modern and contemporary theoretical developments.   In making these selections, the editor has been ably assisted by experts in the respective fields (Roxanne Euben, Anthony Parel, and Theodore deBary). The text is meant mainly for undergraduate classes but can be consulted with benefit also by more advanced students as well as by the general reading public.

Debuting in its first edition and driven by a question-based approach, Comparative Politics shows readers how to do real comparative analysis while... introducing them to political institutions, identities, and interests. This thematic survey uniquely balances the how–analytical knowledge–and the what–descriptive knowledge–to help readers make their own political arguments and to thus be more critically informed and engaged political participants.

Now in a new edition, Comparative Politics provides an exciting and authoritative introduction to all of the core areas of the field. Featuring a... diverse range of perspectives from expert international contributors, this anthology explores the methods and theories of comparative politics and also examines the institutions, actors, processes, and policies at the heart of political systems around the world. The selections elucidate the major themes and also present students with a wealth of empirical data and examples--drawn from both developing regions and industrial countries--that demonstrate similarities and differences in practice and encourage further research. The text is enhanced by excellent pedagogical features including readers' guides, key points, questions, a guide to further reading, text boxes, and a glossary.NEW TO THIS EDITION:* More in-depth coverage of national identity, nation building and nationalism, democratization, constitutional principles, and party positioning* Chapter 14, Interest Associations, has been expanded to include trade unions and networks of decision-making* In light of the global financial crisis, Chapter 24, Globalization and the Nation-State, newly examines de-globalization and economic nationalismA Companion Website offers students comparative data sets for more than 200 countries, a web directory of data archives, a country comparator, review questions and exercises, a flashcard glossary, and country profiles. It also contains resources for instructors: PowerPoint-based slides, a Test Bank, and figures and tables from the book.

Comparative Politics: A Global Introduction presents a uniquely comprehensive approach to the study of politics in a variety of countries. Part I... surveys the core topics of comparative politics and equips students with the concepts and analytical methods they need to understand the complexities of today’s political world. Part I enhances critical thinking skills by explaining in a step-by-step fashion how the basic techniques of the scientific method, such as qualitative hypothesis testing, can be used to understand political realities. Part II provides in-depth studies of many major countries, using the concepts and analytical techniques introduced in Part I. By combining rich conceptualization, analytical methods, and extensive coverage of a diversity of countries, this engaging text teaches introductory-level students how to think about politics for themselves, logically and systematically.

For freshman/sophomore-level courses in Comparative Politics, World Politics, as well as Introduction to Politics with a comparative focus.   ... Written in aclear, jargon-free style, Comparative Politics emphasizes political institutions and behavior—rather than on abstract conceptual frameworks. This approach makes the text  more accessible to introductory students than most other texts on comparative politics. It features both a cross-national approach which focuses helping students develop develop a comparative understanding of the types of institutions (e.g., constitutions, executives, legislatures, political parties, etc.)—as well as a country-by-country approach that examines those institutions within the contexts of eight different countries. This approach allows students to develop the ability to look how all the “pieces” fit together in various countries.

Using jargon-free language and a carefully structured comparative framework, this text combines intensive individual country studies of seven... important contemporary political systems and systematic comparison of these countries in terms of six key areas. Explores England, France, Germany, Japan, China, Russia and Nigeria individually and comparatively. For individuals interested in a systematic, structured and consistent comparative framework analysis of 7 major political systems.

Beginning with an introduction to the field of comparative politics, this clear and complete text moves on to explore new, innovative directions in the... field. Leading scholar Howard J. Wiarda explores its main approaches, including political development, political culture, dependency theory, corporatism, indigenous theories of change, state-society relations, rational choice, and the new institutionalism. Wiarda addresses many hot issues in the field: Can democracy and human rights be transplanted from one culture to another? Is civil society exportable? What works in the effort to develop the poorer nations and what doesn't? Where are we headed with such frontier research issues as comparative environmental policy, women's rights, and gay rights? The book concludes with a stimulating discussion of whether the great systems debates of the past (socialism vs. capitalism, democracy vs. authoritarianism) are now over and points to some of the next important study and research frontiers. Students, professors, and general readers will all find Comparative Politics current, provocative, and well written_a truly balanced overview.

Comparative Politics: Continuity and Breakdown in the Contemporary World is an exciting new core text for introduction to comparative politics courses,... focusing on the dynamics of politics: modernization, revolution, coups and democratization. Unlike other texts, Comparative Politics integrates thematic and extensive country-specific material in each chapter, striking a unique balance between discussing a wide range of countries and civilizations in detail, whilst using shorter focused textboxes to clearly illustrate key thematic points. Key features and benefits include: explanations of core concepts such as state, nation, regime, legitimacy, modernization, globalization, revolution, and mass movements an introduction of key theoretical approaches such as institutionalism, structural functionalism, political culture, political economy, and game theory detailed coverage of democratization, advanced democracies, developing countries and communist and post-communist states a range of perspectives to present a nuanced view of the discipline and contemporary political developments case studies of individual countries including Germany, the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria, Zaire/Congo, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Pakistan, India, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China country-focused textboxes giving a chronology of key developments, including the United Kingdom, France, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. Extensively illustrated throughout with maps, photographs, tables and explanatory boxes, Comparative Politics is an innovative core text, and essential reading for all students of Comparative Politics.