Political Science: Websites

The leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 15,000 members in over 80 countries.

"Through its programs and services ASPA seeks to improve
public service by helping members acquire the knowledge,
technical skills and resources necessary to be excellent
public servants."

"The Coalition is a political organization, made up of pro-family Americans who care deeply about ensuring that government serves to strengthen and preserve, rather than threaten, our families and our values. To that end, we work continuously to identify, educate and mobilize Christians for effective political action."

"The Communist Party USA is an organization dedicated to helping advance the day-to-day struggles of the working class and all working people on the road to a Socialist USA."

"The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries."

the Democratic Party is committed to keeping our nationsafe and expanding opportunity for every American.

is the leading national organization acting to transform our elections to achieve secure and universal access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful choices and majority rule with fair representation and a voice for all.

A value system unites Greens worldwide. There is no definitive, authoritative creed. Green Politics isn't like that. Check out their "ten key values".

Information regarding the International Communist Party. Includes Manifesto of the Communist PartyMarx-Engels (1848), what distinguishes the Party from others, Party publications, etc.

"The Libertarian way is a logically consistent approach to politics based on the moral principle of self-ownership. Each individual has the right to control his or her own body, action, speech, and property. Government's only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud."

"the bipartisan organization of the nation's governors—promotes visionary state leadership, shares best practices and speaks with a unified voice on national policy." Check out the briefs, reports, policy positions, staff resources and searchable databases.

"is an association of citizens, parliamentarians and members of government of various national and political backgrounds who intend to achieve, through nonviolent Gandhian methods, a number of concrete objectives aimed at creating an effective body of international law with respect for individuals and the affirmation of democracy and freedom throughout the world."

"With a core belief in the primacy of individuals, the Republican Party, since its inception, has been at the forefront of the fight for individuals' rights in opposition to a large, intrusive government."

The Socialist International is the worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties. It currently brings together 170 political parties and organisations from all continents.

"THE SOCIALIST PARTY strives to establish a radical democracy that places people's lives under their own control -- a non-racist, classless, feminist, socialist society in which people cooperate at work, at home, and in the community."

By the Library of Congress,this site consists of a linked set of published congressional records of the United States of America from the Continental Congress through the 43rd Congress, 1774-1875.

"Established in 1999 as a collaboration between John Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Their archives contain 88,172 documents related to the study of the Presidency."

In depth information on each president and his administration provided by he University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs.

From the University of Indiana, "you will find information about Congress in a variety of ways, from videos and articles to interactive simulations."

"CongressLink is directed to teachers of American Government and civics. It is multi-featured, offering original content (including lesson plans and historical materials) and up-to-the-minute information about Congress."

The council of State governments is the premier multi branch organization forecasting policy trends for the community of states, commonwealths, and territories on a national and regional basis

The Office of the Historian is responsible, under law, for the preparation and publication of the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy in the Foreign Relations of the United States series.

"The Scripps Library, through cooperation with various presidential libraries, has been collecting some of the most important presidential speeches in American history. These speeches all have transcripts, and some are available in their entirety in full audio. Recently we have expanded our collection to include video speeches from President John F. Kennedy through President Barack Obama."

"A collaborative program of research among election study teams from around the world. Participating countries include a common module of survey questions in their post-election studies. The resulting data are deposited along with voting, demographic, district and macro variables. The studies are then merged into a single, free, public dataset for use in comparative study and cross-level analysis."

"The Correlates of War project seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations."

"Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports the expansion of freedom around the world. Freedom House supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights."

The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project
reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 212 countries and territories over the period 1996–2008, for six dimensions of governance: Voice and Accountability, Political Stability and Absence of Violence
Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law and Control of Corruption."

"The Minorities at Risk (MAR) Project is a university-based research project that monitors and analyzes the status and conflicts of politically-active communal groups in all countries with a current population of at least 500,000. The project is designed to provide information in a standardized format that aids comparative research and contributes to the understanding of conflicts involving relevant groups. "

Claims to be "the most widely used data resource for studying regime change and the effects of regime authority. The Polity IV Project carries data collection and analysis through 2008 and is under the direction of Monty G. Marshall at the Center for Systemic Peace and George Mason University."

"The Institute conducts and promotes research on the causes, consequences and nature of good governance and Quality of Government (QoG) - that is, trustworthy, reliable, impartial, uncorrupted and competent government institutions."

"The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a non-partisan public policy and law
institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Our work ranges from voting
rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to presidential power in the fight against
terrorism."

A non-profit advocacy organization founded as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.

Congress.org is a nonpartisan news and information Web site devoted to encouraging civic participation. Their mission is to provide information about public policy issues of the day and tips on effective advocacy so that citizens can make their voices heard. The heart of Congress.org is an award-winning software program that makes it easy for citizens to write their elected officials.

The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent nonpartisan membership organization, think tank and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students.

On the Election Resources on the Internet website you will find links to Internet sites around the world which provide complete and detailed national and local election statistics, as well as other election resources.

Latest election results from around the world broken out by county, party, etc.

"We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding."

Features comprehensive research coverage of key First Amendment issues and topics, daily First Amendment news, commentary and analyses by respected legal specialists, and a First Amendment Library of legal cases and related materials.

GovTrack.us is an independent website tracking the status of legislation in the United States Congress and helping you participate in your national legislature.

Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. They stand with victims and activists to prrevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane connection in wartime.

"The Library of Economics and Liberty is dedicated to advancing the study of economics, markets, and liberty. It offers a unique combination of resources for students, teachers, researchers, and aficionados of economic thought."

"a groundbreaking public database, illuminates the connection between money and politics in unprecedented ways."

Comprehensive access to NCSL information on state legislatures and legislative policies,

"OpenSecrets.org is your nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy."

"The PDBA offers centralized and systematized information about institutions and political processes, national constitutions, branches of government, elections, political constitutional studies and other subjects related to the strengthening of democracy in the region."

"A truly nonpartisan organization, Project Vote Smart (PVS) supports no candidates and embraces no political philosophy. It merely collects information on where candidates stand on a wide variety of issues and attempts to make that information readily available to the public."...The Plain Dealer

News from state governments.

"An official publication of the International Political Science Association."

"The CIA has established this site to provide the public with an overview of access to CIA information, including electronic access to previously released documents. Because of CIA's need to comply with the national security laws of the United States, some documents or parts of documents cannot be released to the public."

The Constitution comprises the primary law of the U.S. Federal Government. This site contains the complete text of the Constitution, along with analysis and interpretation, and supplements to both the 2002 and 1992 editions.

"The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents."

"The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. The series is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian and printed volumes are available from the Government Printing Office."

"The U.S. Government Printing Office disseminates official information from all three branches of the Federal Government."

Locate court cases, briefs, orgal arguments, bar admissions, rules and practices.

This is the premier source on Congress. Look here for information on legislation, legislators, treaties, roll call votes, etc. By the Library of Congress.

"As the official handbook of the Federal Government, the United States Government Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and exeuctive branches."

Locate congressmen, biographies of representatives, historical information, etc. Find bills, laws, amendments, and voting records.

Track committees, legislation and records along with biographical information. A virtual reference library is included.

This site is formerly known as FirstGov, USA.gov is the primary portal for federal government information.

The official web site for the White House and the Office of the President of the United States. This site is a source for biographical information, policy initiatives, press briefings, proclamations and executive orders.

Data, statistics, and publications covering all aspects of immigration. Fromf the Department of Homeland Security web site.

"The African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania brings together researchers and students, along with cultural, business and media entities, to gain knowledge of contemporary and historical Africa."

"A global collaborative project which provides access in bibliographic and in hypertext terms to networked scholarly documents, resources and information systems concerned with or relevant to Asian Studies."

"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."

"With partners from around the world we engage in practical initiatives to construct and deepen democratic and security-producing arrangements on the local and global level, and to create the open, democratic Internet information and networking infrastructure required for global collaboration." From Rutgers.

"The CIA publishes and updates the online directory of Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments regularly. The directory is intended to be used primarily as a reference aid and includes as many governments of the world as is considered practical, some of them not officially recognized by the United States."

22 years of world facts, plus history from the USA, CIA World Factbooks, the United Nations Statistical Office,
the Library of Congress Country Studies, and other sources.

"s a collaboration of journalists, lawyers and scholars dedicated to raising public awareness of the laws of war and their application to situations of conflict."

Hosted by the American Society of International Law, "users can connect directly to the web resource that interests them by clicking on its title, but will also find valuable added information through a “More Information” button on each record. Legal citations, entry into force and signature dates, amendments and brief descriptions are among the specialized data made available by EISIL’s content providers."

"EurasiaNet.org provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, Turkey, and Southwest Asia."

Europa.eu is the official website of the European Union. It is a good starting point if you are looking for information and services provided by the EU

"Offers researchers, politicians and the media an authoritative and structured factual reference system on international relations and security trends."

Flashpoints strives to provide information needed to make informed judgements about the nature of specific violent political conflicts. They try to remain impartial and present alternative viewpoints in the hopes of stimulating critical thought and informed debate. Edited by James
Mattil, "the award-winning website has attracted millions of visitors and, hopefully, has helped increase understanding of political violence."

"is a joint project of the United Nations University and the University of Ulster. Combining research, education and comparative analysis."

The world's leading authority on political-military confict.

The International Relations and Security Network (ISN) is the world’s leading open access information service for international relations and security professionals. They offer
a portfolio of free, high-quality information services.

"The mission of the Jamestown Foundation is to inform and educate policy makers and the broader policy community about events and trends in those societies which are strategically or tactically important to the United States and which frequently restrict access to such information. "

"LANIC's mission is to facilitate access to Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America."

"The 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."

Global Gateway is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of coutnries around the world. The site offers more than 80 thousand digital items.

"a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD."

"Click on the country buttons for short overviews and in-depth profiles of each country's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and missile development programs, policies and activities, including chronologies, maps, facility descriptions and assessments."

"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."

Provides access to research materials, bibliographic indexes, photos, manuscripts, etc to support a wide range of research and teaching activities.

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) launched a new internet based data service for the global user community. It brings UN statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single entry point. Users can now search and download a variety of statistical resources of the UN system.

is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace.

Educational world atlas with visualized information about geography, history, demographics, and economy of world countries.

"is an international collaborative project whose aim is to give voice to public opinion around the world on international issues."

A frequently updated Internet directory of over 2000 annotated links to high-quality English-language sources of current information and analysis in a wide range of international affairs, international relations, international studies, global studies, and global education topics. These sites are carefully selected for their long-term value, including only those with cost-free, authoritative information and analysis online.

"AlterNet is an award-winning news magazine and online community that creates original journalism and amplifies the best of hundreds of other independent media sources. AlterNet’s aim is to inspire action and advocacy on the environment, human rights and civil liberties, social justice, media, health care issues, and more."

"Chicago-based RealClearPolitics.com (RCP) has become one of America’s premier independent political web sites...RCP culls and publishes the best commentary, news, polling data, and links to important resources from all points of the political compass and covering all the important issues of the day."

"With the largest press corps on Capitol Hill, CQ-Roll Call Group has earned a reputation for delivering comprehensive, accurate and objective congressional reporting."

"This introduction skims the most relevant theories that the student of political philosophy is likely to encounter. The article covers Liberalism, Conservativism, Socialism, Anarchism, and Environmentalism."

"The Marxists Internet Archive is an all-volunteer, non-profit public library, started more than 20 years ago... MIA contains the writings of 592 authors representing a complete spectrum of political, philosophical, and scientific thought, generally spanning the past 200 years."

From the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Brown University's forum "organized around three main themes: The American Experiment, Market Society and Social Order, and Globalization and Development".

Committee for a Workers' International..World capitalism in crisis and turmoil – fighting for a socialist alternative.

From its inception, the SEP was designed so that each entry is maintained and kept up to date by an expert or group of experts in the field. All entries and substantive updates are refereed by the members of a distinguished Editorial Board before they are made public.

"The Policy Agendas Project collects and organizes data from various archived sources to trace changes in the national policy agenda and public policy outcomes since the Second World War."

PublicAgenda.org has been nominated twice for the prestigious Webby Award as one of the Internet's best sources for balanced, accurate information on public policy issues.

"The Stennis Center's congressional mandate is to attract young people to careers in public service, to provide training for leaders in or likely to be in public service, and to offer training and development opportunities for senior congressional staff, Members of Congress, and other public service leaders. Products of the Stennis Center include conferences, seminars, special projects, and leadership development programs."

The Brookings institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. It conducts high-quality, independent research to provide innovative, practical recommendations.

"The mission of the Cato Institute is to increase the understanding of public policies based on the principles of limited government, free markets, individual liberty, and peace. The Institute will use the most effective means to originate, advocate, promote, and disseminate applicable policy proposals that create free, open, and civil societies in the United States and throughout the world."

The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent nonpartisan membership organization, think tank and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students.

A think tank devoted to the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional Americna values, and a strong national defense.

is a non-partisan policy research organization dedicated to innovative research and analysis that promotes global security, prosperity and freedom.

"This collection of full-text digest from the Future of Privacy Forum, a think tank affiliated with George Washington University Law School "that seeks to advance responsible data practices." The writings here are directed mainly at policymakers at the federal level -- on Capitol Hill and in government agencies -- who are focused on personal privacy protection. "

"The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis..AND is widely respected for operating independent of political and commercial pressures."

"The Urban Institute gathers data, conducts research, evaluates programs, offers technical assistance overseas, and educates Americans on social and economic issues — to foster sound public policy and effective government."

"focuses on complex challenges that demand cooperative policy solutions to achieve: an inclusive and sustainable global market economy, engaged global civic participation and effective governance, and collaborative approaches to national and global security. "

"The Afrobarometer is an independent, nonpartisan research project that measures the social, political, and economic atmosphere in Africa. "

"This is the website for the Public Opinion Analysis sector of the European Commission. Since 1973, the European Commission has been monitoring the evolution of public opinion in the Member States, thus helping the preparation of texts, decision-making and the evaluation of its work."

"The GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings. The GSS takes the pulse of America, and is a unique and valuable resource. It has tracked the opinions of Americans over the last four decades."

"Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is a long running proprietary survey conducted by Harris Interactive measuring public opinion . The nationally representative polls, conducted both by telephone and online, measure, and trend, the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivation of the general public. New survey data on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published weekly."

"This site is no longer being maintained as of 2008. The content of the site will continue to be available for some time but is being updated."

"This is an independent public opinion survey research project that studies attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues. It is best known for regular national surveys that measure public attentiveness to major news stories, and for polling that charts trends in values and fundamental political and social attitudes."

"An independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion."

"Rasmussen Reports generates a daily cycle of news reports based on original survey results and what we refer to as Media Meters. The results, track the political world, current events, consumer confidence, business topics and the president’s job approval ratings daily."

"One of America’s premier independent political web sites. Updated every morning and throughout the day, RCP culls and publishes the best commentary, news, polling data, and links to important resources from all points of the political compass and covering all the important issues of the day."

This is a place to learn more about values and cultural changes in societies all over the world.

C-SPAN has archived all their videos back to 1987. It has programs on all aspects of American politics, including Congress, the Courts, the Presidency, campaigning, books, speeches, and every topic of political debate.

"The Civil Rights Digital Library promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale. The CRDL features a collection of unedited news film from the WSB (Atlanta) and WALB (Albany, Ga.) television archives held by the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia Libraries."

The open video archive of the U.S. Congress. MetaVid is a community archive project for public domain US legislative footage. It was started in 2006 as a thesis project and is continued by a grant from the Sunlight Foundation.

Digital audio back to 1955, selected constitutional cases, links to full text decisions from 1893 from Findlaw and finally information about each Justie and the important decisions they made.