Introduction to Comparative Government and International Relations

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Selected Reference Materials

The Europa World Year Book. London: Europa Publications Limited, 2008.
Ready Reference 341.1 E89
Note: Earlier editions (1966-) are available in the Main Collection at the same call number.

Hawkesworth, Mary, and Maurice Kogan, eds. Encyclopedia of Government and Politics. London; New York: Routledge, 1992.
Reference 320.03 H392e

Nolan, Cathal J. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.
Reference 327.03 N787g v.1-4

Osmanczyk, Edmund Jan. Encyclopedia of the United Nationals and International Agreements. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Reference 341.2303 O83e v.1-4

Political Handbook of the World. New York: Published for the Center for Comparative Political Research of the State University of New York at Binghamton and for the Council on Foreign Relations by McGraw-Hill Book Co., 2008.
Ready Reference 329 P769
Note: Earlier editions (1928-) are available in the Main Collection at the same call number.

The Statesman's Year-book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World. London, New York: Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, 2009.
Reference 305 S797
Note: Earlier editions (every 5th year, 1920-) are available in the Main Collection at the same call number.

United Nations Statistical Office. Statistical Yearbook. New York: United Nations, 2007.
Statistical Reference 310 U58s
Note: Earlier editions (every 5th year, 1965-) in the Main Collection at the same call number.

Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations. 10th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2001.
Reference 910.3 W927e v.1-6

Ziring, Lawrence, Jack C. Plano, and Roy Olton. International Relations: A Political Dictionary. 5th ed. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1995.
Reference 327.03 Z81i

Online

The following online resources might be useful providing overviews, history, and data on individual countries.

CIA World Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
A standard source for current data on countries of the world.

Library of Congress Country Portals to the World
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html
A gateway to recommended sources on specific countries.
From the site: "Portals to the World contains selective links providing authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and other areas of the world. They are arranged by country or area with the links for each sorted into a wide range of broad categories. The links were selected by Area Specialists and other Library staff using Library of Congress selection criteria."

Library of Congress Country Studies: Area Handbook Series
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/
From the site: "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." Note that some of the entries have not been updated in recent years. Check for currency.

US Department of State: Background Notes
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn
Great for current information on specific countries, particularly relevant to U.S. foreign relations.
From the site: "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. The Background Notes are updated/revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus and are added to the database of the Department of State website you are now using."

Finding Articles: Databases & Indexes

SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES

See a list of all databases at via the Library Homepage  --  Articles A-Z (in the Find box).

International Relations & Comparative Politics Databases

PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service)
Top source for International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Public Affairs resources. Indexes select articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, statistical directories, 1972 to present. Especially useful for research on the environment, demographics, human rights, arms control, etc.

CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online)
Scholarly source for theory and research in international affairs since 1991. Includes working papers, conference proceedings, books, journals, policy briefs, maps and country data.

General / Interdisciplinary Databases

Academic Search Premier
 Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines, including International Relations and Comparative Politics. Contains both scholarly and non-academic resources. Includes many articles in full text.

OmniFile (WilsonWeb)
Multi-disciplinary database providing the complete content–indexing, abstracts, and full text–from six of Wilson's full-text databases.

News

LexisNexis Academic
Indexes and provides full-text of major national and international newspapers, newswires, select journals and magazines, and legal publications. Updated daily. Coverage from as early as 1980 to the present. Special section for country information.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

  1. When searching for articles, you may find the full-text of an article linked in the database.

  2. If not, you need to search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.
    • Most databases have a Get It! link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings.
    • Otherwise, search the catalog by journal title. Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.
  3. If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.
    • Some databases have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form. Click Submit.
    • Otherwise, use the Interlibrary Loan Journal Article Request Form (Library Homepage  --  ILL (in the Services & Forms box)  --  Articles request form). Fill out the form with as much information as possible. Ask for help, if you have questions.

Finding Books

TREXLER LIBRARY

Search the Trexler Library Catalog to find out what books, government publications, journals, videos, etc. the library owns.

GETTING THERE: Use the shortcut search box on the Library Homepage or Library Homepage  --  Books, Videos, Music, ... (in Find box)  --  Trexler Library Catalog

For tips on searching the catalog, use the Help link above the search boxes.

OTHER LIBRARIES

WorldCat. To find books held by other libraries, search WorldCat, a database of over 60 million library records from around the country and world. Use the ILL button to request a book from another library. (ILL can take 10-14 days.)

GETTING THERE: Library Homepage  --  Books, Videos, Music, ... (in Find box)  --  Other Library Catalogs -- WorldCat

E-ZBorrow. For quick delivery of books from many Pennsylvania and area academic libraries (including University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, University of Pittsburgh, and many more), use E-ZBorrow. (E-ZBorrow takes 2-4 business days.)

GETTING THERE: Library Homepage  --  Books, Videos, Music, ... (in Find box)  --  Other Library Catalogs -- E-ZBorrow

TIP: Because E-ZBorrow books can arrive so quickly, check the E-ZBorrow catalog for any books you find in WorldCat. If not available there, then request via the ILL button in Worldcat.

LVAIC. You can borrow books directly from LVAIC (Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges) Libraries.

GETTING THERE: Library Homepage  --  Books, Videos, Music, ... (in Find box)  --  Regional Libraries  -- LVAIC Libraries

For more information on Interlibrary Loan options, see http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/more/ill/index.html or ask for help.

GETTING THERE: Library Homepage  --  ILL (in the Services & Forms box)

Government Documents

Muhlenberg College receives about 25% of all materials published by the Federal Government. These items cover a wide range of subject areas--from legal materials and the records of Congress to health and education information and in-depth research conducted by the Smithsonian. All of the government documents that we receive have records in the Trexler Library Catalog.

GPO Monthly Catalog
The most complete single source listing of Government Printing Office publications. It covers the period 1976 to present and includes a wide range of publications types including agency reports and congressional documents, providing the Superintendent of Document Number (SUDOC).

Google U.S. Government Search
Google's search tool for state and federal webpages.

LexisNexis Congressional
Provides access to detailed information about Congress. It includes The Congressional Record, congressional hearings, legislation, legislative histories, etc., from 1969 to the present.

Documents Center (University of Michigan Library)
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/
"The Documents Center is a central reference and referral point for government information, whether local, state, federal, foreign or international. Its web pages are a reference and instructional tool for government, political science, statistical data, and news."

International Relations and Comparative Politics Websites

METASITES

Foreign Affairs Online
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjb3v/rjb.html
Excellent guide for students of foreign affairs. Includes annotated links to the following topics: US Government, Foreign States, UN, NGOs & IGOs, International Law, Human Rights, International Realations, Think Tanks and the Digital Divide.

WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources
http://www.etown.edu/vl/
Compiled by a professor of International Studies at Elizabethtown College, this gateway site is organized into helpful categories. It contains a great depth of high quality information and it has been reviewed and highly ranked by several respected Social Science sources.

Political Resources on the Net
http://www.politicalresources.net/
This is a particularly useful site for comparative international politics. Organized geographically, this site asks you to choose a region, then a country to research its politics. This arrangement makes it easy to compare to countries within a region, or to compare two regions against one another.

GOVERNMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

United Nations
http://www.un.org/english/
The official home page of the United Nations. This site contains the text of selected UN documents and resolutions, press, releases, and links to the home pages of the permanent missions of the UN member states.

International Monetary Fund
http://www.imf.org/

International Court of Justice
http://www.icj-cij.org/

The World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org/

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
http://www.aseansec.org

The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS)
http://www.ecowas.int/

European Union On-line
http://europa.eu.int/

Governments on the World Wide Web
http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/

The Organization of American States
http://www.oas.org/

One World - Nations Online
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/
This is a one-stop-shop that provides access to official and unofficial country homepages, comparative information about cities and continents, information about cultures, human rights, literacy, and other topics.

World Legal Information Institute: Countries
http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/215.html

Citing Your Sources

For help using MLA Style, consult the following resources:

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
Reference Desk Reserve 808 M689h (at Reference Desk)

Trexler Library Handout on using MLA Style
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/mla_example.pdf
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website.  Library Homepage --  Citation Guides (in the Research Help box).

Writer's Handbook (Writing Center, University of Wisconsin--Madison)
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocMLA.html

© Muhlenberg College,
Last modified: 19 September 2008