A Casebook for Comparative Politics
Mark L. Johnson, Minnesota State Community and Technical College
Angela Pashayan, American University
Daniel I. Pedreira, Florida International University
Matthew Schuster, Anoka-Ramsey Community College
John Tures, LaGrange College
Cheryl Van Den Handel, Northeastern State University
Copyright Year:
Publisher: Opendora
Language: English
Formats Available
Conditions of Use
Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC
Reviews
Includes rare chapters on Kenya, Republic of Ireland, Cuba, and Greece, the textbook goes outside the beaten path. But for a more traditional coverage (which also includes China or Mexico, for example), instructors would have to supplement this... read more
Includes rare chapters on Kenya, Republic of Ireland, Cuba, and Greece, the textbook goes outside the beaten path. But for a more traditional coverage (which also includes China or Mexico, for example), instructors would have to supplement this book with other resources.
I saw very up to date discussions of German politics, including upcoming extraordinary elections in Germany next month, for example!
The textbook contains plenty of non-Western cases and some surprises, that students would welcome, I have a feeling.
The textbook is well written and the maps and graphs help digest the information as well.
There is consistent framework articulated in the intro to students in the very beginning. It happens to coincide with my approach to teaching this subject.
Each chapter contains the sub sections that could be assigned individually.
I applauded the inclusion of non standard cases, but I would not be able to use the book in its entirety. For those of us who are developing a brand new course, it provides an excellent opportunity to cover exciting cases like Cuba or Republic of Ireland!
Easy to navigate!
Granted I did not read each chapter with the degree of granularity that would be required for detecting typos, from what I saw the textbook was well written.
I think the book’s cultural sensitivity comes from including such cases like Cuba or Kenya, very rare in Comparative Politics survey courses.
I am happy to recommend a project and a textbook that goes way outside the typical Western-centric coverage. The case studies included in it are very unique and rare. By including Greece, Kenya, Cuba and Republic of Ireland, author demonstrate a much needed cultural plurality, a cornerstone of Comparative Politics. The coverage in the more traditional chapters on Germany and the UK is very much on par with the old (non open source) textbook I used in the class (Dalton et al.). It takes the same approach in covering cases from history, to inputs, to state institutes and public policies.
Table of Contents
- Introduction for Students
- About the Authors
- Kenya
- Greece
- Germany
- United Kingdom: England, Scotland, and Wales
- Nigeria
- Cuba
- Republic of Ireland
Ancillary Material
Submit ancillary resourceAbout the Book
This book is intended to serve as a companion text for courses in Comparative Politics, Introduction to Political Science, and similar subjects. The target audience is lower-division undergraduates. Each chapter constitutes a single country (case), with material on seven (7) major topics: History, Identity, Culture and Civil Society, Participation, Formal Institutions, Political Economy, and Foreign Relations.
About the Contributors
Authors
Mark L. Johnson (Germany, and general Editor for the collection) is a Tenured Faculty member in Political Science, History, and Geography at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he has taught since 2003. A Political Theorist and Eastern European Comparativist by training, his research and teaching interests have expanded over his career to include State Legislatures, Political Geography, and Local and Regional studies of the Upper Midwest (especially the importance of Northern and Eastern European cultural migration). Johnson did his undergraduate work at the University of North Dakota (BA), and graduate training at Louisiana State University (MA/ ABD). He also holds a Grad.Cert in Geographic Information Systems/GIS from UND. He has served as Program Chair of APSA’s Teaching and Learning Conference (2015), Co-Editor of the Journal of Political Science Education (2016-2022), and Co-Chair of APSA’s Status Committee on Community Colleges (2021-2024).
Angela Pashayan (Kenya): Dr. A.R. Pashayan is a full-time lecturing professor in the School of International Service (SIS) at American University, Washington, DC. She has lectured at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Int’l Studies (SAIS), where her book, Below the Proletariat, was voted the #1 Best Summer Read in 2024. A Ph.D. Political Science graduate of Howard University, she also holds degrees are from Norwich University, VT (MA-Int’l Relations), and UCLA (BAPsychology). Pashayan has published articles in FP Magazine, Brookings, The Conversation, and other academic publications. She has spoken on the UN floor as an ECOSOC Advisor to the United Nations. She leads trips to Kenya and provides guest lectures on geopolitical issues that intersect extreme poverty and policymaking in Africa.
Daniel I. Pedreira (Cuba) is a Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor at the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University (FIU). A proud Miami native, Dr. Pedreira holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Political Science, along with a Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from FIU. He also earned a Master’s degree in Peace Operations from George Mason University and a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of Miami. His PhD dissertation is titled Semi-presidential Executive Branch Institutionalization and Personalization Under Cuba’s 1940 Constitution. Dr. Pedreira has also taught at Miami Dade College, the University of Miami, and Jacksonville University. Since 2020, Dr. Pedreira has been teaching courses on Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics, Cuban Politics, Cuban/American Politics, and American Government. He previously worked as a Congressional Aide to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (2007-2013), and as a Program Officer at the Center for a Free Cuba (2013-2016). Currently, Dr. Pedreira serves as President of the PEN Club of Cuban Writers in Exile, an affiliate of PEN International. He is the author of three additional books on Cuban culture, history, and politics
Matthew Schuster (Nigeria) teaches political science at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Minnesota, Master’s degrees in Political Science and History from Arizona State University and American Public University and is currently working on an EdD in adult education. His primary areas of interest are political science education, political theory, and issues related to equity.
John Tures (Greece): Dr. John A. Tures is a professor of Political Science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia, where he has been teaching since 2001. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his family moved to El Paso, Texas, where he became interested in politics beyond America’s borders. Dr. Tures holds a dual Bachelor’s in Communications and Political Science from Trinity University (San Antonio, TX), a Master’s in International Affairs from Marquette University (Milwaukee), and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Florida State University. He taught at the University of Delaware and for Evidence-Based Research, Inc. in Washington, DC before coming to LaGrange College. In addition to publishing scholarly journals, he is also a regular newspaper columnist. In addition to growing up next to Mexico, Tures also had the opportunity to travel the British Isles, Western Europe, and East Europe as the Berlin Wall was crumbling. While at Marquette, he and professors and fellow graduate students led undergraduate students to Russia as the country transitioned to democracy in 1993-1994, and the United Nations in the Summer of 1994. At Florida State University, he was part of a team that participated in a multiweek conference in Ohrid, Macedonia in 1996, and taught comparative politics twice in FSU’s study abroad program in San Jose, Costa Rica. While at LaGrange College, he co-led a group of students throughout Greece, traveling from Thessaloniki to Philippi, Delphi, Monastery of the Holy Trinity, and Athens.
Cheryl Van Den Handel (United Kingdom and Ireland) teaches Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Women’s Studies at Northeastern State University in the heart of Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She holds five degrees in Political Science, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, a Master of International Studies and Ph.D. in Comparative and World Politics at Claremont Graduate University. Her current areas of interest are impediments to women participating in politics and how to overcome them, open educational resources, and immersive learning.