"Essentials of Comparative Politics" supplies a framework that enables students to navigate and organize the material they will encounter in the course--and to make increasingly sophisticated comparisons between actual countries. In the first chapter, Patrick O'Neil explains the basic methodologies of comparative politics, discusses current issues and debates in the field, and introduces two themes that will inform the text--the importance of institutions to all political systems and the fundamental struggle between freedom and equality. The subsequent chapters are organized thematically, beginning with the basic concepts of politics--the state, nations and society, and political economy--and building to discussions of the challenges facing different types of political systems today. Throughout, Professor O'Neil incorporates analysis of the transformative events of recent history--among them the fall of communism, the accelerating spread of democracy, the economic growth of Asia, globalization, and responses to the attacks of September 11th 2001.