"The book is written from a perspective of someone who, after having lived for many years under communism and then for more than two decades under a liberal democracy, has discovered that those two political systems have a lot in common, stem from the same historical roots in early modernity, and accept similar presuppositions about history, society, religion, politics, culture and human nature. Moreover both political systems have some similar objectives....

George Tsebelis is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Nested Games: Rational Choice in Comparative Politics and coauthor of Bicameralism. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hoover National Fellowship, and a Russell Sage Fellowship, he has published numerous papers on the institutions of the European Union and on comparative institutional analysis. Political scientists have long...

"The decades-long resilience of Middle Eastern regimes meant that few anticipated the 2011 Arab Spring. But from the seemingly rapid leadership turnovers in Tunisia and Egypt to the protracted stalemates in Yemen and Syria, there remains a common outcome: ongoing control of the ruling regimes. While some analysts and media outlets rush to look for democratic breakthroughs, autocratic continuity-not wide-ranging political change-remains the hallmark...

In this history of medicine and the medical profession in the Third Reich, the author examines the career patterns, educational training, professional organization, and political socialization of German physicians under Hitler.

Introduces the concept of government, exploring various types of systems, including democracy, communism, and socialism, and presenting international organizations such as the UN and NATO.

Describes systems of government from throughout the world, relates them to unique social and economic influences, identifies particular features common to all or most, and makes objective comparisons.

Includes over 500 articles with information on the politics and government of every country in the world, on political systems, movements, and leaders, and on human rights, wars, international organizations, and related topics.