Encyclopedia of World Political Systems

This comprehensive resource provides up-to-date political coverage of every country and political entity in the world today. It incorporates all the major global and regional changes following the decolonization on Hong Kong in 1997, recent leadership changes in China and Russia, the results of the Dayton Peace Accord, the rise of the New Labour Party in the UK, the 1999 elections in Israel and South Africa, and the continued search for peace in the Middle East and Northern Ireland. The economic crisis in Asia and the wide-spread growth of world nuclear powers are also covered. Encyclopedia of World Political Systems, covering --Part I. a comparative assessment of systems of government and ideologies throughout the world --Part II. detailed portraits of the political systems of every country of the world --Part III. covers the world's remaining semi-sovereign states, colonies, and dependencies, as well as regional and global organizations, including the UN, the European Union, and NAFTA. Information for each country includes the most up-to-date social, economic, and demographics data available; key political figures; an outline of political history, and a locator map. Dozens of tables provide lists of country leaders, members of organizations, election results, and comparative statistics. This essential reference is an expanded and fully updated edition of a single-volume work, Political Systems of the World, previously published in 1996.