This comprehensive resource provides up-to-date political coverage of every country and political entity in the world today. It incorporates all the major global and regional changes following the decolonization of Hong Kong in 1997, recent leadership changes in China and Russia, the results of the Dayton Peace Accord, the rise of the New Labor Party in the UK, the 1999 elections in Israel and South Africa, and the continued search for peace in the Middle East and Northern Ireland. The economic crisis in Asia and the widespread growth of world nuclear powers are also covered.

    Preface, List of Tables, Part 1 : The Comparative Approach, Part 2: Political Systems of the World's Nation-states Belarus, Part 3: Towards One World, Appendix A: Postwar political leaders in the world's leading states, Appendix B: Glossary of abbreviations and acronyms, Appendix C: Data sources, Index

    Biography

    Ian Derbyshire, J Denis Derbyshire