Abstract
The traditional approach to comparative government has been to classify regimes by political factors. These include the number of rulers (one? few? many?) and how they achieved power (tradition? election? a coup?). Such distinctions are important but insufficient. It is not enough to classify governments by their formal structures alone. This is unlikely to reveal the full nature of political life in a society. For the landless peasant in Asia, it hardly matters whether the institutions of central government are controlled by a president, a parliament or a general. The daily struggles of life remain unsolved.
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Key Reading
Diamond, L., Linz, J. and Lipset, S. (eds) (1989), Democracy in Developing Countries, 4 vols (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner). Comprehensive coverage of democratic trends in all major third world countries.
White, S. et al. (1990) Communist and PostCommunist Political Systems: an Introduction, 3rd edn (Basingstoke: Macmillan). Covers the end of communism in Eastern Europe but not its final demise in the Soviet Union.
Held, D. (1987) Models of Democracy (Oxford: Polity). This challenging book is among the most accomplished recent works on democracy.
Munck, R. (1989) Latin America: The Transition to Democracy (London: Zed Books) examines the development of the ‘democratic discourse’ in Latin America.
Wiseman, J. (1990) Democracy in Black Africa: Survival and Revival (New York: Paragon House) examines democratic traditions and transitions in black Africa.
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© 1992 Rod Hague, Martin Harrop and Shaun Breslin
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Hague, R., Harrop, M., Breslin, S. (1992). The Nation-State in Three Worlds. In: Comparative Government and Politics. Comparative Government and Politics. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22276-6_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22276-6_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-55820-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-22276-6
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