"Principles of Comparative Politics offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date view of the rich world of comparative inquiry, research, and scholarship. This groundbreaking text gives students meaningful insight into how cross-national comparison is actually conducted, and why it matters. Students learn about the enduring questions that scholars grapple with, the issues about which consensus has started to emerge, and the tools comparativists use to get at the complex and interesting problems at the heart of the field. William R. Clark, Matt Golder, and Sona N. Golder begin with a clear and straightforward discussion of the comparative and scientific methods, then outline the debates about the political phenomena that drive current research, such as state failure, the economic and cultural determinants of democracy, or the effects of regime type and electoral system. The thoroughly revised Fourth Edition includes streamlined discussion and analysis of key topics and theories in the field"-- Provided by publisher.