Eminently readable and written with candor and spirit, this 8th edition of Countries and Concepts simply observes that politics is composed of human conflicts or quarrels, forming patterns that can be studied. Analyzing four European nations and Japan at some length and four Third World nations more briefly, this text studies the history, institutions, and political culture of each. For political analysts or those in international business that need to grasp the political culture of the country(ies) they're dealing with.