"Hyperpolitics: An Interactive Dictionary of Political Science Concepts" (University of Chicago Press), co-authored by Theodore J. Lowi, the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions at Cornell, and its companion open-access website, hyperpolitics.net, seek to revolutionize the study of political science.

The 272-page book -- billed as the world's first hyperdictionary -- offers critical insights about international political concepts and provides logical relationships among them. Readers can contribute to the site with variations or alternatives to the given definitions, making it an evolving dictionary, "which addresses the growing complexity of political science disciplinary domains," according to the preface.

"Hyperpolitics" is billed by its publisher as a "radical departure from existing reference tools in the social science domain" and is intended to foster analytical skills and interactive discourse among students. The website's hyperlinked entries allow for "a comprehensive overview of a keyword's conceptual domain, making the reader aware of the complex interactions in the discipline's vocabulary," says the publisher.

"The innovative design allows free yet logically controlled navigation through the universe of competing meanings and observations, structured around the matrix of logically interrelated keywords," says Lowi, a renowned scholar on American government, political institutions and public policy and one of Cornell's most popular professors.

Lowi, who solicited feedback from Cornell students during the book's 15-year production, co-wrote the book with University of Naples professor Mauro Calise, president of the Italian Political Science Association.

The hyperdictionary consists of 18 main keyword essay-length entries plus 17 shorter entries, presenting a total of 35 matrices. "By showing all the matrices where each keyword is used, 'Hyperpolitics' offers a comprehensive overview of a keyword's conceptual domain, making the reader aware of the complex interactions in the discipline's vocabulary," Lowi explained. More than 30 cross entries allow the reader to find a keyword's linked matrices; the book's Web companion allows readers to quickly browse through the matrices as well as compile their own definitions.

A faculty member in Cornell's government department from 1959 to 1965 and then continuously since 1972, Lowi has published more than a dozen books, including "We the People: An Introduction to American Politics," "American Government: Power and Purpose" and "The End of Liberalism."

Lowi will give a presentation on "Hyperpolitics" Friday, April 29, at 2:30 p.m. at the Cornell Store, followed by a question-and-answer session. Light refreshments will be served, and the book is available at a 20 percent discount at the event.