Countries and Concepts: Politics, Geography, Culture (12e)

Systematically examining politics from around the world, Countries and Concepts presents eleven accessible and in-depth studies of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, and Iran.

This text looks at similarities and differences in five key areas of each country to facilitate comparative analysis, defining important concepts and integrating examples from current events throughout. Highly readable and thought-provoking, Countries and Concepts introduces students to the politics and governments of the world and bolsters their civic education by considering the historical, political, economic, geographical, and moral aspects of democracy.

Teaching and Learning Experience

• Personalize Learning: MyPoliSciLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals.
• Explore Concepts and Current Events: Each country study examines history, institutions, political culture, interests, and quarrels to facilitate cross-national comparison and to understand democracy.
• Improve Critical Thinking: “Democracy”, “Personalities,” “Comparison”, “Geography”, and “Political Culture” boxes develop a more contextualized understanding of each country. Engage Students: A new four-color design plus numerous photos and figures offer a current and lively reading experience.
• Emphasize Learning Outcomes: New learning objectives in every chapter focus students on what they need to learn. In MyPoliSciLab, study plans based on the same learning objectives give students follow-up reading, video, and multimedia activities for further practice.
• Instructor Support: An instructor’s manual, test bank, and PowerPoint presentation provide more teaching resources. In MyPoliSciLab, ClassPrep collects class presentation resources in one convenient online destination.

Chapter 1. The Uses of Comparative Politics

PART I. THE DEMOCRACIES

Chapter 2. Britain

Chapter 3. France

Chapter 4. Germany

Chapter 5. Japan

PART II. THE POST-COMMUNIST SYSTEMS

Chapter 6. Russia

Chapter 7. China

PART III. THE DEVELOPING AREAS

Chapter 8. India

Chapter 9. Mexico

Chapter 10. Brazil

Chapter 11. Nigeria

Chapter 12. Iran

Epilogue. Lessons of Eleven Countries

• New learning objectives in every chapter focus students on what they need to learn. In MyPoliSciLab, study plans based on the same learning objectives give students follow-up reading, video, and multimedia activities for further practice. (ex. p. 25)
• Every country case study was updated with coverage of the latest political developments:
  • Britain: Conservative David Cameron becomes prime minister. (ex. Ch. 2)
  • France: President Sarkozy grew deeply unpopular, but the opposition Socialists had trouble naming a viable alternative. (Ex. Ch. 3)
  • Germany: A new box explores why the German economy recovered quickly from the 2008-2009 recession while the U.S. economy did not. (ex. p. 166)
  • Japan: The 2011 tsunami and nuclear leak demonstrates who natural disasters can quickly become political problems. (ex. p. 199)
  • Russia: The growth of democracy continues to stall in Russia, something that divides the country’s citizens and political discourse. (ex. Ch. 6)
  • China: Beijing is attempting to rebalance China’s economy from exports to domestic consumption. (ex. Ch. 7)
  • India: India’s economy continues to surge, making it a potential rival to China. (ex. Ch. 8)
  • Mexico: A resurgent PRI seems likely to end PAN’s 12 years of conservative rule. (ex. Ch. 9)
  • Brazil: A politically stable Brazil has emerged as Latin America’s economic giant. (ex. Ch. 10)
  • Nigeria: Goodluck Jonathan won the 2011 elections but presides over an increasingly unstable Nigeria. (ex. p. 423)
  • Iran: Populist President Ahmadinejad, trying to seize more power, was rebuked by the country’s theocratic leaders. (ex. Ch. 12)
• A deeper introductory chapter surveys the theory behind comparative politics, including the definition of democracy, the rise of states, and modernization theory. (ex. Ch. 1)
• Brazil, which appeared in earlier editions, is restored. Its growth from a shaky to a firm democracy shows that a country can modernize out of praetorianism. (ex. Ch. 10)
• The Arab Spring prompted inclusion of¿a new “Why This Country Matters” section in every chapter; it tells students how each country contributes to the study of democracy. (ex. p. 213)
• The¿major systems–Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China–were shortened and combined into one chapter each, making them closer in length to the other systems–Japan, India, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, and Iran–and easier to assign in the course of one semester. (ex. p. v)
• Russia and China are now grouped together as post-communist systems, each illustrating different paths out of communism–neither of which have so far led to democracy. (ex. p. v)
• The twelfth edition is presented in a new four-color design to enliven the text.

• MyPoliSciLab. With MyPoliSciLab, students move from studying and applying concepts to participating in politics. They are able to work at their own pace, getting rich, engaging opportunities to learn in ways that are suited to their progress and style. It’s a smart, dynamic way to help students achieve more in your course! With MyPoliSciLab, you’ll have confidence that your students will reach the moment of understanding—the moment you know. To order MyPoliSciLab with this text, use ISBN 0-205-85426-5. Learn more at www.mypoliscilab.com.

• Passport. Choose the resources you want from MyPoliSciLab and put links to them into your course management system. If there is assessment associated with those resources, it also can be uploaded, allowing the results to feed directly into your course management system’s gradebook. With MyPoliSciLab assets like videos, mapping exercises, Financial Times newsfeeds, current events quizzes, politics blog, and much more, Passport is available for any Pearson political science book. To order Passport with¿the print text, use ISBN 0-205-85597-0.

• Treats¿politics as a series of ongoing quarrels¿for which no permanent solutions can be found and casts a skeptical eye on all political systems and all solutions proposed for political problems. Each country is treated with equal candor; none get a free pass. (ex. p. 18)
• Surveys the¿same five key areas in each country¿to facilitate comparison:
  • The Impact of the Past: How a country’s geography and history influences its politics today, including sovereignty and democracy. (ex. p. 25)
  • The Key Institutions: Who and what are the power centers, including the executive, legislature, and interest groups. (ex. p. 34)
  • Political Culture: How citizens react to their government and politics, including ideology. (ex. p. 93)
  • Patterns of Interaction: Who tried to do what to whom, including elections and interest groups. (ex. p. 197)
  • What They Quarrel About: Who is fighting about what, including debates over foreign policy and the economy. (ex. p. 203)
• Develops a broader base of knowledge through¿five boxed features that support each country:
  • “Democracy” illustrates how each country is moving towards—or away—from democracy. (ex. p. 84)
  • “Personalities” discuss the impact of key political figures. (ex. p. 221)
  • “Comparison” shows how detailing similarities and differences yields political insight. (ex. p. 112)
  • “Geography” reveals how politics is affected by physical and human features in space, like boundaries, natural resources, and more. (ex. p. 131)
  • “Political Culture” looks closer at a country’s political beliefs, philosophies, and ideologies. (ex. p. 48)
• Teaches students the language that political scientists use through an¿extensive marginal glossary. (ex. p. 28)
• Incorporates photos, maps, figures, tables, and end-of-chapter lists of key terms and suggested readings to¿help students master the material. (ex. p. 72)