Selected Political Science Websites

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The following is a selective list of Internet resources that may be of interest to those working in the many areas of political science. We areas of the discipline that are of particular interest to scholars at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The list is a work-in-progress, and any suggestions for additions, as well as any questions or problems with the site should be sent to Lynne Rudasill, Political Science Subject Specialist, Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Additional sites may be found by using Internet directories such as Yahoo! or search engines such as Google. Remember to apply the same criteria to Internet sites you use for more traditional information resources. Ask yourself the following questions - "Where is the information coming from?" - "How current is the information?" - "What are the author's biases?" If these sites do not fill your needs, please do not hesitate to contact Lynne Rudasill for additional suggestions and help.

 

General Resources | American Government and Politics (opens on new page) | Area Studies (opens on new page)| Comparative Government and Politics | Environmental Studies | International Relations (opens on new page) | Refugees | Terrorism

 

 

General Resources

Internet Public Library
Ready Reference for Law, Government, and Political Science

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development
This site includes a wide variety of information about the OECD including news, hot topics, jobs, and a list of publications.

Supreme Court Decisions
The full text of decisions from 1990-1995, plus selected earlier decisions. Indexed by topic, or searchable by keyword.

U.S. Census Bureau Home Page
This page includes searchable data from the 1990 U.S. Census, as well as information about the Bureau's activities.

World Directory of Think Tanks 
Provided by the National Institute for Research Advancement, the lists provided are sorted by English name, country, acronym, and geographic area. There is also a list of links to related sites.

ABC News
U.S.-based news service

BBC News
British news service includes archive back to 1997

CNN News
Includes Headline News, video archive, and more

C.A.I.N. Archive
Contains information about "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland from 1968 to present.

Political Science Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Homepage of the Political Science Science Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

 

Comparative Government and Politics

We have taken the definition of comparative government and politics from the second edition of A Dictionary of Modern Politics by David Robertson.  "The essence of comparative government as a study is to compare the ways in which different societies cope with various problems, the role of the political structures involved being of particular interest."*  Links to regions such as Latin American Studies or Middle Eastern Studies can be found elsewhere (see Area Studies), as can links that refer specifically to the relationships between various countries (see International Relations).

CIA Publications
In addition to the above, various publications such as roster of heads of state and cabinet members provided by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Comparative Study of Electoral Systems
Results of an ongoing cross-national research program involving election studies in over 50 consolidated and emerging democracies.

Country Studies
The Library of Congress' online version of books previously published in hard copy by the Federal Research Division under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Army.

Electoral Calendar
From Electoral WebSites includes upcoming, previous elections, and country specific information.

International Data Base
U.S. Census Bureau source of statistical tables for 227 countries and areas of the world.

International Statistics Agencies
Supported by the United Nations/Economic Commission for Europe, Statistical Division this site provides online access to a large number of other statistical resources.

World Factbook
Annual publication of the CIA with basic information on the countries of the world.

* A Dictionary of Modern Politics, Second Edition. Edited by David Robertson. London: Europa Publications Limited, 1993.

 

 

Environmental Studies

Center for International Earth Science Information Network  (Columbia University).
CIESIN is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that specializes in global and regional network development, science data management, decision support, and training, education and technical consultation services. The "Data Resources" section links to facts and figures.

Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
CIEL is a public interest, not-for-profit environmental law firm. This site provides information about international and comparative environmental law, policy and management, and links to CIEL projects.

The Earth Times.
This is the daily web edition of The Earth Times, a newspaper devoted the environmental and political issues. The search feature retrieves recent full-text articles.

Electronic Green Journal.
This is a professional, refereed, full-text journal of international environmental topics.

EPA Climate Change Site.
This site contains reports, impact statements, data and the current Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

European Union. Environment.
Links to "EU Institutions and Bodies," "Publications, Newsletters and Statistics," "Funding Opportunities," and "Legislation" regarding the EU's environmental policies.

Greenpeace.
Greenpeace has observer status on 25 international organizations. This site presents information about campaigns to influence policy at a global level.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
Linkages: A Multimedia Resource for Environment and Development Policy Makers is an electronic counterpart to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin. It provides information on international meetings related to environment and development policy. The IISD home site contains reports and information on sustainable development.

OneWorld Magazine.
This is a free, full-text publication that focuses on environmental, cultural, and exploration issues around the world. It is edited, but not peer reviewed. Articles are useful for providing ideas and background. It is part of the EnviroLink Network, http://www.envirolink.org/envirohome.html, which is a huge directory of internet resources.

United Nations Environment Programme.
This site contains information about policies, legal issues and geographic regions.

 

 

Refugees

Amnesty International: Refugees and Migrants.
This site presents information about Amnesty International's actions in support of refugees and migrants. Included on the site is the Refugees: Human Rights Have No Borders report from the Human Rights Have No Borders campaign of March - December 1997.

European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE).
ECRE is a European Alliance of refugee-assisting non-governmental organizations. It focuses on the integration of refugees into the European Union, including the issues of education, vocational training, employment, community organization, health and housing. This site contains links to full-text policy papers at the bottom of the Areas of Work pages.

Forced Migration Review.
Web site of Forced Migration Review (FMR), the journal of the Refugee Studies Centre, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford. The journal is published three times each year in collaboration with the Global IDP Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Also check out the Refugee Studies Centre's Forced Migration Online for additional resources on the subject.

Human Rights Watch.
The annual Human Rights Watch World Report provides a summary of human conditions in more than 90 countries around the world, based on investigations done by Human Rights Watch staff. Previous editions available in the report archive.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) of the Norwegian Refugee Council's website contains access to its database providing information on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in over 30 nations worldwide. The site also has a news section which is updated weekly, online training materials for educators, access to the text of the United Nations guiding principles on internal displacement and a collection of links to other Internet resources on refugees, asylum seekers and forced internal migration.

Norwegian Refugee Council. Rights Have No Borders: Internal Displacement Worldwide. Edited by Wendy Davies.
The Norwegian Refugee Council is involved in international refugee work and provides humanitarian assistance to refugees. This site contains the full-text of reports presented at a 1997 conference. 

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
This site is a wealth of information including:

University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Refugee and Asylum Instruments and Documents
In addition to government documents and international policy, this site also contains Selected Refugee Cases from Federal Courts (1984-2000).

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is an NGO that works for refugee protection and assistance in all regions of the world. Their annual World Refugee Survey provides concise country-by-country refugee reports.

 

 

Terrorism

Sites related to the events of September 11, 2001:

Presidential Address to a Joint Session of Congress - Sept. 20, 2001
Archived copy of President George W. Bush's address to the Senate, House of Representatives, and the American people nine days after the events of Sept. 11.

Illinois State University. Terrorism: Foundations of Inquiry
Another comprehensive site provided by the Documents Library at ISU.

LexisNexis News Service - Attack on America in Context
"Content from an archive of news and legal, legislative and business information to assist people in their jobs and lives with the ongoing after-effects of the tragic terrorist events of Sept. 11. In addition to current events, coverage includes background material on terrorism, terrorist groups, and Osama bin Laden; information about the World Trade Center (including lists of businesses with addresses in all of its seven buildings and summaries of selected legal cases resulting from the 1993 attack on it); the proposed Victims of Terrorism Act; and more."

University of Illinois Library - Government Information Services, Access and Collections - 9/11 and Terrorism
A quick list of resources relating to terrorism and the events surround 9/11.

Sites related to the topic of terrorism in its various forms:

Anti-Defamation League. Terrorism Update.
This site contains reports, focus articles, and current events from the ADL perspective.

Center for Democracy and Technology. Security and Surveillance Issues Page.
The CDT established the Project on Freedom, Security, & Technology to advocate for protecting civil liberties from cyber counter-terrorism policies. Issues addressed include the PATRIOT ACT, Cybersecurity, Terrorism Information Sharing, and Location Privacy.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Annual Report on FY 1997 Intelligence Community Activities.
This report identifies areas where intelligence is required to meet the national security interests of the United States. Use the Keyword Search - https://www.cia.gov/search - to find more full-text speeches and reports, or check here for the latest CIA reports.

CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online) - Use search box, enter "terrorism"
Full text documents provide background information on the study of terrorism as well as up-to-date commentary from Robert Keohane, Stephen Walt, Steven Weber, and many others on recent events.

European Union. EU Fight Against Terrorism.
Also of interest is the Statement of EU/US Shared Objectives and Close Cooperation on Counter-Terrorism http://www.eurunion.org/partner/summit/summit9805/counter.htm. These are two short policy statements.

International Institute for Counter-Terrorism.
This site contains a database on terrorist organizations and attacks, current events, and articles about  the motivations and methods of international terrorism.

Library of Congress: Guide to Terrorism
Government related materials related to terrorism including information from the executive, judicial and legislative branches.

National Security Institute. Security Resource Net: Counter Terrorism.
Documents on this site include terrorism legislation and executive orders, facts, commentary, and precautions.

Terrorism Research Center
This is a comprehensive site that contains essays, current events articles, documents, and profiles of counter and terrorist groups and organizations.

United States Institute of Peace.
United States Institute of Peace, created by the U.S. Congress, explores peace studies and such topics as virtual diplomacy, refugees, and human rights issues.

U.S. State Department. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. [Now an archived site.]
This department has primary responsibility for developing, coordinating, and implementing American counterterrorism policy and improving counterterrorism cooperation with foreign governments.