| Background Information on Countries |
- International Yearbook and Statesmens Who's Who.
- Reference JA 51 I57
- Overview of government and economy. Brief biographical information on main governmental figures.
- The Statesman's Yearbook.
- Reference JA 51 S7
- Overview of history, government defense, international relations, and so forth.
- Chiefs of State & Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments
- Govt Docs Reference, US PREX 3.11/2:
- [CIA] World Factbook
- Also in print: Reference G 122 .U56a
- Brief country profiles include geography, people, government, economy, and the military.
- Background Notes U.S. State Department
- Govt Docs Reference, US S 1.123:
- Contents includes brief overviews of the government and political conditions, history, economy, and foreign relations.
- Europa World Year Book
- Reference JN 1 .E85
- Encyclopedic coverage includes history, government, defense, socical welfare, the economy, and politics.
- Country Studies/Area Handbooks Library of Congress
Library of Congress
- To find Country Studies in the Library, do a keyword search in the Library catalog for:
yourcountry area handbook
e.g., brazil area handbook
- Books in this series "describe and analyze a country's political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, and examine the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors."
- Keesing's Record of World Events
- Reference D 410 .K4
- Looseleaf monthly news updates; worldwide coverage.
- Country Reports on Economic Policy and Trade Practices.
- Govt Docs Reference, U.S. Y4.In8/16:C83
- "Detailed reports on the economic policy and trade practices of countries with which the United States has significant economic or trade relationships."
- Online Maps from the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin
- Primarily scanned images of CIA maps. The Map Library on the second floor of the Madden Library has these CIA maps as well as other maps and atlases.
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| Politics & Government |
- Political Handbook of the World
- Reference JF 37 .P6
- Country-by-country in-depth descriptions of political systems.
- World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties.
- Reference JF 2011 W67 1999
- Legal Systems of the World: a Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia.
- Reference K 48 .L44 2002 volumes 1-4
- Covers individual countries, U.S. states and Canadian provinces, international judicial bodies and quasilegal political organizations, and common legal principles and concepts. County information includes its history, political structure and a detailed description of the judicial system and underlying legal concepts.
- Parline Database
- For member countries of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, this database contains general information on each of the Parliament's chambers, a description of the electoral system and the results of the most recent election.
- Constitutions
- Constitutions of the Countries of the World
- Reference K 3157 .E5 B55
- An 18 volume collection of the constitutions of the countries of the world.
- Includes the official version and English translations of constitutions in other languages.
- Arrangement is alphabetical by country.
- International Constitutional Law
- Provides English translations of and other textual material related to constitutional documents.
- Constitution Finder University of Richmond School of Law
- Constitutions of the World via FindLaw
- Constitution-Making Web Links U.S. Institute of Peace
- Includes links to sites with collections of texts of constitutions (under General Resources); National Constitutional Assemblies; and Non-Governmental Organizations.
- Political Resources on the Net
- Country and international links to political parties, organizations, governments, media, and other information.
- Foreign Politics from the University of Michigan Documents Center
- Includes links to resources on elections and individual country politics.
- Political Database of the Americas from the Georgetown University Center for Latin American Studies
- Documentary and statistical political information on Latin American countries, including their constitutions; electoral systems; and executive, legislative and judicial systems.
- Foreign Governments & International Governmental Organizations
- Embassies links from the University of Michigan's Documents Center
- Foreign Governments links from Northwestern University Library
- Links to official government sites. Arranged alphabetically by country.
- Governments on the WWW
- Comprehensive database of national government institutions.
- International Governmental Organizations links from Northwestern University Library
- Alphabetical list of IGO web sites, including links to press releases and publications.
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| Human Right & Democracy including elections |
- Encyclopedia of Democracy
- Reference JC 423 .E53 1995
- Freedom House.
- "Freedom House is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the promotion of democracy, political rights, and civil liberties worldwide." Publications include Freedom in the World, an annual comparative assessment of the state of political rights and civil liberties.
- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
- Govt Docs Dept Reference, US Y 4.In 8/16-15:
- Submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the Congress, the reports cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Amnesty International Library
- Includes their Amnesty International Report, also in print: JC 571 .A44a Latest 2 reports are shelved in Reference.
- Human Rights Watch
- Includes their annual Human Rights Watch World Report
- Elections
- ElectionGuide International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES)
- Election calendar; information on electoral structures, parties and candidates, and previous elections; links to country election authorities; summaries of election results, data on voter turnout, real-time results, and more.
- Elections and Electoral Systems Around the World from Richard Kimber, University of Keele.
- Following the list of links to information about electoral systems and elections "supersites" is an alphabetical list of countries with links to elections agencies and results.
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| Statistics |
- Statistical Abstract of the United States.
- Reference and Govt Docs Reference HA 202 U5
- Statistical Yearbook. United Nations
- Reference HA 12.5 U63
- Demographic Yearbook. United Nations
- Reference HA 17 D45
- World Development Indicators. World Bank.
- (Most of the text from the book is available online, but only a sampling of the tables)
- Reference HC 59.15 W656
- Statistical tables include aid, trade, defense expenditures, and debt
- World Development Report. World Bank
- Reference HC 59.7 W659 (earlier editions are in the stacks)
- A look at the economic, social and environmental state of the world. Each year the WDR provides in depth analysis of a specific aspect of development.
- Human Development Report. U.N. Development Programme
- Reference HD 4904.7 H86
- Statistics include life expectancy, educational attainment and "quality of life" measures.
- World Economic Factbook. Euromonitor
- Reference HC 59.q5 W658
- Overview of the economy, major trading partners, political risk.
- International Financial Statistics Yearbook. International Monetary Fund
- Reference HG 3881 I626
- World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers. U.S State Dept., Bureau of Arms Control
- UA 17 .W67, latest in Reference
- Government Statistics
- Includes sources of economic and social data for many countries.
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| Political Science Literature |
- Library Catalog
- Search the Library catalog to find books, journals, and other material in the Henry Madden Library.
- Browse Searching (to search for subjects, titles or authors)
- · Browse the name of your country or region as a subject to see a list divided by topics such as:
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| politics and government
| economic conditions
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| economic policy
| social conditions
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- · Browse subjects like these to see a list divided by country/region:
regionalism
democracy
civil society
socialism
nationalism
self determination
public opinion
political stablity
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political parties
elections
voting
political culture
pressure groups
political persecution
human rights
constitutional history
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political socialization
political participation
political violence
national liberation movements
representative government
federal government
decentralization in government
elite
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- Keyword Searching (To search for a county/region and some "key" words)
- for example: canada and immigration and policy
- · Use ? for alternate word endings:
- e.g., democra? retrieves democracy, democracies, democratization, etc.
- The Library might have the articles and books you find through these indexes or databases that are not full-text:
- Check the titles of journals in the Periodicals List to see if we have an online subscription;
Check book and journal titles in the Library catalog;
Check with the Government Documents Department for U.S. and California government publications.
- Expanded Academic Index. (1980- ) Off-campus connection requires login.
- Index to news magazines and scholarly journals in a wide variety of subjects. From 1992 on includes the full text of the articles for about one third of the journals indexed.
- Use * for alternate word endings
- PAIS International. (1972- ) Off-campus connection requires login.
- Indexes books, journals, and some government publications on topics related to public policy.
- Use and between search terms unless you want to search a phrase
- Use * for alternate word endings
- Social Sciences Index.
- Reference Index Area AI 3 .S62 (1974/5 - )
- Provides citations to articles in over 400 major journals in the broad category of social sciences.
- U.S. Government Publications:
- GPO: Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. (1976- ) Off-campus connection requires login.
- Use and between search terms unless you want to search a phrase
- Use * for alternate word endings
- CIS Congressional Information Service Index
- Government Documents Department Index Table
- Index to U.S. congressional publications (hearings, reports, and documents).
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| News |
- Keesing's Record of World Events
- Reference D 410 .K4
- Looseleaf monthly news updates; worldwide coverage.
- News Databases on LexisNexis Academic Off-campus connection requires login.
- Select Guided News Search to search the full text of today's or past newspapers.
- In the keyword search boxes:
- · Use and (or another connector) between search terms unless you want to search a phrase:
- e.g., human rights and burma
- · Use w/p w/s or w/n between words to search for the words within the same paragraph, sentence,
or within the specified number of words:
- e.g., human rights w/5 burma
- · Use ! for alternate word endings:
- e.g., democra! retrieves democracy, democracies, democratization,etc.
- ProQuest Newspapers Off-campus connection requires login.
- Click on the Publications Search tab to browse over 300 U.S. and international newspapers and other news sources, or search multiple sources. Includes the Wall Street Journal.
- NewsLink
- Links to newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV stations.
- NewsVoyager: Gateway to Your Local Newspaper
- Yahoo's List of Newspapers By Region
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Revised 8 October 2004
Send comments to Carol
Doyle Head, Government Documents & Maps
Henry Madden Library California State University, Fresno
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