ICGP Book Details

Summary

Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics, 1st edition, is an Open Education Resource Textbook that surveys contemporary comparative politics.

The textbook is organized thematically and includes chapters that cover a wide range of topics in comparative politics: how and what comparativists study; methods in comparative politics; states and regimes; democracies and democratization; non-democracies and democratic backsliding, political identity, including culture, race and ethnicity, gender, nationalism, religion, and class; political economy; collective action and social movements; comparative public opinion; political violence; and globalization and fragmentation. Each chapter accompanied by a case study or a comparative study, one of the main methodological tools used in comparative politics.

By contextualizing the concepts, we hope to help students learn the comparative method, which to this day remains one of the most important methodological tools for all researchers.

About the Authors

Dr. Dino Bozonelos

Dino Bozonelos

Dr. Dino Bozonelos, Victor Valley College, Political Science: Dino Bozonelos is a Professor of Political Science at Victor Valley College. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside. His research interests revolve around global issues, including geopolitics, migration, religious tourism and pilgrimage, religion and politics, and comparative political economy. He has published in several journals, including Politics & Religion and the International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, and in several edited volumes. He is also the coauthor of another open-source textbook, Introduction to Political Science Research Methods and is the co-editor of an upcoming book, The Politics of Religious Tourism.

Dr. Julia Wendt

Julia Wendt

Dr. Julia Wendt, Victor Valley College, Political Science & Cooperative Education: Julia Wendt is Professor at Victor Valley College. She teaches in two departments, Political Science and Cooperative Education. Her research interests in Political Science revolve around comparative politics and international relations, focusing on global human capital development and investment. Her work in Cooperative Education centers on giving students the opportunity to prepare for the workforce upon graduation by providing the opportunity for students to earn transferrable college credit for working at their jobs or participating in internships. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Claremont Graduate University and two Master’s Degrees, one from Claremont Graduate University in International Studies with an emphasis quantitative studies, and a Master’s Degree from the University of San Diego in International Relations with an emphasis in qualitative methods.

Dr. Charlotte Lee

Charlotte Lee

Dr. Charlotte Lee, Berkeley City College, Political Science: Charlotte Lee teaches courses in Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Global Studies. Her research focuses on bureaucratic politics and institutional change. She has published research on the politics of China, transition in Eastern Europe, and the democratic peace. She is the author of Training the Party: Adaptation and Elite Training in Reform-era China (Cambridge University Press, 2015). With support from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, she was a contributing author for an Open Educational Resources (OER) textbook in political science research methods. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in Political Economy and Asian Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University. Prior to that, she was a US Peace Corps Volunteer (assigned to Romania).

Jessica Scarffe

Jessica Scarffe

Jessica Scarffe, Allan Hancock College, Political Science: Jessica Scarffe is a Professor of Political Science at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California, joining the faculty in 2008. She has taught at other colleges in California, including College of the Desert, Butte College and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She has a B.A. in Political Economy of Industrial Societies from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.A. in Political Philosophy – The Idea of Toleration from York University in England, where she studied as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar. Prior to her career in education, she worked for elected officials, on political campaigns, in government relations and real estate development. Her professional interests include international relations, democratic practices, open educational resources [OER], and diversity, equity, inclusion [DEI].

Dr. Masahiro Omae

Masahiro Omae

Dr. Masahiro Omae, San Diego City College, Political Science: Dr. Omae is a Dean for the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Consumer and Family Studies at San Diego City College. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside. Additionally, Dr. Omae served as a staff researcher for the Children´s Service Division at Riverside County Department of Public Social Services where he designed and evaluated various services and programs to improve child welfare.

Dr. Josh Franco

Josh Franco

Dr. Josue (Josh) Franco, Cuyamaca College, Political Science: Josh Franco is a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor at Cuyamaca College in east San Diego county, California. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science and B.A. in public policy from the University of California, Merced, and A.A.s in economics and political science from Cerritos Community College. Dr. Franco has five years of experience working in the California State Government and U.S. House of Representatives. Additionally, he is a co-author of Introduction to Political Science Research Methods open education resource textbook and has published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Political Science Education.

Dr. Byran Martin

Byran Martin

Dr. Byran Martin, Houston Community College, Political Science: Byran Martin is a Professor of Government for the Houston Community College System. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside, and B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. His research interests focus on Public Opinion, Congress, and Mass Political Behavior. In addition to his scholarship, Dr. Martin also has experience managing and conducting public opinion polls for the Survey Research Center at the University of California, Riverside.

Stefan Veldhuis

Stefan Veldhuis

Stefan Veldhuis, Long Beach City College, Political Science: Stefan Veldhuis is a professor at Long Beach College who has been teaching Political Science at the college level since 2007. He received his B.A. in Political Science at Christopher Newport University, his M.A. in International Relations at University of San Diego and his PhD (AbD) in American & Comparative Politics at Claremont Graduate University. He played 4 years of NCAA Fútbol (soccer) coached 3 years of NCAA and has enjoyed coaching all 3 of his children. Stefan is a connoisseur of Fútbol and loves how the beautiful game transcends culture and country.