Comparative Politics: A Global Introduction

Sodaro's Comparative Politics is an excellent book to have at all times. It contains many historical moments which shaped politics onwards. It is a book you will not want to sell after you complete a course.Highly recommended as a referencing and brief introduction on different political terms and political systems.

In the past several years, I have examined numerous comparative politics textbooks, and I have found Michael Sodaro's to be among the very best. While other textbooks, like Roskin's, are good on countries, but not concepts, and others (like Hague's), are excellent on concepts but weaker on countries, Sodaro's textbook has a good (maybe the best) mix of both. His language is approachable, he teaches an analytical skill (hypothesis testing) that will be useful in other contexts, and he asks some of the best scholars to write empirical chapters. While other books might be better at introducing specific subjects to undergraduates (like ideologies), I think Michael Sodaro has done a fine job of giving students a broad overview to the discipline.

Sodaro's textbook is a fine introduction to the field of comparative politics. By combining political science theory with actual case studies, the book imparts specific knowledge of various systems and problems of governance while familiarizing the reader with the "lingo" and major concepts of comparative politics. Sodaro's discussions of democracy and parliamentarianism are especially impressive.The student of international affairs will find this textbook useful as a reference, even after completion of introductory coursework in comparative politics.