Includes bibliographical references (p. [161]-207) and index.

1. Introduction -- Part I. Approaches to comparative analysis -- 2. Theories of comparative politics: a brief overview -- The state -- The political system -- Bringing the state back in -- Conclusion -- Part II. The comparative study of politics -- 3. A synthesis -- An alternative approach -- Conclusion -- 4. States and social institutions -- State institutions -- Social institutions -- Conclusion -- 5. A framework for analysis -- The state-in-society approach -- A sharper focus -- Analytical applications -- Conclusion -- Part III. State in comparative perspective -- 6. Democratic states -- State classifications -- First world democracies -- New democracies -- Pseudo-democracies -- Conclusion -- 7. Non-democratic states -- Inclusionary populist regimes -- Bureaucratic-authoritarian dictatorships -- Conclusion -- Part IV. State-society interactions: revolution & democratization -- 8. Revolutions -- Causes of revolutions -- State breakdown -- Revolutionary mass mobilization -- Conclusion -- 9. Democratization -- Civil society and civil society organizations -- Democratic transitions -- Conclusion -- 10. Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.

Comparative politics has undergone significant theoretical changes in recent decades. Particularly since the 1980s, a new generation of scholars have revamped and rejuvinated the study of the subject. Mehran Kamrava examines current and past approaches to the study of comparative politics and proposes a new framework for analysis. This is achieved through a comparative examination of state and social institutions, the interactions that occur between them, and the poltical cultures within which they operate. The book also offers a concise and detailed synthesis of existing comparative frameworks that, up to now at least, have encountered analytical shortcomings on their own.