48 Political Science
American Government (3e)
Glen S. Krutz
2018
Licence: CC BY
American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American Government course. This OpenStax title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American Government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them.
Formats: Online, PDF
Suggested for: POLI 345
Attenuated Democracy
David Hubert
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
A critical introduction to U.S. government and politics.
Formats: Online, PDF, and EPUB
Suggested for: POLI 345
Canada and Speeches from the Throne
Raymond Blake (University of Regina)
2020
Licence: CC BY
This book by senior undergraduate and graduate student in the Department of History at the University of Regina describes how Canadian Prime Ministers articulated their vision of Canada from 1935 to 2015 through their Speeches from the Throne and in their Leaders’ Day speeches. It demonstrates that each of Canada’s Prime Ministers had a vision for the country and articulated that vision in their speeches and through their words.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB, and more
Suggested for: POLI 309
Comparative Politics: A Practical Guide for a Globalizing World
Colorado Mesa University
2024
Licence: CC BY-NC
Comparative Politics: A Practical Guide for a Globalizing World is perhaps the first to be written with an emphasis on case studies from the Global South and other alternative perspectives in comparative politics. This text focuses on themes and case studies that are often missing in more traditional comparative politics textbooks, and thus is best accompanied by other resources to give students a foundation in the fundamentals.
Format: PDF
Conflict, War and Revolution: The problem of politics in international political thought
Paul Kelly
2022
Licence: CC BY
This book is primarily intended for second year and upwards undergraduate students in general political theory and international theory, and advanced international relations students. Each chapter is also downloadable on its own for use in courses considering only some of the ten theorists covered.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB, Mobi
Suggested for: POLI 330
Critical Epistemologies of Global Politics
Edited by Marc Woons and Sebastian Weier (E-International Relations)
2017
Licence: CC BY-NC
This politics text covers introductory concepts in epistemologies of global politics, from decolonial feminism to ontological violence. Critical Epistemologies of Global Politics combines social science and cultural studies approaches to IR, showing why contemporary Border Studies needs to be trans-disciplinary if it is to avoid reproducing the epistemological and political order that has led to contemporary global crises like the rise of ISIS, global migration, or increasing contestations of the State form as such. The volume offers a critical epistemology of global politics and proposes an enriched vision of borders, both analytically and politically, that not only seeks to understand but also to reshape and expand the meanings and consequences of IR.
Format: PDF
Suggested for: POLI 330
Critical Perspectives on Migration in the Twenty-First Century
Edited by Marianna Karakoulaki, Laura Southgate, and Jakob Steiner (E-international Relations)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC
This migration text covers concepts in 21st-century migration, from human rights to the 2015 migrant crisis. Thousands of people risk their lives daily by crossing borders in search of a better life. During 2015, over one million of these people arrived in Europe. Images of refugees in distress became headline news in what was considered to be the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since 1945. This book provides a critical overview of recent migration flows and offers answers as to why people flee, what happens during their flight and investigates the various responses to mass migratory movements. Divided in two parts, the book addresses long-running academic, policy and domestic debates, drawing on case studies of migration in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific. Coming from a variety of different fields, the contributors provide an interdisciplinary approach and open the discussion on the reasons why migration should be examined critically.
Format: PDF
Suggested for: POLI 450
Government Powers and Limitations – 1st Edition
Oregon State University
2024
Licence: CC BY
This volume focuses on constitutional doctrine and law in the areas of government powers and limitations. It includes excerpts of landmark cases related to the judiciary and executive, contracts and takings clauses, and due process. The excerpts include the constitutional issues in these cases that are related to government powers and limitations with other questions of law and dicta omitted.
Formats: Online, PDF, eBook
Human Security in World Affairs: Problems and Opportunities (2nd Edition)
Edited by Alexander Lautensach and Sabina Lautensach (University of Northern British Columbia)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This first and only university textbook of human security, intended as an introductory text from senior undergraduate level up, and includes chapters by 24 authors that encompass the full spectrum of disciplines contributing to the human security field. It is based on the four-pillar model of socio-political security, economic security, environmental security and health security. The chapters include learning outcomes, extension activities, and suggested readings; a comprehensive glossary lists key terms used throughout the book. This textbook can be used in courses on international studies and relations, political studies, history, human geography, anthropology and human ecology, futures studies, applied social studies, public health, and more.
Formats: Online, EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
Suggested for: POLI 330
International Relations
Edited by Stephen McGlinchey (E-International Relations)
2017
Licence: CC BY-NC
The perfect book to get you started, or get caught back up, with International Relations. As a ‘Day 0’ beginner’s guide, this textbook condenses the most important information into the smallest space and present concepts in an accessible way. The chapters build up the foundations for understanding how the world works and then explore the key global issues that concern the discipline – taking readers from no knowledge to competency. The journey starts by examining how the international system was formed and ends by reflecting that International Relations is always adapting to events and is therefore a never-ending journey of discovery. The book is designed to capture attention with an engaging narrative that places the reader inside crucial issues and debates so they can understand how things work, and where they fit in the world around them.
Format: PDF
International Relations Theory
Edited by Stephen McGlinchey, Rosie Walters, and Christian Scheinpflug (E-International Relations)
2017
Licence: CC BY-NC
This text covers introductory concepts in political science. It covers concepts in political science, from constructivism to postcolonialism. This book is designed as a foundational entry point to International Relations theory – structured to condense the most important information into the smallest space and present that information in an accessible manner. The first half of the book covers the theories that are most commonly taught in undergraduate programs. The book then expands to present emerging approaches and offer wider perspectives. Each chapter sets out the basics of a theory whilst also applying it to a real-world event or issue, creating a lively, readable and relevant guide that will help students to see not only what theories are – but why they matter.
Format: PDF
Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics – 1st edition
Dino Bozonelos (Victor Valley College), Julia Wendt (Victor Valley College), and Charlotte Lee (Berkeley City College)
2022
Licence: CC BY-NC
Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics, 1st edition, is an Open Education Resource Textbook that surveys contemporary comparative politics.
The textbook is organized thematically and includes chapters that cover a wide range of topics in comparative politics: how and what comparativists study; methods in comparative politics; states and regimes; democracies and democratization; non-democracies and democratic backsliding, political identity, including culture, race and ethnicity, gender, nationalism, religion, and class; political economy; collective action and social movements; comparative public opinion; political violence; and globalization and fragmentation. Each chapter accompanied by a case study or a comparative study, one of the main methodological tools used in comparative politics.
Format: PDF
Introduction to Political Science (OpenStax)
Mark Carl Rom (Georgetown University), Masaki Hidaka (American University), and Rachel Bzostek Walker (Collin College)
2022
Licence: CC BY
Introduction to Political Science by OpenStax 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.
Formats: Online, PDF
Suggested for: POLI 277 and POLI 278
Introduction to Political Science Research Methods
Josh Franco, Charlotte Lee, and Kau Vue
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC
This textbook surveys the research methods employed in political studies. The textbook includes chapters that cover: history and development of the empirical study of politics; the scientific method; theories, hypotheses, variables, and units; conceptualization, operationalization and measurement of political concepts; elements of research design including the logic of sampling; qualitative and quantitative research methods and means of analysis; and research ethics.
Formats: PDF
Keys to Understanding the Middle East
Alam Payind and Melinda McClimans (The Ohio State University)
2016
Licence: CC BY-SA
This open textbook published by The Ohio State University is intended for readers who have never studied the Middle East, or who would like to improve their knowledge of the region. Chapters focus on the languages, cultural, religious and sectarian communities of the region, and certain turning points in history which are keys for understanding the region.
Formats: Online, PDF
Suggested for: POLI 330
Nationalism, Self-determination and Secession
Geoff Andrews and Michael Saward (Open University)
2013
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This text on nationalism covers salient issues in nation-building using themes of nationalism, self-determination, and secession to tie nation-building in with world politics. It covers introductory concepts in politics, from statehood to national self-determination. What makes a ‘nation’ and what makes peoples strive for nationhood? This unit will provide you with an introduction to studying political ideas by looking at how people who see themselves as nations challenge the existing order to assert their right to a state of their own. After studying this unit you should be able to: grasp the concepts of nation, nationalism and self-determination; have a better understanding of the role they play in current political disputes; think about the problem of how to take democratic decisions about secession; relate political theory to political practice more rigorously; take a more informed and active part in debates about national and international politics.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
On Civic Republicanism: Ancient Lessons of Global Politics
Geoffrey Kellow and Neven Leddy
2016
Licence: CC BY
On Civic Republicanism explores the enduring relevance of the ancient concepts of republicanism and civic virtue to modern questions about political engagement and identity. Examining both ancient and early modern conceptions of civic republicanism, the contributors respond to the work of thinkers ranging from Plato and Aristotle to Machiavelli, Montesquieu, and Wollstonecraft.
Formats: Online, PDF
Suggested for: POLI 355
Political Ideologies and Worldviews: An Introduction
Valérie Vézina (KPU), Francis Abiew (KPU), Jennifer Anaquod (KPU), Tyler Chamberlain (KPU and SFU), Frédérick Guillaume Dufour (UQAM), Serdar Kaya (SFU and KPU), Conrad King (KPU), Logan Masilamani (SFU and KPU), Gregory Millard (KPU), Ross Pink (KPU), Dave Poitras (Université de Montréal), Étienne Schmitt (Concordia University), Jackie F. Steele (Sophia University), Arjun Tremblay (University of Regina), Serbulent Turan (UBC), and John Wright (University of Calgary)
2021
Licence: CC BY-SA
This open educational resource (OER) brings together Canadian and international scholars in a contemporary, pluralistic volume introducing undergraduates in a variety of relevant disciplines to political ideologies and worldviews. This introductory volume is also suitable for a wider general audience. This volume is the first of its kind, a fully open textbook on political worldviews that deals with the historical development of classical ideologies, while expanding and updating the subject using contemporary political examples and non-Eurocentric examinations of ideology. The volume includes chapters on Indigenous worldviews, Confucianism, and the future of ideology in the emerging global order. The volume also contains valuable sets of discussion questions throughout.
Formats: Online, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for: POLI 307
Popular Culture and World Politics: Theories, Methods, Pedagogies
Edited by Federica Caso and Caitlin Hamilton (E-International Relations)
2015
Licence: CC BY-NC
This political science text covers salient issues in popular culture and world politics. It covers concepts in popular culture, from comics to video games. This edited collection brings together cutting-edge insights from a range of key thinkers working in the area of popular culture and world politics (PCWP). Offering a holistic approach to this exciting field of research, it contributes to the establishment of PCWP as a sub-discipline of International Relations. Canvassing issues such as geopolitics, political identities, the War on Terror and political communication – and drawing from sources such as film, videogames, art and music – this collection is an invaluable reader for anyone interested in popular culture and world politics.
Format: PDF
Principles of Political Economy, 3rd Edition
Daniel E. Saros (Valparaiso University)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This text contains many of the same topics as mainstream textbooks, but it includes and takes very seriously heterodox critiques and alternatives to the mainstream approach to economics. It includes a whole range of alternative theories, including Post-Keynesian, Austrian, Marxian, radical, feminist, institutionalist, and other approaches. Following Wolff and Resnick, an even broader objective is to teach students that economics is a discourse and that no single voice can rightfully claim to have a monopoly on the truth about economics.
Formats: PDF
Suggested for: POLI 393
Rethinking Canadian Aid, Second Edition
Edited by Stephen Brown (University of Ottawa), Molly den Heyer (St. Francis Xavier University and Dalhousie University), and David R. Black (Dalhousie University)
2016
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This revised edition not only analyzes Canada’s past development assistance, it also highlights important new opportunities in the context of the recent change in government. Designed to reach a variety of audiences, contributions by twenty scholars and experts in the field offer an incisive examination of Canada’s record and initiatives in Canadian foreign aid, including its relatively recent emphasis on maternal and child health and on the extractive sector, as well as the longer-term engagement with state fragility. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in Canada’s changing role in the world.
Format: PDF