Section I: Theories and Methods 1. The Relevance of Comparative Politics Bo Rothstein2. Approaches in Comparative Politics B. Guy Peters3. Comparative Research Methods Hans Keman and Paul PenningsSection II: The Historical Context4. The Nation-state Gianfranco Poggi5. Democracies Aníbal Pérez-Liñán 6. Authoritarian Regimes Natasha EzrowSection III: Structures and Institutions 7. Legislatures Amie Kreppel 8. Governments and Bureaucracies Wolfgang C. Müller 9. Constitutions and Courts Alec Stone Sweet 10. Elections and Referendums Michael Gallagher 11. Federalism and Multi-level Governance Liesbet Hooghe and Gary MarksSection IV: Actors and Processes 12. Political Parties Richard S. Katz 13. Party Systems Daniele Caramani 14. Interest Groups Roland Erne 15. Regions and Ethnicity James Bickerton and Alain-G. Gagnon 16. Social Movements Hanspeter Kriesi 17. Political Culture Christian Welzel and Ronald Inglehart 18. Political Participation Herbert Kitschelt and Philipp Rehm 19. Political Communication Frank Esser and Barbara PfetschSection V: Public Policies 20. Policy Making Christoph Knill and Jale Tosun 21. The Welfare State Kees van Kersbergen and Philip Manow 22. The Impact of Public Policies Jørgen Goul AndersenSection VI: Beyond the Nation-state 23. The EU as a New Political System Simon Hix 24. Globalization and the Nation-state Georg Sørensen 25. Promoting Democracy Sonja Grimm