Political Science For Dummies

Expand your political science knowledge with a book that explains concepts in a way anyone can understand!

The global political climate is dynamic, at times even volatile. To understand this evolving landscape, it's important to learn more about how countries are governed. Political Science For Dummies explores the questions that political scientists examine, such as how our leaders make decisions, who shapes political policy, and why countries go to war. The book is the perfect course supplement for students taking college-level, introductory political science courses. Political Science For Dummies is a guide that makes political science concepts easier to grasp.

• Get a better understanding of political ideologies, institutions, policies, processes, and behavior

• Explore topics such as class, government, diplomacy, law, strategy, and war

• Learn the specialized vocabulary within the field of political science

• Help prepare for a range of careers, from policy analyst to legislative assistant

Political science crosses into many other areas of study, such as sociology, economics, history, anthropology, international relations, law, statistics, and public policy. Those who want to understand the implications of changing political economies or how governing bodies work can look to Political Science For Dummies. It's the book thatcuts through the jargon as it focuses on issues that interest readers.

Auteur

Marcus A. Stadelmann, PhD, is a professor of political science and chair of the Department of Political Science and History at the University of Texas at Tyler. Along with teaching at universities in California, Utah, and Texas, Dr. Stadelmann has published and given presentations in the fields of American politics and international relations.

Texte du rabat

• Explore different forms of government
• Dive into international relations and political conflict

• Understand why countries go to war Explore the world's fluid political landscape Love it or hate it, political science impacts our daily lives in so many ways. Get a step ahead by learning about the structure of various political systems, exploring the evolution of political science, understanding key terms, and finding out how international relations shape our world. Discover the differences in various authoritarian regimes, how different legislatures work, a bit about international law, and the basis of assorted political ideologies. Just don't be surprised to find yourself becoming fascinated with it all! Inside...

• Exploring different political systems
• How disasters affect politics
• The roots of war
• Thinkers who changed the world
• Classical and modern political philosophies
• The effect of a global economy
• Understanding political culture

Contenu
Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: Understanding Political Science 5

Chapter 1: Discovering the Discipline of Political Science 7

Looking at Politics and Political Science 8

Going back to the history of political science 8

Being a part of the social sciences 9

Being fragmented 10

Studying Political Power 11

Exercising political power 12

Different thoughts on political power 12

Views on who holds the power 12

Checking on sources of political power 14

Searching for Sources of Legitimacy 15

Political structures 15

Results 15

History 16

Habit 16

International recognition 16

Religion 16

Nationalism 17

Chapter 2: Shaping Research in Political Science: Looking at Major Approaches 19

Starting with Traditionalism 20

Switching to Behavioralism 21

Being a behavioralist 22

Turning the social sciences into a real science 25

Moving Leftward with Post-Behavioralism 25

Agreeing with behavioralism 26

Differing from behavioralism 26

Comparing Political Science Theories 27

Creating theories 28

Grand theory 28

Medium-range theory 29

Narrow-range theory 29

Looking at Historical Sociology 29

Seeking Benefits: Rational Choice Theory 30

Chapter 3: Dealing with Political Culture 31

Analyzing Political Culture 31

The importance of political culture 32

Changing political cultures 33

Sustaining Democracy: The Civic Culture 34

Being behavioral in nature 35

Asking questions 36

Finding three political cultures 37

Needing three political cultures to sustain democracy 38

Working on Political Socialization 39

Goals of political socialization 40

Agents of political socialization 41

Moving from Materialist to Postmaterialist 44

Part 2: Comparing Governments 47

Chapter 4: Discussing Different Forms of Government 49

Identifying Types of Governments 49

Diving in to democracy 50

Testing totalitarianism 52

Answering to authoritarianism 55

Dividing Powers 56

Centering on a unitary system 56

Focusing on federalism 57

Dissecting federalism versus a unitary system 57

Checking on confederations 59

Classifying the three systems of governments 61

Chapter 5: Setting the Rules: Constitutions 63

Looking at Constitution Basics 64

Discovering the purpose of constitutions 65

Checking out constitution components 65

Creating a New Country: The U.S Constitution of 1789 66

Framing the U.S Constitution 67

Facing problems 67

Writing a constitution 68

Using checks and balances 69

Forming an electoral college 69

Getting stronger 70

Using three principles 71

Protecting citizens' rights 72

Making changes 74

Checking on a New Document: The Russian Constitution 75

Looking at similarities 75

Noting the differences 76

Structuring government 76

Guaranteeing civil rights and liberties 77

Changing the Russian Constitution 78

Chapter 6: Comparing Political Institutions: Systems of Government 79

Comparing Democratic Political Systems 80

Parliamentary democracies versus presidential democracies 80

Unicameralism versus bicameralism 82

Studying the U.S Congress 82

Looking at Great Britain 85 Analyzing Executives 86</p&...