Postwar Politics In The G-7: Orders And Eras In Comparative Perspective

by Byron E. Shafer

This concise, comparative history looks at politics in the nations collectively known as the Group of Seven—the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy—from the end of the Second World War to the end of the Cold War. Emphasizing political eras and political orders, editor Byron E. Shafer and the contributing authors use an identical framework for each nation as they consider its political evolution and the structures that shaped it. No other book offers this comparative reach or this common framework, making Postwar Politics in the G-7 useful for both students and sophisticated observers of international politics.
    Postwar Politics in the G-7 provides a condensed introduction to the politics of each of the seven nations, focusing on the main political events of the last fifty years and the factors that shaped the ways each country handled those events. By presenting these accounts in a precisely parallel fashion, this volume highlights similarities and differences among the nations. Concluding chapters reassemble these comparisons for all seven of the nations together. Among the most interesting findings are the rise of an activist politics, the continuing influential role of electoral systems, and the presence of divided governance nearly everywhere. Such a carefully constructed interpretation of postwar politics highlights potentially critical elements and provides comparative insights that are essential for understanding the Group of Seven nations.

360 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 1996