CQ Press: Introducing Comparative Politics + Contending Perspectives in Comparative Politics Package, Carol Ann Drogus , Stephen Orvis , Lawrence Mayer , Dennis Patterson , Frank Thames

Introducing Comparative Politics: Concepts and Cases in Context
Have you been tempted to teach your intro course thematically, but are afraid that your students will be unable to see how concepts relate to actual countries? Yet sticking with a country by-country approach means never being able to fully address the questions that really engage comparativists. But that has its drawbacks as well. Is there an ideal middle ground between the current text approaches to the field?

Carol Ann Drogus and Stephen Orvis, a Latin Americanist and an Africanist by training, offer an innovative hybrid approach to the field. The book is organized thematically around important concepts in comparative politics; in turn, each chapter is framed by the questions of who rules?, what motivates political behavior?, and where and why? Then, within each chapter, the authors have integrated a set of extended case studies based on a selection of ten “core” countries. Serving as consistent geographic touchstones, students get to know these countries as they accumulate conceptual knowledge. The cases are placed in chapters where they make the most sense substantively—not separated from theory or in a separate volume—and vividly illustrate issues in cross-national context. For more on Introducing Comparative Politics, including pedagogy, student and instructor ancillaries, and the table of contents, click here.

Contending Perspectives in Comparative Politics: A Reader
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—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. For more on Contending Perspectives, including the table of contents, click here.

Bio(s)

Carol Ann Drogus, Hamilton College

Carol Ann Drogus is professor of government at Hamilton College. She is a specialist on Brazil, religion, and women’s political participation. She has been teaching introduction to comparative politics for 15 years, as well as courses on Latin American politics, gender and politics, and women in Latin America. She has written two books and numerous articles on the political participation of women in religious movements in Brazil.

Stephen Orvis, Hamilton College

Stephen Orvis is professor of government at Hamilton College. He is a specialist on sub-Saharan Africa, (Kenya in particular), identity politics, democratic transitions, and the political economy of development. He has been teaching introduction to comparative politics for 20 years, as well as courses on African politics, nationalism and the politics of identity, political economy of development, and weak states. He has written a book and articles on agricultural development in Kenya, several articles on civil society in Africa and Kenya, and is currently doing research on political institutions in Africa.

Lawrence Mayer, Texas Tech University

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: Nations and Theories in a Changing World (With Burnett, Ogden, and Tuman), American Public Policy (with Cochran, Carr, and Cayer), Redefining Comparative Politics, Politics in Industrial Societies (with Burnett), and Comparative Political Inquiry: A Methodological Survey. His articles have appeared in Political Science and Politics, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Comparative Political Studies, The Western Political Quarterly, Teaching Political Science, and West European Politics.

Frank Thames, Texas Tech University

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.

Dennis Patterson, Texas Tech University

Dennis Patterson areas of specialization include comparative politics (advanced societies), politics of Japan/Asia, comparative political economy, political institutions/election systems, rational choice models of politics, and security in East Asia. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on such topics as elections and electoral influences on policymaking in Japan in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, British Journal of Political Science, World Politics, Women and Politics, and Pacific Focus. He recently published a co-authored book (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.