This classic text defined the discipline of comparative politics and continues to define the direction of the course by offering the same respected approach in an accessible new edition. The text has been fully updated and the theoretical chapters have been thoroughly revised and restructured. Beginning with chapters explaining structural functionalism theory—which provides students with a framework for understanding comparative politics—the text then moves to the 12 individual country studies. Each country study has been written by a pre-eminent specialist on the political system of that nation. The new edition of Comparative Politics Today features a new "Contemporary Problems" section in each study, plus new "Example Boxes" to help students learn.