Balancing theory with application and featuring an exciting full-color design and an engaging, student-friendly writing style, "Comparative Politics" uses a unique theme - Domestic Responses to Global Challenges - to introduce key concepts and examine the growing interdependence of strong and weak states. Each chapter focuses on one of 11 countries or on the European Union, and four additional countries are available as online chapters or in a custom print solution (Brazil, Canada, Japan, and South Africa). The introduction establishes a comparative structure based on five themes: conflict, democratization, economic liberalization, globalization, and challenges, which are then explored for each country through boxed features that are color-coded for easy cross-reference and comparison. The countries discussed are categorized by economic development, helping students hone their skills of comparison, synthesis, and interpretation by studying countries of similar economic status. With this uniquely effective text, students can gain an understanding of important political trends and concepts, an exposure to politics in a number of countries, and a desire to dig more deeply into the fascinating field of comparative politics.