Comparative Politics Today is the text that defined the discipline of comparative politics and continues to set the standard for the course with the most current country study chapters available. The Eighth Edition of this market-leading text offers the most current and respected introduction to comparative politics available, with several updated country studies and a robust Web site. As in the previous editions, theoretical chapters (Chapters 1 - 7) at the beginning of the book explore the purpose of government and provide students with a framework for understanding comparative politics. The theoretical section is followed by 12 individual country studies. - The chapter on the United States has been updated to include discussions of the 2000 presidential election and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (Ch. 19). - New data and tables have been added to the theoretical framework chapters and the discussions of the role of religious fundamentalism have been expanded. - Extraordinary scholarship, providing the most comprehensive and current presentation on the market. - Contemporary Problems section at the beginning of each country study introduces students to the curren