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University of York Library
Library Subject Guides

School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)

Other public websites

International affairs, comparative politics

Centre for the Study of Global Governance - AN international institution dedicated to research, analysis and dissemination about global governance based at the London School of Economics. Includes links to the full text of public lectures, discussion papers and the annual Global Civil Society Yearbooks.

Commonwealth Secretariat - Large site providing news, background information and research documents, plus a useful selection of links.

Council on Foreign Relations - US-based nonpartisan and independent think-tank. Hosts primary documents, background material and news coverage from around the world.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office - Searchable site provides news and policy statements, plus a Documents Database of annual reports, command papers and other published texts from 1997.

Global Politics Network - An international platform where a community of critically-minded students as well as young professional from all over the world can meet to exchange ideas and theories. Articles are free to access and contributions are encouraged.

Institute of Development Studies Civil Society and Governance Programme - a research project funded by the Ford Foundation. Site includes full text of country reports and case studies, policy briefs and links to other related websites.

International Foundation for Election Systems - IFES provides "targeted technical assistance to strengthen transitional democracies". Many of their publications are freely available. Also hosts the Election Guide: a searchable database of worldwide election information and results.

Inter-Parliamentary Union - Includes details of activities and publications and hosts several authoritative sources of reference information (such as Parline, which provides factual descriptions of parliaments worldwide, and the bibliographic database Women in Politics).

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) - Provides latest news, and background information including Fact Sheets on key issues. Also incorporates the full text of the latest NATO Handbook plus a library of full texts of official documents, press releases etc.

Royal Institute of International Affairs - One of the world's leading institutes for the analysis of international issues. Site provides information about activities and publications, including the full texts of Briefing Papers and the current Annual Report.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) - This site gives updates on projects and links to publications of the UNECE, one of the five regional commissions for the UN, as well as outlining the work and remit of the organisation.

World Citizen Foundation - Includes collections of relevant documents on current research topics, plus information about activities and publications.

United States government and politics

Brookings Institution - An independent, nonpartisan organization. Site includes a detailed listing of research topics and current projects (each entry linking to reports, analysis, briefings etc), plus details of printed and audiovisual publications.

Catalog of US Government Publications - Searchable by keyword to find bibliographic records of items in Federal Depository Libraries since 1994.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - Publications in the public domain that originate from the work of the CIA have been grouped thematically in the Special Collections area of the Electronic Reading Room.

CIRCLE: Centre for Research on Civic Learning and Engagement - Collects information on political participation and civic engagement amongst young US citizens including levels of political apathy and voter turnout.

Congress.org - includes details of recent legislation and bills under consideration.

Cornell University Collection of Political Americana - Provides access to a collection of free images taken from the Susan H. Douglas Collection of Political Americana. Content includes political cartoons and satire, political and election campaign ephemera, posters and propaganda leaflets.

Fedworld - from the US National Technical Information Service, a searchable database of Federal Government publications. Most records include a summary, but only in a few cases are full texts of publications freely available.

FirstGov - The U.S. Government's official web portal, with links to information on all aspects of domestic, foreign and social policy. The site allows the searching of millions of web pages from federal and state governments and U.S. territories.

Foreign Policy in Focus - A US think-tank, FPIF is a collaborative project of the Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). The site provides free access to commentary, analysis and full-text reports on the impact of US foreign policy throughout the world.

House of Representatives - Provides details of current activities (updated weekly), background information about Members, Committees, and Organizations of the House, plus links to other U.S. government information resources.

PoliTxt: A Digital Archive of Political Texts providing  access to many key texts relating to US politics and government including transcripts of all inaugural presidential addresses from 1789 and State of the Union addresses from 1913.

Project for the New American Century - Searchable site provides an archive of research reports, government publications, newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews etc. which meet the Project's objectives.

RAND Corporation - RAND is an influential US based think-tank; a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis which address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world.

This Nation: the American government and politics portal - written by Prof. Jonathan Mott, University of Oklahoma, and including a full online textbook on US government and politics, plus a library of classic political essays, speeches, treaties etc.

Thomas: Legislative information on the Internet - Includes the searchable full text of all versions of House and Senate bills, the Congressional Record, the daily account of proceedings on the House and Senate Floors and an explanation of the lawmaking process.

United States Senate - Background information about its history and membership, plus daily schedules of activity.

US Department of State - news and current affairs, details of the Department's structure and function, plus background information and publications relating to the Department's activities.

Washington Institute for Near East Policy - Provides free access to a collection of press releases, statements, event transcripts and full text reports published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The White House - Background information and news about the US president, designed for the general public.

Post-war reconstruction, peace studies

ACCORD: African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes - Incorporates news and links, plus the full text of the organisation's publications African Journal in Conflict Resolution and Conflict Trends.

Arms Control Association - Provides the full text of the Association's journal Arms Control Today from 1997, plus an extensive set of fact sheets and other documents classified by country and subject.

Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC) - A non-profit organization promoting the transfer of former military resources and assets to civilian purposes. Contains information about the Center's projects and publications (some available in full online).

Bradford University Department of Peace Studies - Includes information about programmes, research groups and publications.

CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) - A substantial directory of texts, bibliographies, databases and links to other siteson 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland, from 1968, classified by topic but also searchable.

Canadian Consortium on Human Security - CCHS is a contributor to the Human Security Gateway and provides a searchable database of free-to-access articles, data sources and bibliographic references.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - Provides links to the full text of many policy briefs and research papers, with information on how to order books and monographs that originate from the centre.

Carnegie Moscow Center - A centre which aims to develop a tradition of public policy analysis in the states of the former Soviet Union and improve relations between Russia and the United States.

Center for International Development and Conflict Management - Includes publications about projects and hosts free datasets for the comparative analysis of conflict, providing figures on topics such as the position of minority populations, the status of democratic institutions, and the dynamics of international crises.

Children and Armed Conflict Unit - Incorporates up-to-date information on armed conflicts around the world and their impact on children and provides reports on specific issues and themes relating to children. Includes a comprehensive database of international law.

Conflict Studies Research Centre - Provides information on the aims of the centre and its activities. Provides free access to a large number of working papers and reports.

Crimes of War Project - Incorporates a number of substantial articles on aspects of humanitarian law, plus a bibliography of suggestions for further reading, and links to other related sites.

Crisis States Research Centre - Discusses the relationships between political systems, conflict and globalisation, providing online Working Papers and Discussion Papers, as well as other publications in this area.

European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation - Site includes information about activities and publications, plus the full text of the latest Annual Report.

Guide to Ulster Loyalism and Unionism Online - This site aims to act as an archive to online activity by Ulster loyalists and unionists, of special importance given the long tradition of alternative political media in Northern Ireland.

INCORE: Initiative On Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity - A substantial collection of resources including the Conflict Data Service covering 43 countries, the Ethnic Conflict Research Digest, and links to related organisations.

Institute for Conflict Research - Information about research and publications (some available in full online), plus links to other related sites, with an emphasis on Northern Irish resources.

Institute for Security Studies (South Africa) - Provides full text of many papers, plus details for ordering books or monographs originating from the Institute.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting - Provides full text of many reports (classified by region), plus a substantial set of links to other related sites.

International Campaign to Ban Landmines - Site includes information about the Campaign's activities, plus background texts and research resources.

International Crisis Group - Searchable site has a detailed directory of projects and full texts of reports.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - Provides latest news plus information about publications, including the full text of the latest Annual Report.

SIPRI: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute - Provides information on research projects and publications plus free-to-access databases on international relations, military expenditure, and others.

United Nations Peace and Security - front page for all the peacekeeping projects of the United Nations. From here it is possible to link to information on a number of specific UN areas.

United Nations Peacekeeping - Site includes an online News Centre, links to information about current and completed operations, and a Recent Publications and Archives page.

United Nations Peacebuilding Commission - Provides information on the remit, structure and activities of the commission and includes access to news reports, press releases and full text documents and resolutions.

United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs - Includes an online Educational Resources area, as well as access to statements and press releases and information about DDA Publications. 

United States Institute of Peace - Provides information about the Institute's activities and policies, plus a Digital Library of full-text documents relating to conflicts worldwide, e.g. peace agreements, reports of Truth Commissions etc. Also the Institute's own publications, and links to other relevant sites.

War-Torn Societies Project - Provides background information about the Project and its objectives, plus full texts of many WSP publications.

World Bank Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit - Provides information about the World Bank's relevant policies and directives, publications in full, and links to other related sites.

Professional associations

APSANET: American Political Science Association Online - The major professional society for people who study politics, government and public policies in the US and around the world.

DEMOS - Site includes information about current projects, a searchable catalogue of publications (most are free to download).

European Consortium for Political Research - based at the University of Essex. Site provides information about activities and publications.

Hansard Society - Background information about the Society's programmes and projects, plus details of publications and how to order.

Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) - The leading UK independent think tank on the centre left.

International Political Science Association - founded in 1949 under UNESCO sponsorship, to bring together national political science associations. Information about membership, activities and publications, plus links to websites of all affiliated national associations.

Political Studies Association of the UK - Site provides information about the Association's activities and publications, including a searchable archive of conference papers.