Power & Choice, with PowerWeb

The extensively revised tenth edition of W. Phillips Shively's Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science provides a general, comparative introduction to the major concepts and themes of political science by engaging students with concrete examples of analysis. A hallmark of the book is that it does so without overwhelming readers with excessive detail, allowing them to grasp main ideas more easily.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: THE IDEA OF POLITICSCH.1 Politics: Setting the StagePoliticsPolitics as the making of Common DecisionsPolitics as the Exercise of PowerAuthorityImplicit and Manifest PowerPolitics and PowerPower and ChoicePolitics of the StatePolitical ScienceThe Pleasures of PoliticsCH. 2 Modern Ideologies and Political PhilosophyAmerican IdeologiesLiberalismThe Conservative ReactionThe Socialist AlternativeCommunism and SocialismFascismIdeologies in the Twenty-first CenturyPolitical Philosophy in Other Historical ErasPART TWO: THE STATE AND PUBLIC POLICYCH. 3 The Modern StateThe Development of the Modern StateThe Origin of StatesThe State as a Device to Provide Collective Goods“State,” “Nation,” and the “Nation-State”State-BuildingGovernment and the StateChallenges to the StateGlobalization: Are States Losing Their Ability to Make Economic Policy?Some Possible AlternativesExample: State Building in NigeriaExample: State Building in the European UnionCH. 4 Policies of the StateThe Role of Governments in the Third WorldWhat do Governments Do?Defense PolicyEducationResearch and DevelopmentHealth and Social WelfareDemocracy and Public PolicyThe Place of Power in Policy AnalysisExample: The Demographic ChallengeExample: Economic Development Compared with “Human Development”Example: Uganda: An African AIDS Success StoryCH. 5 Economic Policy and the Political Economy of the StatePolitical EconomyEconomic Performance 1: GrowthEconomic Performance 2: Controlling Inflation and UnemploymentManaging Distribution to Address inequalityIndependent Central BanksCorruptionOther Measures Available to GovernmentExample: Political Economy of GermanyExample: Political Economy of IndonesiaCH. 6 Political Choices: The Problems of Justice and EfficiencyThe Problem of JusticeOther Aspects of Justice: Procedural JusticeEfficiencyModes of Decision: Incremental Versus RadicalModes of Decision: Authority Versus the MarketThe Need to Act, Even Under UncertaintyExample: Political ChoicePART THREE: THE CITIZEN AND THE REGIMECH. 7 Authority and Legitimacy: The State and the CitizenLegitimacy and AuthoritySources of LegitimacyThe “Democratic Citizen”How Well are These Requirements Met?Social CapitalPolitical CultureAn Application of Political Culture: Robert Kagan’s Of Paradise and PowerReligion and PoliticsPolitical SocializationExample: Building Authority and Legitimacy in West Germany After World War IIExample: Declining Democratic legitimacy in the United StatesCH. 8 Democracy and AutocracyThe Coming and Going of DemocracyPossible ExplanationsWhat Did We Learn From the Third Wave?Why Are Prosperous countries Likely to be Democracies?Democracy and FreedomDemocracy and CapitalismAutocracyMilitary GovernmentWhy Aren’t There More Military Governments?One-Party States“Court” PoliticsDemocracy Versus Autocracy: Economic Considerations“Power and Choice” AgainExample: Democratization in SpainExample: Fragile Democracy in PeruExample: Citizen Participation in Nigeria’s First Military RegimePART FOUR: THE APPARATUS OF GOVERNANCECH. 9 Constitutions and the Design of GovernmentVariations in FormalityThe Virtue of VaguenessOther Principles of Constitutional DesignConstitution-WritingThe Geographic Concentration of Power“Federal” and “Unitary” StatesThe Distinction Between “Unitary” and “Centralized” StatesHow Much Centralization is Good?“Constitutionalism”Example: Constitutional Government in Great BritainExample: Constitutional Government in RussiaCH. 10 ElectionsElections as a Means of Building SupportElections as a Means of Selecting Leaders and PoliciesElectoral SystemsReferendumsElectoral ParticipationThe Paradox of ParticipationThe Bases of Individuals’ Electoral ChoicesExample: Proportional Representation Elections in IsraelExample: Elections in NigeriaCH. 11 Parties: A Linking and Leading Mechanism in PoliticsThe Political PartyOrigins of the Modern PartyPolitical Parties and the Mobilization of the MassesPolitical Parties and the Recruitment and Socialization of LeadersPolitical Parties as a Source of Political IdentityPolitical Parties as a Channel of ControlParty OrganizationParty FinancePolitical Party SystemsPower and ChoiceExample: The Communist Party of the Soviet union (1917-1991)Example: Canada’s Political PartiesCH. 12 Structured Conflict: Interest Groups and PoliticsInterest Groups and RepresentationTypes of Interest GroupsTactics of Interest GroupsPatterns of Organized Interest-Group ActivityPluralismNeocorporatismPower and ChoiceExample: Interest Groups in FranceExample: Interest Groups in Japan: Attenuated Neocorporatism CH. 13 Social Movements and Contentious PoliticsWhy Now?Advantages (and Disadvantages) of Informal OrganizationExample: The Rubber Tappers of AcreExample: The “Orange Revolution” in UkraineCH. 14 National Decision-Making Institutions: Parliamentary GovernmentCabinet ControlWhat Does A Parliament Do?Parliamentary CommitteesExceptions to Parliamentary Supremacy“Consensus” ParliamentarismParliaments in Autocratic SystemsExample: Parliamentary Government in IndiaExample: Parliamentary Government in GermanyCH. 15 National Decision-Making Institutions: Presidential GovernmentPresidential and Parliamentary Systems ComparedResponsibility for PolicyPresidential Systems and Comprehensive PolicyRecruitment of Executive LeadersFlexibility of the Political ProcessThe Split Executive of Parliamentary SystemsWhy Aren’t All Democracies parliamentary Systems?Constitutional Review and the Fragmentation of PowerA Note on Constitutions and PowerExample: Presidential Government in FranceExample: Presidential Government in MexicoCH. 16 Bureaucracy and the Public SectorPublic Administration as a Political ProblemCharacteristics of Good Public Administration“Bureaucracy”: A Reform of the Nineteenth CenturyBureaucracy Versus FlexibilityThe Problem of Protected IncompetenceAdjustments to BureaucracySocial Representativeness of Public AdministrationExample: The French BureaucracyExample: Bureaucratic Cultures in Europe and AfricaCH. 17 Law and the CourtsAnglo-Saxon Case LawContinental European Code LawReligious Law: the ShariaThe Blending of Case Law and Code LawCourtsExample: The Law in ChinaExample: The European Court of JusticePART FIVE: INTERNATIONAL POLITICSCH. 18 Global Politics: Politics Among States (And Others)The Evolution of the International System Since World War IIThe World Since the Cold WarInternational PoliticsThe Absence of Central AuthorityFiduciary Political Roles and International MoralityImpediments to International CommunicationPower and International PoliticsThe Process of International PoliticsPower and Choice in International PoliticsExample: An International Failure: Ethnic Conflict in RwandaExample: The United NationsA Personal NoteAppendix: Principles of Political AnalysisFalsifiabilityWhat Makes a Statement Interesting?Causation and ExplanationHistorical ExplanationA Few Common Pitfalls in AnalysisGlossary

About the Author :
W. PHILLIPS SHIVELY is Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota, where he moved in 1971 after teaching at the University of Oregon and Yale University. He has also served as Visiting Professor at the University of Oslo in Norway. His research, which has appeared in numerous articles, deals with the comparative study of elections, and he has written The Craft of Political Research, an introduction to research techniques. He has also had practical political experience as a lobbyist in Minnesota. His true love is bird-watching.