"Whether you accept it or not, if you are of European extraction, or were raised on T-bones and Pepsis or even wear Eddie Bauer gear, you will be taken for a Yank in most of Russia, Asia, Australasia, or Central and South America. Africans will probably mistake you for being German or French, and the Chinese have a tendency to think all Westerners and Europeans are the same. Even the African-American traveler finds himself being simply a rich American when he looks for his roots in black Africa." -- Fielding's The World's Most Dangerous Places

If you have ever been annoyed at being lumped in with everyone else from your particular culture, country, region, civilization, or hemisphere, this course is to help prevent you from making the same mistake. The world is diverse politically, socially, and culturally. In this course, a select set of countries that have chosen diverse political structures will be highlighted. The social/cultural foundations that have resulted in a country's political structure will also be addressed.