In my JNU years, when I was pursuing Masters in International Relations, one of my subjects was comparative political analysis. There were several books and authors we sweared by for getting an indepth understanding on this subject.
Today in order to make the life of students who are searching for proper books on this subject a little easy, I bring to you a comprehensive list of books on Comparative Political Analysis.
Comparative Politics Today: A World View
by
Gabriel A. Almond, G. Bingham Powell, JR., Kaare Strom and Russell J. Dalton
Not just for CPA but political science students will also find this book useful because it explains in detail the structure of international relations and its workings; how the constitution, political parties, etc. are formed; what is the political system of Russia, China, France, etc. It is quite bulky and lengthy book but it just goes on to say the amount of information that is stocked into it.
Theories of Comparative Politics: The Search for a Paradigm Reconsidered
by
Ronald H. Chilcote
This book gives an overview of the main theories and ideologies of politics and political behaviour. Being decades old, the book explains in detail the different approaches to study comparative politics like historical, post-behavioral, post-industrialization, etc. It also touches upon the contemporary challenges in this subject like state-building, ethnic conflict and security.
Bringing The State Back In
by
Peter B. Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer and Theda Skocpol
State is the primary focus of this book. Questions like how is state formed, how has the concept of state changed over time and space, what are industrial states or economic states, how is state making post war, etc. are dealt from historical, economical, sociological point of view.
Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism
by
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
This is another classic for all those interested in CPA, political science, Marxism and what not. Lenin talks about industrialization, concentration of capital, monopolies, big corporation giants, financial capital, etc. Before heading on to the contemporary works published on Marxism and economic theory, this book must be consulted as it makes a clear base for understanding newer concepts.
The Cambridge Companion to Postcolonial Literary Studies
by
Neil Lazarus
The book touches upon the era of post-colonialism wherein newer issues like globalization, nationalism, decolonization, migration, etc. is making an impact on political system and debates.
Arguing Comparative Politics
by
Alfred Stepan
Divided into 3 parts, the books argues on state and society, different polities and democracy.
Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital
by
Vivek Chibber
Written by an Indian author the focus is on Global South and its school of thought. Especially if you are looking for an analysis of Subaltern Studies then Chibber's work wont disappoint you.
New Directions in Comparative Politics
by
Howard J. Wiarda
Explained in detail the important theories of CPA like state, developmentalism, dependency, political economy, institutionalism, etc.
So, these were 9 books that I have found most useful for studying traditional approaches in CPA, behavioral approaches, systems theory, structural functionalism, modernization theory, dependency theory, Marxism and post-colonialism.
*Affiliate Links
0 comments:
Post a Comment