Contending Perspectives in Comparative Politics

In addition to a well-chosen set of classic readings, Contending Perspectives also offers students access to cutting-edge research. By framing chapters around a central question in the field, the editors are able to show students how scholars approach inquiry with different perspectives, producing controversy and consensus in interesting and instructive ways. With these selections, students see work with data, theory, and analysis at its best and set in proper context&BAD:-not pieces chosen just for their currency or for pages of colorful detail. Chapter introductions and selection headnotes offer important background and critical thinking questions.

Lawrence Mayer is professor of political science at Texas Tech University. His current research interests include party system change, especially in the weakening of mainstream parties of the moderate left and right, and the emergence of populist parties of identity. His published books include Comparative Politics: The Quest for Theory and Explanation; Comparative Politics: Nations and Theories in a Changing World (with John H. Burnett, Suzanne Ogden, and John Tuman); Redefining Comparative Politics; Politics in Industrial Societies (with John H. Burnett); and Comparative Political Inquiry: A Methodological Survey. Dennis Patterson is associate professor of political science and concentration director for Texas Tech University's interdisciplinary graduate program in international studies. His areas of specialization include comparative politics, politics in Japan and Asia, political institutions, security issues in East Asia, and statistical and formal methods. His numerous articles and book chapters on topics including elections and electoral influences on policymaking in Japan have appeared in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, British Journal of Political Science, World Politics, Women and Politics, and Pacific Focus. He recently published (with Dick Beason) The Japan That Never Was: Explaining the Rise and Decline of a Misunderstood Country and is currently working on a project that examines the politics of election system change in comparative perspective. Frank Thames is assistant professor of political science at Texas Tech University. His current research focuses on legislative behavior in post-communist legislatures and the economic effects of electoral systems. His journal articles have appeared in Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Demokratizatsiya, Europe-Asia Studies, Social Science Quarterly, and Comparative Political Studies.