With unparalleled empirical material, this is the most comprehensive introduction to comparative politics written by the leading experts in the field who bring together a diverse and informed international perspective on comparative politics. Six new authors join the team for the sixth edition, bringing fresh ideas and insights to the comparative analysis the book provides. The new edition has been brought fully up to date with coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and challenges to the global international order. A new chapter on the Nation-State and multicultural citizenship focuses on identity, community, ethnicity, migration, and regions. In addition to this, a new chapter 11, 'Direct Democracy', provides cutting-edge analysis of referendums, citizen assemblies, and other forms of democratic innovations. Additional analysis of gender equality, poverty, and climate change is provided from a global perspective in the new chapter 22, which examines the impact of public policies. And finally, a new chapter 25, 'Promoting and Protecting Democracy', draws on the latest developments, such as global shifts towards authoritarian regimes and autocracy, and international relations perspectives, to present a clear overview of democracy promotion. An unrivalled amount of empirical material in the text illustrates the key similarities and differences across political systems. The wealth of empirical data also encourages students to go beyond the 'what' of comparison to the 'how'. Combining cutting edge treatment of theories and truly global geographical coverage, this exciting textbook is essential reading for all comparative politics students. The sixth edition includes a wealth of embedded digital resources, which are accessible through the enhanced e-book. These include: - Multiple-choice questions for every section, designed to reinforce students' understanding of key points through frequent and cumulative revision, and to assist with independent self-study - Interactive graphs with live-updating data, which allow readers to manipulate and customise their own charts, to help reinforce understanding of empirical data in the context of each chapter - A library of web links to relevant databases, blogs, debates, and videos, to help explore research interests and take learning further - Answers to end of chapter questions, which contain useful hints and tips to help tackle the knowledge-based, critical thinking, and applied questions - Videos of news reports, speeches, analysis, and key events to help bring theories and concepts to life - A bank of comparative tables and country profiles, which illustrate ideas and concepts, but can also be used in students' own research and analysis, giving readers a real sense of how comparative politics works in practice. - An interactive flashcard glossary to test students' knowledge and understanding of each chapter's key terms Teaching resources for adopting lecturers include: - Seminar activities that lecturers can use to engage their students, based on the content of each chapter - A bank of questions for lecturers to use to test students' understanding of key concepts covered in the chapters