Understanding Democratic Politics is aimed and designed for first-time students of politics. It provides an ideal introduction and survey to the key themes and issues central to the study and understanding of democratic politics today. Understanding Democratic Politics is structured around three major parts: 'concepts', 'institutions and political behaviour'; and 'ideologies and movements'. Each part contains a series of concise and accessible chapters that introduce the key concepts, institutional forms and political ideas or conflicts that have underpinned the development of modern democracies. Designed and written for an undergraduate readership, each chapter contains 'bullet-point' summaries, a guide to further reading, and set of questions for tutorial discussion. It will form an essential guide and companion to all students of politics both on introductory courses and throughout their undergraduate degree.
After his PhD at the London School of Economics, Roland taught at the University of Aberdeen for 16 years. Roland joined the Department in 2005 as a Professor of Politics and International Relations. He held visiting appointments at Heidelberg University (Germany); Karl-Franzens University Graz (Austria); University of California, Los Angeles; and Deakin University, Melbourne. In 2011, he was a visiting professor at the University of Queensland in Brisbane (Australia). Currently, he is a visiting fellow at the Sydney Democracy Initiative at Sydney University.
PART ONE: CONCEPTS Sovereignty - Roland Axtmann Constitutionalism - Neil Walker Human Rights and Democracy - David Beetham Justice, Equality, Liberty - Vittorio Bufacchi Power, Authority, Legitimacy - Noel O'Sullivan Representative and Direct Democracy - Michael Saward Majoritarianism - Thomas O Hueglin Consociationalism Pluralism - Judith Squires Difference Civil Society - Roland Axtmann National and Global Class - Roland Axtmann and Robert Grant Elites PART TWO: INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR The Territorial State - Michael Keating Government, Civil Service and Public Policies - Grant Jordan and Emma Clarence Parliaments - David Arter Parties and Party Systems - Byron Criddle Elections and Electoral Systems - Michael Dyer Interest Groups - Wyn Grant Social Movements - Lynn G Bennie Political Participation - George Moyser Social Capital - William A Maloney and Linda Stevenson The Welfare State and Democracy - Michael Lister and Daniel Wincott Cyber-democracy - Peter Ferdinand Democratic Citizenship in the Age of Globalization - Roland Axtmann PART THREE: IDEOLOGIES AND MOVEMENTS Liberalism - Antonino Palumbo Conservatism - Arthur Aughey Socialism - Terrell Carver Marxism Anarchism and Democracy - Patricia Clark and Sharif Gemie Nationalism - Alain Dieckhoffx Contemporary Right-Wing Extremism - Anders Widfeldt Feminism - Kimberly Hutchings Environmentalism - John Barry Democracy and the Islamist Paradox - Abdelwahab El-Affendi Cosmopolitanism - Nicholas Rengger
