Following the Arab Spring, Syria descended into civil and sectarian conflict. It has since become a fractured warzone which operates as a breeding ground for new terrorist movements including ISIS as well as the root cause of the greatest refugee crisis in modern history. In this important book, former Special Envoy of the Netherlands to Syria, Nikolaos van Dam, explains the recent history of Syria, covering the growing disenchantment with the Asad regime, the chaos of civil war and the fract...

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...

This accessible guide to the major concepts in politics has now been revised and expanded to include over 60 international relations terms to take account of the increasing influence of globalization upon politics. Each concept is defined clearly and fully, and its significance for political understanding is explored.

'Wry, informative but deadly - a great book'

Will Hutton

'Fast-paced and impassioned'

Sunday Telegraph

Who said that dictatorship was dead? The world today is full of Strong Men and their imitators. A fascinating exploration of how and why Caesars seized power and why they fell.

There is a comforting illusion shared by historians and political commentators, that history progresses in a nice straight line towards liberal democracy or socialism, despite the odd hiccup.

Every democracy, however ...

Cutting through the jargon of EU politics, the third edition of this engaging and informative textbook examines the history, institutions, processes and politics of the European Union with unprecedented clarity. The EU is a fascinating political experiment in regional integration and it has changed our understanding of Europe, how Europeans relate to one another, the role Europe plays in global politics and has even shifted our understanding of politics itself. Helping to make sense of it all...

Starting from the observation that the European Union now possesses many of the attributes of modern political systems, Hix and Høyland take an innovative approach to analysing, researching and teaching the EU. Using the general theories of political science to understand how the EU works, this text covers each of the main processes in the EU political system - executive, legislative and judicial politics, public opinion, interest groups and democracy, and regulatory, monetary and foreign po...

Offering an unparalleled, sweeping survey of the political ideologies that have shaped our world, the seventh edition of Andrew Heywood's seminal undergraduate textbook continues to lead the way in guiding students through the political creeds and doctrines that have dominated politics past and present.

A book about the rise of English nationalism and the impending breakup of the United Kingdom.

An account of the signing, impact and legacy of Magna Carta, a document that became one the most influential statements in the history of democracy.

This major new text on the theory and practice of public management moves away from descriptive accounts of its evolution to provide a systematic treatment of the key paradigms of public management today. It examines their competing outlooks, values, tools and assumptions and - using a wide range of examples from different areas of management around the world - their implications for practice. The text sets out three contrasting 'logics' for management - performance, professionalism and polit...