LibGuides: Comparative Politics: Home

Librarian

she/her/hers

Email Me

Contact:

BRK 238
psale2@uis.edu

217-206-6783

Subjects: African American Studies, Criminology, Government Information, Legal Studies, Music, Political Science, Public Administration, Sociology/Anthropology, Visual Arts, Women and Gender Studies

Research Sources

General

Foreign Government Resources on the Web -- Part of the University of Michigan's Documents Center website, this page provides an extensive gateway to Internet sites representing countries throughout the world.
National Constitutions -- Sponsored by the Constitution Society, this extensive alphabetical list provides the texts of national constitutions from dozens of countries in a variety of formats.
Political Resources on the Net -- listings of political sites available on the Internet sorted by country, with links to parties, organizations, governments, media and more from all around the world.
PARLINE Database on National Parliaments -- The PARLINE database contains information on the structure and working methods of 261 parliamentary chambers in all of the 186 countries where a national legislature exists.
Virtual Library of International Affairs Resources -- an Internet directory of over 2000 annotated links to high-quality English-language sources of information and analysis in a wide range of international affairs, international studies, and international relations topics.
Law Library of Congress Online Guide to Nations A-Z list – The US Library of Congress online research guide to resources on individual nations listed alphabetically.
Election Guide Digest - An online resource provided by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an international nonprofit dedicated to strengthening electoral democracy. Allows to search for elections by election type, country, and by year.

China

ChinaSite.com -- Established in 1994, this site contains a comprehensive listing of electronic sites relating to all aspects of Chinese life and culture.
People's Daily -- Official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.

Europe

EuroInternet: Information Resources Related to European Integration in the Internet -- EuroInternet provides a comprehensive collection of internet resources for all issues concerning the integration of Europe.
Europa -- Provides access to news and information about the European Union and contains links to more detailed information.
European Internet Network -- This extensive site gathers news and business information from 50 European countries and regional areas.
European Union in the US -- This site is divided into four basic parts: Resources (further divided into Information, additional Web Sites, and a well organized Help page), News (including updates on new additions to the site), Profile (background on the 15 member states, Legislation and Policies of the Union, and simple statistical profiles), and EU in the US (listing EU offices in the US and major US-EU treaties).
European Union Internet Resources -- Links to websites, databases documents, and journals related to the European Union and its agencies. Other links include government agencies, media, and resource guides.

Great Britain

BOPCRIS -- Provides extensive access to publications of the British government from 1688-1995. Researchers are provided abstracts as well as other detailed subject information of key documents for over three hundred years of British history.
House of Commons : Welcome the the House of Commons Home Page -- Information about the House of Commons and its members, as well as links to its Select Committees and online publications, and other related services.
House of Lords : Welcome to the House of Lords Home Page -- Information about the House of Lords and its judicial business, as well as links to its publications and Select Committees, and other related services.
National Statistics: The Official UK Statistics Site -- This site contains the latest comprehensive range of official UK statistics and information about statistics as well as providing free access to a selection of recently released publications.
Political Studies Association of the UK at London Guildhall University -- PSA organizational, membership, and program information plus an organized collection of links to government organizations, mass media, data archives, and issues-related sites, with special emphasis on Great Britain. Includes search engine.
The Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia. British History, 1700-1920. The Emancipation of Women, 1750-1920 -- A collection of documents and original articles on people, organizations, and topics pertaining to the women's movement in and around the 19th century in Great Britain. Articles include hyperlinks to other sections of the encyclopedia.
UKState.com : Opening up Official Information -- This is the official page of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, which has been the official publisher of British public documents for over 200 years.

Latin America

Political Database of the Americas -- "Provides documentary and statistical political information on Latin America, including constitutions, electoral laws, legislative and executive branch information and elections data." Includes search engine.

Russia

Erik Herron's Guide to Politics in East Central Europe and Eurasia -- This site is designed to facilitate research on the politics and economics of transition states in the post-communist world with access to thousands of links to governmental and non-governmental web sites based in post-communist states in East Central Europe and the various Russian states.

Iran

Video Archives of Iranian Politics and Society – “Iran Negah employs clips from Iranian media, raw footage, and historical footage to provide you with an inside look into Iranian culture, politics and society.” Includes videos with English subtitles
Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran—Official Presidential website.
Guide: How Iran is Ruled – BBC News authored flow chart for Iran’s political system
Law Library of Congress: Iran Research Guide – US Library of Congress research guide to resources on Constitutional, Executive, Judicial,Legistlative resources and more regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran

Library of Congress Country Studies
The Library of Congress Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
Economist Intelligence Unit - Country Reports
Covers nearly 200 countries and help you keep pace with how national, regional and global events will affect your business in the short-to medium term. Each report examines and explains in depth the issues shaping the countries in which you operate: the political scene, economic policy, domestic economy, sectoral trends, and foreign trade and payments. Detailed two-year forecasts complement the analysis and pinpoint political and economic developments and trends.
BBC News Country Profiles
Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions. They also include audio and video clips from BBC archives.
U.S. Department of State Background Notes
These publications include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.
CIA World Fact Book Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
more...less...
Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map.
Statesman's Yearbook
Good point of reference for anyone needing reliable, concise information on any country in the world
OECD Economic Surveys
OECD’s periodic reviews of member and non-member economies. Member country reviews are generally done on an 18 month cycle,while non-member reviews are done as agreed with the subject country.

To locate books in the Library's collection, the following call numbers will guide you:

Different call numbers are available for the political systems of particular geographic regions:
a. JL is primarily comprised of the Americas
b. JN is primarily composed of Europe (East and West)
c. JQ focuses on Asia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania

You may also find many titles in the D-F range, which are dedicated more to area studies (history, culture, politics, and social conditions)
a. D-DR focuses primarily on Europe
b. DS-DU focuses primarily on Asia, Africa, and Oceania
c. E and F are for United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean

Additionally, the Library has in its print book collection several volumes that you may find useful in your research
1. African States and Rulers (DT31 .S7859 1999)
2. Comparative Politics Today (JF51 .C62 2000)
3. Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion (Online)
4. Statesman’s Yearbook (JA51 .S7)
5. Political Handbook of the World (JF37 .P602 or Online)
6. Biographical encyclopedia of the modern Middle East and North Africa (Online)