Comparative politics : the principal-agent perspective Author Lane J.-E. Date 2007 Source IUCN (ID: MON-080456) Publisher | Place of publication Routledge | New York, USA ISBN 9780415432061 Pages 278 p. Document type Monography/book Language English Field of application International Subject Environment gen. Keyword Policy/planning Abstract Table of Contents: Introduction: micro foundations of comparative politics p. 1 States: stability and performance p. 33 The states of the world p. 35 Rule of law p. 75 Conditions that support rule of law p. 97 Environmental factors p. 99 Impact of political institutions p. 126 Changing principal-agent institutions p. 152 Party system instability and volatility from the principal-agent perspective p. 169 Towards an evolutionary regime theory p. 189 Regime fitness: on the survival of polities p. 191 The concept of a polity: from the city-state to the empire p. 201 The ancient empires: Oriental despotism or the patrimonial state p. 212 Feudalism: political, economical and modern p. 230 The nation-state and colonial empires p. 238 Regionalisation of the state p. 264 Conclusion: evolutionary advantage of rule of law regimes p. 278