McCormick John. Comparative Politics in Transition

6th edition. — Cengage Learning, 2009. — 656 p.The book combines a thematic framework with a country-by-country approach to provide a truly thoughtful and effective introduction to Comparative Politics.
If you are reading this book, then chances are that you have enrolled in—or are thinking about enrolling in—an introductory course on comparative politics or government. So what can you expect in this book and in the course?
The main goal of comparative politics is to study different political systems in order both to better understand the different ways in which people are governed, and to make comparisons that will give us the reference points that we need to help us better understand politics and government. As you study the chapters that follow, you will read about the structures of government, the different ways in which societies are governed, the channels through which people take part in the political process, the pressures that bear on that process, and the manner in which political decisions are reached and implemented. You will read about presidents and prime ministers, parliaments and congresses, democracies and dictatorships, constitutions and coups, peace and war, elections and assassinations, and heroes and villains. In short, you will be reading about all the elements that make up government in its many different and intriguing forms around the world.