Offering a comprehensive introduction to the comparison of governments and political systems, this new edition helps students to understand not just the institutions and political cultures of their own countries but also those of a wide range of democracies and authoritarian regimes from around the world.This new edition offers:-A revised structure to aid navigation and understanding-New learning features, 'Using Theory' and 'Exploring Problems', designed to help students think comparatively-Empirical global examples, with increased coverage of non-Western scholarship and analyses-Coverage of important contemporary topics including: minorities; LGBTQ+ issues; identity politics; women in politics; political trust; populism; Covid-19.
Featuring a wide range of engaging learning features, this book is an essential text for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Comparative Politics, Comparative Government, Introduction to Politics and Introduction to Political Science.
This section includes databases that provide detailed profiles of most countries worldwide. Country profiles include basic country facts and figures such as population, capitol cities and so on. They also provide brief summaries of geography, environment, history, current politics and economics.
Examine the political institutions and processes of six different countries—China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom—and compare the ways they address problems. You’ll analyze data and readings to draw conclusions about political systems.
Connecting political concepts to real-life situations
Comparing different political systems, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors
Analyzing data to find patterns and trends and draw conclusions
Reading and analyzing text sources
Developing a claim or thesis and explaining and supporting it in an essay
A one-semester introductory college course in comparative government and politics
The course content outlined below is organized into commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. Your teacher may choose to organize the course content differently based on local priorities and preferences.
Course Content
Topics may include:
- How political scientists collect and use data and information
- Types of political systems: regimes, states, nations, and governments
- Democracy and authoritarianism
- The ways governments and regimes get, keep, and lose power
- Factors that can either help or undermine the stability of a government
18%–27% of multiple-choice score
Topics may include:
- Parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential government systems
- Executive institutions (for example, presidents, prime ministers, cabinets)
- Legislative systems (for example, congressional or parliamentary)
- Judicial systems (judges and courts)
22%–33% of multiple-choice score
Topics may include:
- Where the political attitudes and beliefs of citizens come from
- Political ideologies such as individualism, communism, and fascism
- Political participation by citizens and its effects
- Civil rights and civil liberties
- Social divisions within a country and their effects
11%–18% of multiple-choice score
Topics may include:
- Types of electoral systems and election rules
- Types of political party systems
- How social movements and interest groups cause political change
13%–18% of multiple-choice score
Topics may include:
- Political responses to global market forces
- The effects of economic liberalization policies
- How governments adapt social policies to address political, cultural, and economic changes
- Rapid industrialization and its impacts
- The causes and effects of demographic changes
16%–24% of multiple-choice score
AP Comparative Government and Politics is an introductory college-level course in comparative government and politics. The course uses a comparative approach to examine the political structures; policies; and political, economic, and social challenges of six selected countries: China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Students cultivate their understanding of comparative government and politics through analysis of data and text-based sources as they explore topics like power and authority, legitimacy and stability, democratization, internal and external forces, and methods of political analysis.
Based on the Understanding by Design® (Wiggins and McTighe) model, this course framework provides a description of the course requirements necessary for student success. The framework specifies what students should know and be able to do to, with a focus on big ideas that encompass core principles, theories, and processes of the discipline. The framework also encourages instruction that prepares students for advanced comparative political science coursework and to be active and informed about politics abroad.
The AP Comparative Government and Politics framework is organized into five commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. As always, you have the flexibility to organize the course content as you like.
Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments | 18%–27% |
Unit 2: Political Institutions | 22%–33% |
Unit 3: Political Culture and Participation | 11%–18% |
Unit 4: Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations | 13%–18% |
Unit 5: Political and Economic Changes and Development | 16%–24% |
The AP Comparative Government and Politics framework included in the course and exam description outlines distinct skills, called disciplinary practices, that students should practice throughout the year—practices that will help them learn to think and act like comparative political scientists.
1. Concept Application | Apply political concepts and processes in authentic contexts. |
2. Country Comparison | Compare political concepts and processes among the course countries (China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom). |
3. Data Analysis | Analyze and interpret quantitative data represented in tables, charts, graphs, maps, and infographics. |
4. Source Analysis | Read, analyze, and interpret text-based sources. |
5. Argumentation | Develop an argument in essay format. |
The AP Program is unique in its reliance on Development Committees. These committees, made up of an equal number of college faculty and experienced secondary AP teachers from across the country, are essential to the preparation of AP course curricula and exams.