Editor’s Note

Since the publication of the first edition of Political Ideologies and Worldviews: An Introduction, I have received many great comments as well as feedback on ways to improve the textbook. The textbook is designed to provide an introduction to political ideologies and worldviews for first-year college/university students. Some chapters in the first edition, although pertinent, might have been too advanced. Furthermore, the heavy text on many chapters made it challenging to grasp certain concepts. Taking into consideration the feedback received, this second edition aims to continue to provide an introductory exposition to political ideologies and worldviews with added visuals. As such, the reader, student, instructor or professor will find the following changes to this second edition:

• Both the chapters on green ideology and feminism have been revised to be more aligned with the format of other chapters. New authors have thus contributed to them. A link to the previous versions is still being offered for readers who would prefer to go deeper into those topics.
• The chapter on socialism was simplified to be more in tune with the purpose of this textbook.
• A chapter on fascism was added to ensure its distinction from populism and nationalism.

An Open Education Grant from Kwantlen Polytechnic University allowed me to hire a student research assistant, Alexandra Taylor. Alexandra’s work was on the more technical and visual sides of things. I can’t thank her enough for her input and work to ensure the textbook was more accessible. Among other things, Alexandra made the following changes:

• More paragraph breaks were created, making the text more digestible and reducing eye strain.
• More images to support the text were included.
• Interactive H5P content such as image hotspots, timelines, drag and drop were created.
• Relevant graphs to support visual learners were added.
• Interactive tables were created using TablePress.
• Open sourced audio content was added when relevant and available.
• The glossary terms were expanded.
• Embedded links to reference earlier chapters where appropriate were added.

Finally, Alexandra made sure that all images were open sourced and included alt text descriptions and that all design elements (textboxes, font, sizing) were cohesive.

It is my hope that these changes and additions will make this textbook more relevant, engaging, and accessible.

Valérie Vézina
Editor of the first edition
Main editor of the second edition