The Lexus and the Olive Tree
by Thomas L. Friedman

Farrar Straus & Giroux; ISBN: 0374192030     

Globalization is the international system that replaced the Cold War. Globalization is the tighter integration of capital, technology, and information across national borders, in a way that is creating a single global market and a global village. Friedman examines this new system. He dramatizes the conflict of "the Lexus and the olive tree" - the tension between the globalization system and ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. He also details the powerful backlash that globalization produces among those who feel brutalized by it, and he spells out what we all need to do to keep this system in balance.

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
by Samuel P. Huntington

Touchstone Books; ISBN: 0684844419

The thesis of this book is the increasing threat of violence arising from renewed conflicts between countries and cultures that base their traditions on religious faith and dogma. This argument moves past the notion of ethnicity to examine the growing influence of a handful of major cultures--Western, Eastern Orthodox, Latin American, Islamic, Japanese, Chinese, Hindu, and African--in current struggles across the globe. Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist at Harvard University and foreign policy aide to President Clinton, argues that policymakers should be mindful of this development when they interfere in other nations' affairs

Diplomacy
by Henry A. Kissinger

Touchstone Books; ISBN: 0671510991

Moving from a sweeping overview of history to blow-by-blow accounts of his negotiations with world leaders, Henry Kissinger describes how the art of diplomacy has created the world in which we live, and how America's approach to foreign affairs has always differed vastly from that of other nations.  Explains the art of diplomacy while recounting the author's most secret negotiations with world leaders and explaining how America's approach to foreign affairs has shaped history and the world.

Acts of Aggression
by Noam Chomsky, Ramsey Clark, and Edward W. Said

Seven Stories Press; ISBN: 1583220054

Through three separate essays, this book provides an in-depth analysis of U.S.-Arab relations, the contradictions and consequences of U.S. foreign policy toward "rogue states", and how hostile American actions abroad conflict with U.N. resolutions and international law. Noam Chomsky compares U.S. foreign policy to that of the "rogue states" which the United States identifies as its enemies. Ramsey Clark argues that U.S. sanctions and military actions against Iraq are indefensible, and in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Edward Said supplements Chomsky's argument with a consideration of the severity of U.S. sanctions against Iraq and what he views as a growing disregard for the interests of other Arab nations in the region.

The Federalist Papers
by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, etal

Mentor Books; ISBN: 0451628810

This is a new edition of the classic text, the papers of Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison written in support of the then-proposed Constitution of the United States. In addition to the supplementary materials provided (including a copy of the Constitution and an Index of Ideas), this revised edition also contains a new introduction, historical glossary, selected bibliography, the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. These 85 letters in support of the Constitution have become recognized as the most important political science work ever written in the United States. 

Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)
by Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman (Editors)

Cambridge Univ. Pr.; ISBN: 0521586682

This book brings together leading political scientists to assess the research schools that direct scholarship in comparative politics. It examines rational choice theory, culturalist analysis, and structuralist approaches, by applying them to the study of electoral politics, social movements and revolutions, political economy and the state. The essays return analysis to basic questions concerning the development of theory and the nature of explanations. The contributors are established scholars and pioneers in the various sub-fields of comparative politics.

The State of the World Atlas (State of the World Atlas, 6th Ed)
by Dan Smith and Michael Kidron

Penguin USA (paper); ISBN: 0140514465

Distinctive yet accessible, these full-color maps and graphics afford readers a unique view of current international affairs by translating key political, economic, and social indicators into readily grasped visual form. The State of the World Atlas provides a unique visual survey of economic, political, and social trends as the world enters the twenty first century. By translating key indicators into full-color maps and graphics, it presents in easily understandable form the new challenges posed to nations around the world by powerful security alliances; a global economy fueled by international finance and multinational corporations; popular pressures for decentralization and greater democracy; and an upsurge of nationalism."

An Atlas of World Affairs (Series)
by Andrew Boyd (Editor)

Routledge; ISBN: 0415106710;

The last few years have seen tremendous change in the politics of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Entirely revised and updated, An Atlas of World Affairs describes the people, factions and events that have shaped the modern world from the World War II to the present day. This edition places international issues and conflicts in their most recent geographical contexts through the integration of close to one hundred maps. Discussion of issues new to this edition include the breakup of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, the expansion of the European Union, the reshaping of South Africa, and the pressing environmental concerns of nations. Revised and in print since 1957, this source will prove invaluable for all interest in post-war political history and current affairs.

Political Science Student Writer's Manual, The
by Gregory M. Scott and Stephen M. Garrison

Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0130225584

A comprehensive writer's manual designed specifically for political science students. It focuses specifically on the kinds of papers and reports associated with various aspects of political science.

Countries and Concepts: An Introduction to Comparative Politics
by Michael Roskin

Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0136252451

This book introduces Comparative Politics through a country-by-country analysis and recent case studies. By demonstrating that political life is universal, it proves that no country is really "alien.” The book provides the relevant historical background for current political events. It employs a critical approach demonstrating that every country has problems and breakdowns in a system are always political.

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000
by Paul M. Kennedy

Vintage Books; ISBN: 0679720197

About national and international power in the "modern" or Post Renaissance period. Explains how the various powers have risen and fallen over the 5 centuries since the formation of the "new monarchies" in Western. Europe.

On Democracy
by Robert Alan Dahl

Yale Univ Pr; ISBN: 0300076274

In this accessible and authoritative book, one of the most prominent political theorists of the time provides a primer on democracy that clarifies what democracy is, why it is valuable, how it works, and what challenges it confronts in the future.

The Power Game: How Washington Works
by Hedrick Smith

Ballantine Books; ISBN: 0345410483

Power is the name of the game. Pulitzer Prize-winning, ex-Washington bureau chief of THE NEW YORK TIMES, Hedrick Smith, tells the whole story. From PACs to influence peddling from the Pentagon to the WASHINGTON POST, THE POWER GAME reveals Congressional staffers more powerful than their bosses, media advisors more powerful than the media, and money that not only talks but also threatens.

  The End of Utopia: Politics and Culture in an Age of Apathy
by Russell Jacoby

Basic Books; ISBN: 0465020003

Russell Jacoby takes a sobering look at the future of politics, most notably the politics of the liberal left, and does not like what he sees. Like Daniel Bell and Francis Fukuyama, Jacoby agrees that utopianism-the engine of social and political change-is obsolete. But Jacoby does not celebrate the resulting triumph of liberal capitalism. The obsolescence of utopianism, he argues, is born not of consensus but rather of the exhaustion of political alternatives.