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This book, originally published in 1978, constitutes a genuinely comparative study of the world's only truly succesful democratic socialist parties: the Social Democraic Parties of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The measure of achievement is not merely political success, the fact that in Scandinavia the Social Democrats have become'natural parties of goverment', for just as importantly, the author shows that a political success grounded on the symbiotic relationship between party and trade union movement has been the foundation for a higher level of welfare state provision and egalitarian striving than in virtually any other advanced Western nations. It is a book for friends and foes of democratic socialism alike; for the former to provide an understanding of the tasks ahead and for the latter to know the enemy better.

First published in 1971, this is a clear, straightforward introductory discussion of the importance of sociological knowledge, and particularly sociological theory, for the understanding of political life. The topics covered include sociology and the discipline of politics, the elementary forms of political life, and the relationship between theory, evidence and insight. Francis Castles also looks at functionalism and the analysis of conflict as sociological meta-theories, and at the idea of anomie and the theory of mass society. The book should be of prime interest to students of politics and to students of the social sciences in general.

This volume, first published in 1967, offers a new approach to the study of pressure groups, whose importance in the British political system has been increasingly recognised in recent years. Francis Castles seeks to throw light on this topic, firstly by examining the theoretical approaches to an understanding of their role in the political process and secondy by presenting a number of specific studies. For the first time, in one small volume, the reader can become acquainted with pressure groups in continental Europe, Scandinavia, the United States, the totalitarian countries, and the emergent nations. The study is comprehensive in itself and also an invaluable guide to more detailed work in this field of political science.