Coverage of the "The American Empire" concept and its relevance to international relations, along with analysis of the International Criminal Court and the impact of international law. * Chapters on elections, political culture, governmental institutions, interest groups, and ideology provide a thorough overview. Country study chapters combine historical perspective with a discussion of contemporary challenges and problems faced by each political system to present key topics in the context of actual political systems. * Diversity within the discipline is explained and celebrated as a strength: quantitative or qualitative; comparative or non-comparative; institutionalist or ideological; etc. * Case study chapters can be read after the general chapters or can be assigned as supplementary readings during discussions of particular topics in Parts One through Three. * Political economy is addressed where relevant throughout the text rather than in one section.