The readings in this series are chosen from a variety of journals and other sources to cover major areas or issues in the study of politics, government, and political theory. Each volume contains an introductory essay by the editor and a select guide to further reading.

I: British Parliamentarism versus US Presidentialism; Douglas V. Verney: Parliamentary Government and Presidential Government; Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws; James Madison: The Federalist No. 47 and No. 48; Alexander Hamilton: The Federalist No. 70; Robert A. Dahl: At the Convention: The Paucity of Models; Walter Bagehot: The English Constitution: The Cabinet; Woodrow Wilson: Committee or Cabinet Government?; Harold J. Laski: The President and Congress; Committee on the Constitutional System: A Bicentennial Analysis of the American Political Structure; Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.: Leave the Constitution alone; II: Presidentialism in Latin America: Simon Bolivar: The Angostura Address; Harry Kantor: Efforts made by various Latin American countries to limit the power of the President; Scott Mainwaring: Presidentialism in Latin America; Juan J. Linz: The perils of Presidentialism; Carlos Santiago Nino: Ideas and attempts at reforming the Presidentialist system of government in Latin America; Bolivar Lamounier: Presidentialism and Parliamentarism in Brazil; III: Semi-Presidentialism and Other Intermediate Forms: Charles de Gaulle: The Bayeux Manifesto; Maurice Duverger: A new political system model: Semi-presidential government; Woodrow Wilson: Cabinet government in the United States; A. Jeyaratnam Wilson: The Gaullist system in Asia: The constitution of Sri Lanka; Council for the Consolidation of Democracy: Constitutional reform in Argentina; Jean Blondel: Dual leadership in the contemporary world; Constitutional Reform Committee: Report on the 1848 Draft Constitution of Switzerland; Jose Batlle y Ordonez: A collegial executive for Uruguay; IV: Parliamentarism and Presidentialism in Africa, Asia, and Europe: Constitution Drafting Committee: Report on the Draft Constitution of Nigeria; Vasant Sathe: For a directly elected President of India; J.P.A. Gruijters: The case for a directly elected Prime Minister in the Netherlands; International Forum of the Israel Diaspora Institute: Direct election of the Prime Minister; V: Systematic Evidence: Broadly Comparative and Multivariate Analyses: Donald L. Horowitz: Comparing democratic systems; Seymour Martin Lipset: The centrality of political culture; Juan J. Linz: The virtues of Parliamentarism; Fred W. Riggs: Presidentialism: A problematic regime type; G. Bingham Powell Jr.: Contemporary democracies: Participation, stability, and violence; Thomas A. Baylis: Governing by committee: Collegial leadership in advanced societies.