This substantially revised 7th edition of a classic text includes a new chapter on globalization and regionalization and broader coverage of democratic politics, interests and movements; of the media; of social and cultural influences on political behaviour and of public management. It has been systematically revised and updated throughout in the accessible down-to-earth style that has made it such a popular student choice for over 30 years.

This title examines a wide variety of international and historical political systems, inviting readers to compare their own system of government with different systems around the world. It looks at how modern politics has evolved over time, what systems seem to work best, and what makes them successful. The book also explores notable failed states and governments and compares these to the successes.

This wide-ranging text provides an overview of major developments in governance in contemporary society. It illuminates recent theories about the relationship of the public and private sectors, and the interaction of politics and society. The main development in recent years is shown as a shift in the balance between government and society towards the private sector. The book explores the ways in which new balances have been struck between state and market. It examines such new ventures in public-private interaction and endeavours to explain them in terms of coping with the dynamics, complexities and diversities of modern society. In doing so, it develops the outline of a new theory of social-political governance.

This reissued work, originally published in 1985, is a uniquely broad and original survey of theories and beliefs about the growth, behaviour, performance and reform of the governments of modern Western democracies. After analysing the external pressures which have shaped modern governments, the author examines four different schools of political thought which seek to explain the behaviour and performance of governments, and which offer different remedies for the pluralism, corporatism and bureaucracy. To examine and test these general theories, the author looks closely at how governments actually work. The book is illustrated with examples drawn from various Western societies. The final chapters present the author’s own conclusion about the future role of government, the limits of market philosophy, the future of politics, and the principles and problems of institutional reform.