This comprehensive, one-volume source for political information has been updated to include coverage of current events, issues, crises, and controversies, including: - The secession of South Sudan following an independence referendum in January- The election of Yingluck Shinawatra, the first female prime minister of Thailand- The Arab Spring protests and revolutions across the Middle East and North Africa, which led to the toppling of the Qadhafi government and regime change following civil war in Libya as well as the resignation of longtime Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak- The hotly contested elections in Haiti- The devastating earthquake in Japan following a tsunami- The Conservative majority win in the Canadian general elections