The fifth edition of Studying Politics is a comprehensive text engagingly written by leading scholars in each of the “four fields” of Political Science – Political Thought, International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Canadian Politics. The text is crafted in a language that students will find accessible and relevant – that speaks to the complexity of the political world in which they live (whether they realize it or not), provides them with touchstones and tools to see patterns where others may see confusion, and offers solutions where others may offer resignation. The text seeks to encourage students to see politics as an important and productive part of their lives, and as a sphere of human behaviour that they can – and ought to – engage. Today’s students are perhaps the most globally oriented and connected generation that we have ever seen, and they view the world in ways that readily transcend traditional borders and categories. As such, this edition of Studying Politics has further weaved in comparative and global dimensions, even as it retains a core focus on Canada and Canadians.

Preface
About the Contributors

Part 1: Introduction
Chapter 1: Studying Politics: An Introduction – Christopher G. Anderson
Chapter 2: Thinking about Politics: Ideas and Ideologies in Politics – Richard Sigurdson

Part 2: Foundations of Politics
Chapter 3: States and Governments: Perpetual Works in Progress – Christopher G. Anderson
Chapter 4: States and Nations: Cultural Pluralism, Nationalism, and Identity – Yasmeen Abu-Laban
Chapter 5: States and Economies: Studying Political Economy in Political Science – Rodney Haddow

Part 3: Institutions and Structures of Governments
Chapter 6: Designing and Limiting Governments by Constitutions – Stephen Phillips
Chapter 7: The Political Executive and Bureaucracy: On Top and On Tap – Stephen Phillips
Chapter 8: Legislatures: Centre Stage But Not Top Billing – David Docherty and John Kurt Edwards
Chapter 9: The Judiciary: Politics, Law, and the Courts – Matthew Hennigar

Part 4: Political Participation
Chapter 10: Democracies in Action: Elections, Political Participation, and Citizens’ Power – Amanda Bittner
Chapter 11: Political Parties: Imperfect but Essential – Anna Esselment
Chapter 12: Civil Society: The Study of Power. Intrigue. Passion – Rachel LaForest

Part 5: International Politics
Chapter 13: The Politics of Development – Michelle Bonner
Chapter 14: Regime Change and Persistence – Arjun Chowdhury
Chapter 15: International Relations: Global Anarchy, Conflict, and Cooperation – Claire Turenne-Sjolander
Chapter 16: Security in Pieces: Approaches to the Study of Security in International Politics – Sandy Irvine

Glossary
Index

The fifth edition of Studying Politics is a comprehensive text engagingly written by leading scholars in each of the “four fields” of Political Science – Political Thought, International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Canadian Politics. The text is crafted in a language that students will find accessible and relevant – that speaks to the complexity of the political world in which they live (whether they realize it or not), provides them with touchstones and tools to see patterns where others may see confusion, and offers solutions where others may offer resignation. The text seeks to encourage students to see politics as an important and productive part of their lives, and as a sphere of human behaviour that they can – and ought to – engage. Today’s students are perhaps the most globally oriented and connected generation that we have ever seen, and they view the world in ways that readily transcend traditional borders and categories. As such, this edition of Studying Politics has further weaved in comparative and global dimensions, even as it retains a core focus on Canada and Canadians. The book’s conceptual/comparative approach works outward from Canada to other industrialized developed democracies, then to the developing world and finally to the global scene. The text begins with a gentle introduction to the subject of politics and political science – especially appealing to those who may not have formally encountered this discipline before. A terrific website provides study aids and updates by the authors as changes in Canada and around the world dictate. The authors have updated and revised their contributions to reflect recent developments in the discipline and to link them to important events in the world that the students of 2015 and beyond live in. The text includes 9 new chapters that offer different ways of encouraging and mobilizing students to think about how politics intersects with their lives. New Think and Discuss boxes appear in each chapter, with the aim of encouraging students to engage critically with the surrounding chapter content. Each chapter contains a new Photo Essay box, which features an image that highlights a topical or controversial issue, along with an essay that explicates the significance of the image. Students are further encouraged to take their learning from the classroom and textbook and apply it to the debates that affect and interest them. The text has been significantly redesigned visually to better meet the needs of today’s students and educators, who are ever more in need of ways to apply the tools and knowledge of Political Science to the world around them. Offering personalized paths of dynamic assignments and applications, MindTap is a digital learning solution that turns cookie-cutter into cutting-edge, apathy into engagement, and memorizers into higher-level thinkers. MindTap enables students to analyze and apply chapter concepts within relevant assignments, and allows instructors to measure skills and promote better outcomes with ease. A fully online learning solution, MindTap combines all student learning tools—readings, multimedia, activities, and assessments—into a single Learning Path that guides the student through the curriculum. Instructors personalize the experience by customizing the presentation of these learning tools to their students, even seamlessly introducing their own content into the Learning Path.