Table Of ContentIntroduction to Political
Science
SENIOR CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
MARK CARL ROM, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
MASAKI HIDAKA, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
RACHEL BZOSTEK WALKER, COLLIN COLLEGE
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HARDCOVER BOOK ISBN-13 978-1-711470-68-9
PAPERBACK BOOK ISBN-13 978-1-711470-69-6
DIGITAL VERSION ISBN-13 978-1-951693-56-5
ORIGINAL PUBLICATION YEAR 2022
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CONTENTS
Preface 1
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE
CHAPTER1
What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
7
Introduction 7
1.1Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why? 9
1.2Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power 13
1.3Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics 18
1.4Normative Political Science 20
1.5Empirical Political Science 22
1.6Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations 26
Summary 31
Key Terms 32
Review Questions 33
Suggested Readings 36
UNIT 2 INDIVIDUALS
CHAPTER2
Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
37
Introduction 37
2.1What Goals Should We Seek in Politics? 38
2.2Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do? 49
2.3Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable 56
2.4The Importance of Context for Political Decisions 60
Summary 63
Key Terms 64
Review Questions 65
Suggested Readings 66
CHAPTER3
Political Ideology
67
Introduction 67
3.1The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies 68
3.2The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract 70
3.3The Development of Varieties of Liberalism 74
3.4Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism 76
3.5Contemporary Democratic Liberalism 82
3.6Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left 85
3.7Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right 92
3.8Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism, Burkeanism, and Religious
Extremism 96
Summary 99
Key Terms 100
Review Questions 102
Suggested Readings 104
CHAPTER4
Civil Liberties
107
Introduction 107
4.1The Freedom of the Individual 108
4.2Constitutions and Individual Liberties 112
4.3The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas 117
4.4Freedom of Movement 126
4.5The Rights of the Accused 128
4.6The Right to a Healthy Environment 129
Summary 131
Key Terms 132
Review Questions 133
Suggested Readings 135
CHAPTER5
Political Participation and Public Opinion
137
Introduction 137
5.1What Is Political Participation? 138
5.2What Limits Voter Participation in the United States? 142
5.3How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting? 147
5.4What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From? 156
5.5How Do We Measure Public Opinion? 158
5.6Why Is Public Opinion Important? 161
Summary 164
Key Terms 165
Review Questions 166
Suggested Readings 168
UNIT 3 GROUPS
CHAPTER6
The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
169
Introduction 169
6.1Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political 171
6.2Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity 176
6.3Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions 181
6.4Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives 187
6.5Resolving Collective Action Problems 191
Summary 197
Key Terms 198
Review Questions 199
Suggested Readings 200
CHAPTER7
Civil Rights
201
Introduction 201
7.1Civil Rights and Constitutionalism 202
7.2Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations 205
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7.3Civil Rights Abuses 208
7.4Civil Rights Movements 216
7.5How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change? 222
Summary 229
Key Terms 230
Review Questions 231
Suggested Readings 233
CHAPTER8
Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
235
Introduction 235
8.1What Is an Interest Group? 236
8.2What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups? 239
8.3Political Parties 243
8.4What Are the Limits of Parties? 246
8.5What Are Elections and Who Participates? 248
8.6How Do People Participate in Elections? 253
Summary 258
Key Terms 259
Review Questions 261
Suggested Readings 264
UNIT 4 INSTITUTIONS
CHAPTER9
Legislatures
265
Introduction 265
9.1What Do Legislatures Do? 266
9.2What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems? 280
9.3What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems? 286
9.4The Decline of Legislative Influence 288
Summary 292
Key Terms 292
Review Questions 294
Suggested Readings 296
CHAPTER10
Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
297
Introduction 297
10.1Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes 298
10.2The Executive in Presidential Regimes 302
10.3The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes 306
10.4Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes 308
10.5Semi-Presidential Regimes 312
10.6How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes? 315
10.7What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies? 319
Summary 326
Key Terms 327
Review Questions 328
Suggested Readings 334
CHAPTER11
Courts and Law
335
Introduction 335
11.1What Is the Judiciary? 336
11.2How Does the Judiciary Take Action? 342
11.3Types of Legal Systems around the World 345
11.4Criminal versus Civil Laws 350
11.5Due Process and Judicial Fairness 360
11.6Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty 364
Summary 366
Key Terms 368
Review Questions 369
Suggested Readings 372
CHAPTER12
The Media
373
Introduction 373
12.1The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter? 374
12.2Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape 380
12.3How Do Media and Elections Interact? 386
12.4The Internet and Social Media 391
12.5Declining Global Trust in the Media 396
Summary 400
Key Terms 401
Review Questions 402
Suggested Readings 403
UNIT 5 STATES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
CHAPTER13
Governing Regimes
405
Introduction 405
13.1Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority 406
13.2Categorizing Contemporary Regimes 418
13.3Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes 427
Summary 429
Key Terms 430
Review Questions 431
Suggested Readings 433
CHAPTER14
International Relations
435
Introduction 435
14.1What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It? 436
14.2Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System 440
14.3Sovereignty and Anarchy 443
14.4Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict 445
14.5The Realist Worldview 449
14.6The Liberal and Social Worldview 454
14.7Critical Worldviews 457
Summary 460
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