Comparative
Government and
Politics Study Library.

Political science methods and comparative methodology · Defining state, nation, regime, and government · Democracy vs. authoritarianism: defining features and distinctions · Totalitarianism and theocracy as regime subtypes · Communist and single-party political systems · Federal vs. unitary state structures · Sources of political power and authority · Legitimacy: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal types · Democratization and regime transition processes · Factors contributing to political stability and instability

Presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential executive systems · Executive structures: presidents, prime ministers, cabinets, and politburos · Legislative bodies: bicameral vs. unicameral; congressional vs. parliamentary models · Judicial independence, constitutional courts, and judicial review · Constitutional vs. non-constitutional governance · Bureaucracy and state capacity · Role of the military in politics · Country-specific institutional design: China (NPC, Politburo Standing Committee, State Council) · Country-specific institutional design: Iran (Supreme Leader, President, Majlis, Guardian Council, Expediency Council) · Country-specific institutional design: Mexico (President, Chamber of Deputies, Senate, Supreme Court) · Country-specific institutional design: Nigeria (President, National Assembly, Supreme Court; 36-state federalism) · Country-specific institutional design: Russia (President, Prime Minister, Federal Assembly, Duma, Federation Council) · Country-specific institutional design: United Kingdom (Prime Minister, Cabinet, House of Commons, House of Lords, Supreme Court)

Formation of political attitudes and beliefs · Political socialization agents and processes · Ideological frameworks: liberalism, conservatism, communism, nationalism, populism, Islamism · Citizen participation mechanisms: voting, protest, civil society organizations · Civil rights and civil liberties across regime types · Social cleavages: class, religion, ethnicity, and regional identity · Political efficacy: internal and external · Role of media and information control in shaping political culture

Electoral system types: plurality/FPTP, proportional representation, mixed-member systems · One-party, dominant-party, two-party, and multiparty party system configurations · Political party roles: aggregating interests, recruiting candidates, organizing government · Interest groups, pressure groups, and their access channels · Social movements and contentious politics · Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their political roles · Role of media: state-controlled, independent, and social media · Mexico's transition from PRI dominance to multiparty competition and MORENA's rise · UK's FPTP system and its effect on party competition · Russia's managed pluralism and United Russia's dominant-party role

Globalization and its political consequences · Economic liberalization: privatization, deregulation, market reforms · Structural adjustment programs and IMF/World Bank conditionality · Industrialization, deindustrialization, and economic modernization · Demographic change: population growth, urbanization, migration · Immigration and its political effects · Environmental policy and sustainability challenges · Social welfare policy and the state's redistributive role · Supranational organizations: EU, WTO, World Bank, IMF · Comparative development indicators: HDI, Gini coefficient, GDP per capita, Freedom House scores · Oil-dependent economies and resource curse dynamics (Nigeria, Russia, Iran) · China's state-directed capitalism and economic liberalization without political pluralism