This book is prepared primarily for students who are interested in studying the constitutional development and government structure of twentieth-century China. Since the emergence of the Chinese consti tutional movement at the end of the nineteenth century, political institutions in China have undergone constant changes. The first four chapters treat of constitutional development and government systems from the latter part of the Ch'ing dynasty to the re-unification of China by the Nationalist Party in 1928. The other eight chapters deal with the policies, programs, and institutions of the Nationalist and Commu nist governments up to 1962. While treatises on various subjects have been consulted, the sources of this book are chiefly based on the official documents from the collections as indicated in the bibliography. Materials in the first few chapters are partly drawn from my previous works on government and politics in China. Because of the immense scope of the subject and the intricacy of the problems involved, this work is not intended to be exhaustive, but is rather a brief description and discussion of each topic under consideration. As there are many valuable works on China in general as well as on her history and inter national relations, I have tried not to cover what has already been dealt with by others. In my presentation of facts and views, I have endeavored to be as objective as possible, personal political convictions notwithstanding.

Political theorists focus on the nature of justice, liberty, and equality while ignoring the institutions through which these ideals are achieved. Political scientists keep institutions in view but deploy a meager set of value-conceptions in analyzing them. A more political political theory is needed to address this gap, Jeremy Waldron argues.

Often dismissed as window-dressing, nominally democratic institutions, such as legislatures and political parties, play an important role in non-democratic regimes. In a comprehensive cross-national study of all non-democratic states from 1946 to 2002 that examines the political uses of these institutions by dictators, Gandhi finds that legislative and partisan institutions are an important component in the operation and survival of authoritarian regimes. She examines how and why these institutions are useful to dictatorships in maintaining power, analyzing the way dictators utilize institutions as a forum in which to organize political concessions to potential opposition in an effort to neutralize threats to their power and to solicit cooperation from groups outside of the ruling elite. The use of legislatures and parties to co-opt opposition results in significant institutional effects on policies and outcomes under dictatorship.

Nations are not trapped by their pasts, but events that happened hundreds or even thousands of years ago continue to exert huge influence on present-day politics. If we are to understand the politics that we now take for granted, we need to understand its origins. Francis Fukuyama examines the paths that different societies have taken to reach their current forms of political order. This book starts with the very beginning of mankind and comes right up to the eve of the French and American revolutions, spanning such diverse disciplines as economics, anthropology and geography. The Origins of Political Order is a magisterial study on the emergence of mankind as a political animal, by one of the most eminent political thinkers writing today.

The study of political institutions is among the founding pillars of political science. With the rise of the 'new institutionalism', the study of institutions has returned to its place in the sun. This volume provides a comprehensive survey of where we are in the study of political institutions, covering both the traditional concerns of political science with constitutions, federalism and bureaucracy and more recent interest in theory and the constructed nature of institutions. The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions draws together a galaxy of distinguished contributors drawn from leading universities across the world. Authoritative reviews of the literature and assessments of future research directions will help to set the research agenda for the next decade.

Originally published in 1951, this book provides an account of the traditional status and functions of the Asanti chief. The effects of British administration on the powers of the chief and his council are described, as are the tensions which the traditional political organization was subjected to by the requirements of modern administration. The author of this book was himself an Ashanti and was the first West African tobe appointed to the Colonial Adminstrative Service.