To address the current issues in politics, Sodaro has come up with a number of political approaches that can be used to understand the political ideologies of people (Sodaro 12). In his book, Sodaro has critically explained the trend politics in several countries.
To achieve this, he has explained the types of governments that different countries have, their status of democracy, social status and their economic stability. He has also explained factors that may influence the politics of a given country.
The first part of the book critically analyzes core political topics. It mainly focuses on the key issues that may affect the politics of a given country. This includes economic stability, political ideologies, international relations and personal interests of political leaders.
It is evident that many governments in the world are striving to improve their socio-political and economic status. To achieve this goal, they apply a number of strategies. However, it has been difficult for most of them to achieve this dream due to a number of factors that act as setbacks in their development (The Economist 6).
Democracy may or may not be viewed as a crisis depending on the level of its participation. When the level of political participation by individuals is high, there are high chances that a crisis may arise. At the same time, when the level of political participation is low, there are chances that a crisis may occur.
High levels of democracy tend to reduce the power of the government. This in turn increases the level of apathy and reduces the level of public trust among individuals. The government therefore cannot make tight decisions without the approval of its subjects. In many instances, this is viewed as democracy.
However, in most cases, it tends to make the process of decision making to be difficult. This in turn makes it difficult for the government to improve the social and economic status of the nation (Southhall 16). As a result, individuals will be demanding more from the government while it can only produce less.
According to the Rational Choice Theory, all individuals are believed to be rational. This means that an individual can only engage him or herself in an activity if he/she will benefit from it. The benefits that such an individual should accrue from a venture should exceed the effort invested in it (The Economist 11).
While participating in an event, an individual can benefit from either collective benefits or selective benefit. An individual who benefits from collective benefits and was not an active member of the group or initiative is known as a rider. Selective benefits on the other hand are exclusive benefits that the members of a given group or initiative earn.
However, with the current democratic trends, an individual will gain no benefit whatsoever from of voting. This may explain the reason why there has been a decline in voter turnout in many countries. However, there are those individuals who still vote. These individuals vote for very different reasons. Partisan identification, sense of civic duty and the thought of doing the right thing are some of the factors that make them vote.
Political parties have also been on the decline. This is due to the fact that people are now rational. As a result, their process of decision-making has changed. Decline in party membership and party affiliations are the main reasons behind this trend.
Currently, it is difficult for a person to vote for a candidate due to his/her political affiliation. People now demand more from their leaders. Due to this fact, people tend to vote for candidates of different political parties in different elections as long as these candidates meet their needs and desires.
The world is diverse. It is composed of many sovereign states that have different political systems and ideologies. At the present moment, there are a lot of changes in the politics of many countries. Many people now want to be ruled by a democratic system that empowers the citizens and reduces the power of the government (Lewis 9).
Countries like Egypt and Libya are good examples of states that have embraced democracy during the 21st century. The citizens of these countries brought to an end the dictatorship rule, a form of governance that had been common in many Islamic nations. The book is thus a powerful tool that gives students the chance to understand political trends, the needs and desires of individuals and their governments.
Works Cited
Lewis, Aidan. “Libya after Gaddafi: Who’s in Charge?” BBC. 2011. Web.
Sodaro, Michael. Comparative Politics: A Global Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2007.
Southhall, Ashley. “The Early Word: Double Dip”. New York Times. 2011. Web.
The Economist. “Politics this week”. The Economist. 2011. Web.