Introduction to Political Science

Designed to meet the scope and sequence of your course, OpenStax Introduction to Political Science provides a strong foundation in global political systems, exploring how and why political realities unfold. Rich with examples of individual and national social action, this text emphasizes students’ r...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Rom, Mark Carl (Author), Hidaka, Masaki (Author), Walker, Rachel Bzostek (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	[Place of publication not identified] OpenStax 2022.
Series:	Open textbook library.
Subjects:	Political Science > Textbooks
Online Access:	Access online version
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Table of Contents:

Preface
Unit 1. Introduction to Political Science
Chapter 1. What Is Politics and What is Political Science?
Introduction
1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
1.4 Normative Political Science
1.5 Empirical Political Science
1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Unit 2. Individuals
Chapter 2. Political Behavior is Human Behavior
Introduction
2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
2.2 Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do?
2.3 Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable
2.4 The Importance of Context for Political Decisions
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 3. Political Ideology
Introduction
3.1 The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies
3.2 The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract
3.3 The Development of Varieties of Liberalism
3.4 Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism
3.5 Contemporary Democratic Liberalism
3.6 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left
3.7 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right
3.8 Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism, Burkeanism, and Religious Extremism
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 4. Civil Liberties
Introduction
4.1 The Freedom of the Individual
4.2 Constitutions and Individual Liberties
4.3 The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas
4.4 Freedom of Movement
4.5 The Rights of the Accused
4.6 The Right to a Healthy Environment
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 5. Political Participation and Public Opinion
Introduction
5.1 What Is Political Participation?
5.2 What Limits Voter Participation in the United States?
5.3 How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting?
5.4 What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From?
5.5 How Do We Measure Public Opinion?
5.6 Why Is Public Opinion Important?
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Unit 3. Groups
Chapter 6. The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
Introduction
6.1 Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political
6.2 Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity
6.3 Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions
6.4 Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives
6.5 Resolving Collective Action Problems
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 7. Civil Rights
Introduction
7.1 Civil Rights and Constitutionalism
7.2 Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations
7.3 Civil Rights Abuses
7.4 Civil Rights Movements
7.5 How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change?
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 8. Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
Introduction
8.1 What Is an Interest Group?
8.2 What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups?
8.3 Political Parties
8.4 What Are the Limits of Parties?
8.5 What Are Elections and Who Participates?
8.6 How Do People Participate in Elections?
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Unit 4. Institutions
Chapter 9. Legislation
Introduction
9.1 What Do Legislatures Do?
9.2 What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems?
9.3 What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems?
9.4 The Decline of Legislative Influence
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 10. Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
Introduction
10.1 Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes
10.2 The Executive in Presidential Regimes
10.3 The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes
10.4 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes
10.5 Semi-Presidential Regimes
10.6 How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes?
10.7 What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies?
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 11. Courts and Law
Introduction
11.1 What Is the Judiciary?
11.2 How Does the Judiciary Take Action?
11.3 Types of Legal Systems around the World
11.4 Criminal versus Civil Laws
11.5 Due Process and Judicial Fairness
11.6 Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 12. The Media
Introduction
12.1 The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter?
12.2 Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape
12.3 How Do Media and Elections Interact?
12.4 The Internet and Social Media
12.5 Declining Global Trust in the Media
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Unit 5. States and International Relations
Chapter 13. Governing Regimes
Introduction
13.1 Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority
13.2 Categorizing Contemporary Regimes
13.3 Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 14. International Relations
Introduction
14.1 What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It?
14.2 Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System
14.3 Sovereignty and Anarchy
14.4 Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict
14.5 The Realist Worldview
14.6 The Liberal and Social Worldview
14.7 Critical Worldviews
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 15. International Law and International Organizations
Introduction
15.1 The Problem of Global Governance
15.2 International Law
15.3 The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
15.4 How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
15.5 Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
15.6 Non-state Actors beyond NGOs
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
Chapter 16. International Political Economy
Introduction
16.1 The Origins of International Political Economy
16.2 The Advent of the Liberal Economy
16.3 The Bretton Woods Institutions
16.4 The Post–Cold War Period and Modernization Theory
16.5 From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE
16.6 Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Suggested Readings
References
Index

Introduction to Political Science

Similar Items