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Encyclopedia of World Political Systems
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Description: This comprehensive resource provides up-to-date political coverage of every country and political entity in the world today. It incorporates all the major global and regional changes following the decolonization on Hong Kong in 1997, recent leadership changes in China and Russia, the results of the Dayton Peace Accord, the rise of the New Labour Party in the UK, the 1999 elections in Israel and South Africa, and the continued search for peace in the Middle East and Northern Ireland. The economic crisis in Asia and the wide-spread growth of world nuclear powers are also covered.
Encyclopedia of World Political Systems, covering
--Part I. a comparative assessment of systems of government and ideologies throughout the world;
--Part II. detailed portraits of the political systems of every country of the world;
--Part III. covers the world's remaining semi-sovereign states, colonies, and dependencies, as well as regional and global organizations, including the UN, the European Union, and NAFTA.
Information for each country includes the most up-to-date social, economic, and demographics data available; key political figures; an outline of political history, and a locator map. Dozens of tables provide lists of country leaders, members of organizations, election results, and comparative statistics. This essential reference is an expanded and fully updated edition of a single-volume work, Political Systems of the World, previously published in 1996.
Selected Contents:
PART I: THE COMPARATIVE APPROACH
Chapter 1: Understanding Political Systems
Political Animal
What Is a Political System?
The Advantages of Comparing Systems
The Nation-State
The Plan of the Book
Chapter 2: Constitutions
What a Constitution Is
What a Constitution Is Not
Written and Unwritten Constitutions
What a Constitution Contains
Rigidity and Flexibility
Separation or Fusion of Powers
Unitary or Federal States
The Distribution of Power
The Role of the Judiciary
Religion and the State
Unusual Constitutional Features
How Important Are Constituions?
Chapter 3: The Ideological Bases
The Nature of Ideology
Liberal Democracy
Emergent Democracy
Communism
Nationalistic Socialism
Authoritarian Nationalism
Military Authoritarianism
Islamic Nationalism
Absolutism
The Changing Balance of Ideologies
Chapter 4: Executives
Political Executives
The Parliamentary Executive
The Limited Presidential Executive
The Dual Executive
The Communist Executive
The Unlimited Presidential Executive
The Military Executive
The Absolute Executive
Chapter 5: Legislature, Assemblies, and Congresses
The Nature of Legislatures
Legislative Functions
Comparing Legislatures or Assemblies
One Chamber or Two?
Membership and Designation of Legislatures
Legislative Size
Legislative--Executive Relationships
The Representation of Interests
Chapter 6: Elections and Voters
The Importance of Elections
Voting Qualifications
Voting Systems
Elections Turnouts
Election-Rigging: Methods and Extent
Direct Democracy: The Growing Use of Referenda
Chapter 7: Political Parties
The Mobilization of Sectional Interests
Pressure Groups
Monism, Pluralism, and Corporatism
Pressure Groups and Political Parties
Parties in Liberal and Emergent Democracies
Parties in Communist States
The Party in Noncommunist, One-Party States
Parties in Militaristic and Absolutist States
Political Parties and Electoral Systems
Parties and the Legal Environment
PART II: POLITICAL SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD'S NATION-STATES
Introduction
Asia
Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; Brunei; Cambodia (Kampuchea); China; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kazakhstan; North Korea; South Korea; Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzia); Laos; Malaysia; Maldives; Mongolia; Myanmar (Burma); Nepal; Pakistan; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Taiwan; Tajikistan; Thailand; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan; Vietnam
Central America and the Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Costa Rica; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Grenada; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Trinidad and Tobago
Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe
Albania; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus (Byelorussia); Bosnia-Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Estonia; Georgia; Greece; Hungary; Latvia; Lithuania; Macedonia; Moldova; Poland; Romania; Russia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Turkey; Ukraine; Yugoslavia
Central and Southern Africa
Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Democratic Republic of; Congo, Republic of; Cote d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Sao Tome e; Principe; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
The Middle East and North Africa
Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen
North America
Canada; United States of America (USA)
Northern and Western Europe
Andorra; Austria; Belgium; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Malta; Monaco; Netherlands; Norway; Portugal; San Marino; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; United Kingdom (UK); Vatican City State
Oceania
Australia; Fiji; Kiribati; Marshall Islands; Micronesia; The Federated States of (FSM); Nauru; New Zealand; Palau; Papua New Guinea; The Philippines; Samoa (Western); Solomon Islands; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu
South America
Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Chile; Colombia; Ecuador; Guyana; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; Uruguay; Venezuela
PART III: TOWARDS ONE WORLD
Chapter 8 The Relics of Empire--Colonies, Dependencies, and Semi-Sovereign States
The Building of the Colonial Empires: 1492-1919
The Decolonization Process: 1920-98
Remaining Colonial Possessions and Dependencies in the World Today
Profiles of Existing Colonies and Dependencies:
Australia, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, United States
Chapter 9: The World Grows Smaller: International Cooperation
Competition or Cooperation?
Global Cooperation: The United Nations Organization
Global Cooperation: The Commonwealth
Global Cooperation: The Non-Aligned Movement
Global Cooperation: Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe/Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE/OSCE)
Global Cooperation: Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Global Cooperation: The Antarctic Treaty
Interregional Cooperation
Intraregional Cooperation
Military Cooperation
Appendix A: Postwar Political Leaders in the World's Leading States
Appendix B: Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronymns
Appendix C: Data Sources
Index
Review(s): ... suitable for the reference collections of all public and academic libraries. American Reference Books Annual
The strength of the encyclopedia is its use of tables that provide truly comparative political data...In this new world of global business and other independent relations, academic and public libraries needing strong comparative political data could fill the need with Encyclopedia of World Political Systems. Booklist
    
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