Comparative Politics: A Practical Guide for a Globalizing World

Reviewed by Mark Norris, Professor of History, Grace College and Seminary on 6/17/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Holly Oberle's fine work "Comparative Politics: A Practical Guide for a Globalizing World.," covers a broad range of geographical regions including those traditionally ignored, such as the Global South. She therefore examines themes such as: "social unrest, increasing inequality, disputed legitimacy, climate change and other 21st century challenges that the Global North can no longer ignore." She suggests that in the classroom, other works should accompany this to give students a good foundation in the fundamentals of global comparative politics. She includes a helpful bibliography, and pertinent websites, but does not have an index or a glossary. Terms are defined throughout the text.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Oberle, as both author and editor, brings many perspectives to this eclectic work. It is interesting to note that she includes contributions from eight authors who either currently are, or recently were, her students. This does not at all hamper the accuracy of the text, but in fact, makes it more approachable for undergraduate students.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This was completed in 2024. The parts of this work that deal with process and theory are on the cutting edge and would not need to be updated for some time. However, those sections that examine geographical regions would all need to be updated every five years or so. They would need to be updated together.

Clarity rating: 5

A strength is that eight of the author's students contributed to this fine work. This has helped make the language more accessible to undergraduate students but has not compromised its accuracy.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is highly consistent in terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook may be used in its entirety or in easy-to-read sections. An instructor may even use a more traditional text but supplement it with sections from Oberle's work that are not traditionally emphasized, such as the Global South. In the open source spirit, the author, included some chapters from other open source textbooks.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

A work like this would naturally have a disjointed style as it moves from theme to theme and geographical region to geographical region; but again, Oberle's method allows it to have a more natural flow, making it easily accessible.

Interface rating: 5

Oberle has kept the interface simple while still including helpful visuals. The work is free of any interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The number of perspectives presented in this work has given it a textured approach that is collegial, globally-minded, and inclusive.

I so admire "Comparative Politics: a Practical Guide for a Globalizing World" that I will be using it as my main textbook for a new open-source class I will be teaching soon (sponsored by PALNI) entitled "Global Politics."

Reviewed by Sam Biasi, Visiting Lecturer, Framingham State University on 5/24/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I was impressed by this book's systematic coverage of the most important topics in comparative politics, particularly its discussion of identity, often a sorely underrepresented topic in the field.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The thorough sourcing of the text is greatly appreciated and will certainly be useful for students looking for additional information.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The sourcing is quite good, including classics as well as relatively cutting edge material without necessarily entering into experimental or unconfirmed findings.

Clarity rating: 5

The consistent use of examples and case studies in particular was great. The prose itself is also quite good, an anomaly for this field.

Consistency rating: 5

Each chapter has a similar structure and even includes review questions at the end!

Modularity rating: 5

Perhaps the books best quality, it really does a great job of slicing itself up into units.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

My one complaint about the textbook, though its organization is generally good, is I would generally put questions of identity, economy, and violence before regime type.

Interface rating: 4

Some odd formatting issues with photos, but nothing egregious, merely occasionally ugly.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Top notch copy editing.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

These are difficult topics; the sections on identity do an excellent job balancing objective analysis with cultural sensitivity.

I would recommend this book to anyone, and I plan to use it for my Global Studies course in particular because it includes interesting and robust empirics in each chapter, allowing students to gather empirical knowledge alongside theory. This is often the central challenge of classes intending to cover the politics of the whole world: how do you allow students to slowly gather empirical knowledge while still getting the essential theoretical components of the course? This book strikes the balance very well, with excellent sourcing, quality writing, and a practical structure.