When are legislators inclined to cast votes in cooperation with their parties and when do they go their own way When and why do nations contend with each other and when are they more likely to cooperate Thematically arranged around the interplay of contention and cooperation A Comparative Introduction to Political Science encourages students to explore causal factors and consequences related to political phenomena to become knowledgeable and resourceful citizens of their nations and the world. Alan Smith covers how patterns of contention and cooperationand the resulting government policiesmay be affected by such factors as the surrounding political framework the distribution of influence and political motivation including values as well as material interests. To expose students to the politics of specific nations each chapter concludes with two country case studies that illuminate the theme of the chapter.