Introduction to Political Science

Designed to meet the scope and sequence of your course, OpenStax Introduction to Political Science provides a strong foundation in global political systems, exploring how and why political realities unfold. Rich with examples of individual and national social action, this text emphasizes students’ role in the political sphere and equips them to be active and informed participants in civil society. Learn more about what this free, openly-licensed textbook has to offer you and your students.

Senior Contributing Authors

Mark Carl Rom, Georgetown University
Masaki Hidaka, American University
Rachel Bzostek Walker, Collin College

Contributing Authors

Emilia B. Carvalho, Lone Star College
Rebecca Eissler, San Francisco State University
Terri Susan Fine, University of Central Florida
Cassandra Khatri, Lone Star College
Timothy Lim, California State University, Los Angeles
Brenda Norton, Angelo State University
Robert Postic, University of Findlay
Joseph Prud’homme, Washington College
Shyam Krishnan Sriram, Gonzaga University
Victoria Williams, Alvernia University

Unit 1 Introduction to Political Science

Chapter 1 What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
o Introduction
o 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
o 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
o 1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
o 1.4 Normative Political Science
o 1.5 Empirical Political Science
o 1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Unit 2 Individuals

Chapter 2 Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
o Introduction
o 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
o 2.2 Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do?
o 2.3 Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable
o 2.4 The Importance of Context for Political Decisions
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 3 Political Ideology
o Introduction
o 3.1 The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies
o 3.2 The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract
o 3.3 The Development of Varieties of Liberalism
o 3.4 Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism
o 3.5 Contemporary Democratic Liberalism
o 3.6 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left
o 3.7 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right
o 3.8 Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism, Burkeanism, and Religious Extremism
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 4 Civil Liberties
o Introduction
o 4.1 The Freedom of the Individual
o 4.2 Constitutions and Individual Liberties
o 4.3 The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas
o 4.4 Freedom of Movement
o 4.5 The Rights of the Accused
o 4.6 The Right to a Healthy Environment
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 5 Political Participation and Public Opinion
o Introduction
o 5.1 What Is Political Participation?
o 5.2 What Limits Voter Participation in the United States?
o 5.3 How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting?
o 5.4 What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From?
o 5.5 How Do We Measure Public Opinion?
o 5.6 Why Is Public Opinion Important?
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Unit 3 Groups

Chapter 6 The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
o Introduction
o 6.1 Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political
o 6.2 Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity
o 6.3 Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions
o 6.4 Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives
o 6.5 Resolving Collective Action Problems
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 7 Civil Rights
o Introduction
o 7.1 Civil Rights and Constitutionalism
o 7.2 Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations
o 7.3 Civil Rights Abuses
o 7.4 Civil Rights Movements
o 7.5 How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change?
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 8 Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
o Introduction
o 8.1 What Is an Interest Group?
o 8.2 What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups?
o 8.3 Political Parties
o 8.4 What Are the Limits of Parties?
o 8.5 What Are Elections and Who Participates?
o 8.6 How Do People Participate in Elections?
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Unit 4 Institutions

Chapter 9 Legislatures
o Introduction
o 9.1 What Do Legislatures Do?
o 9.2 What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems?
o 9.3 What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems?
o 9.4 The Decline of Legislative Influence
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 10 Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
o Introduction
o 10.1 Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes
o 10.2 The Executive in Presidential Regimes
o 10.3 The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes
o 10.4 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes
o 10.5 Semi-Presidential Regimes
o 10.6 How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes?
o 10.7 What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies?
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 11 Courts and Law
o Introduction
o 11.1 What Is the Judiciary?
o 11.2 How Does the Judiciary Take Action?
o 11.3 Types of Legal Systems around the World
o 11.4 Criminal versus Civil Laws
o 11.5 Due Process and Judicial Fairness
o 11.6 Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 12 The Media
o Introduction
o 12.1 The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter?
o 12.2 Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape
o 12.3 How Do Media and Elections Interact?
o 12.4 The Internet and Social Media
o 12.5 Declining Global Trust in the Media
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Unit 5 States and International Relations

Chapter 13 Governing Regimes
o Introduction
o 13.1 Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority
o 13.2 Categorizing Contemporary Regimes
o 13.3 Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 14 International Relations
o Introduction
o 14.1 What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It?
o 14.2 Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System
o 14.3 Sovereignty and Anarchy
o 14.4 Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict
o 14.5 The Realist Worldview
o 14.6 The Liberal and Social Worldview
o 14.7 Critical Worldviews
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 15 International Law and International Organizations
o Introduction
o 15.1 The Problem of Global Governance
o 15.2 International Law
o 15.3 The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
o 15.4 How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
o 15.5 Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
o 15.6 Non-state Actors beyond NGOs
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings

Chapter 16 International Political Economy
o Introduction
o 16.1 The Origins of International Political Economy
o 16.2 The Advent of the Liberal Economy
o 16.3 The Bretton Woods Institutions
o 16.4 The Post–Cold War Period and Modernization Theory
o 16.5 From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE
o 16.6 Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis
o Summary
o Key Terms
o Review Questions
o Suggested Readings