Governments and Politics of Africa


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Jen Jarson
Social Sciences Reference Librarian
phone: x3552
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Selected Reference Materials

Arnold, Guy. Historical Dictionary of Civil Wars in Africa. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 960 A752h (Level A)

*Europa World Year Book. London, England: Europa Publications Limited, 2009.
Call Number: Trexler Library Ready Reference 341.1 E89 (Level A)
Note: Previous editions (1966- ) in Main Collection at same call number.

Lipschutz, Mark R. and R. Kent Rasmussen. Dictionary of African Historical Biography, 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 920.067 D554o (Level A)

Olson, James Stuart. The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 305.80096 O52p (Level A)

*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., 2009.
Call Number: Trexler Library Ready Reference 329 P769 (Level A)
Note: Earlier editions (1928-) are available in the Main Collection at the same call number.

Reich, Bernard. Handbook of Political Science Research on the Middle East and North Africa. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 956.0072 R347h (Level A)

Shillington, Kevin, ed. Encyclopedia of African History. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2004.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 960.03 56o v.1-3 (Level A)

Yakan, Muhammad Zuhdi. Almanac of African Peoples and Nations. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1999.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 305.8096 Y15a (Level A)

Zeleza, Paul Tiyambe and Dickson Eyoh, eds. Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 960.3103 E56o (Level A)

Specific to North Africa

Mattar, Philip, ed. Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, 2nd ed. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 956.003 E56o v.1-4 (Level A)

Reich, Bernard, ed. Handbook of Political Science Research on the Middle East and North Africa. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 956.0072 R347h (Level A)

Specific to Sub-Saharan Africa

Middleton, John, ed. Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1997.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 967.003 E56o v.1-4 (Level A)

Statistics

Mitchell, B. R. International Historical Statistics, 1750-2000, 4th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Call Number: Trexler Library Statistics Reference 310 M681i v.1-3 (Level A)
Note: Volume 1 covers Africa, Asia & Oceania.

United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008/2008.
Call Number: Trexler Library Statistics Reference 338.9 H918d (Level A)
Note: Previous years in Main Collection at same call number.
Note: Also available online (1990-present). Search the Trexler Library catalog by title or go directly to http://hdr.undp.org/.

United Nations. Statistical Office. Statistical Yearbook. New York: United Nations, 2007.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 310 U58s (Level A)
Note: Every 5th year (1965- ) in Main Collection at same call number.

World Bank. World Development Indicators. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2009.
Call Number: Trexler Library Statistics Reference 330.91 W927d (Level A)
Note: Previous editions in Reference Collection at same call number.

World Bank. World Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Call Number: Trexler Library Reference Collection 330.91724 W927 (Level A)
Note: Previous editions (2005-2008) in Reference Collection at same call number. Previous editions (1978-2004) in Main Collection at same call number.
Note: Also available online (1992-present). Search the Trexler Library catalog by title or go directly to http://econ.worldbank.org/wdr/.

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.

Library of Congress Country Studies: Area Handbook Series
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/
"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.

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  --  Library Catalogs (in the Quick Links box)  --  Trexler Library Catalog

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  --  Library Catalogs (in Quick Links box)  --  Other Library Catalogs -- WorldCat

Finding Articles: Databases & Indexes

SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES

Political Science and International Relations Databases

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

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.

Other Subject-Specific Databases

Anthropology Plus
Premier anthropology database. Useful in political science for finding articles about ethnic and tribal groups. Also some articles on civil society, development issues, and related issues.

EconLit (Economic Literature)
Journals, books, and working papers on economics.

Historical Abstracts
The primary database for locating articles on world history.

Sociological Abstracts (SocAbs)
Useful for researching social issues as they relate to the state. Also contains some of the development literature.

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.

Lexis Nexis Academic
Indexes and provides full-text of major newspapers, nationally and internationally (English Language editions only). Also includes newswires, and select journals and magazines. Coverage from as early as 1980 to the present, but varies by publication.

OmniFile (WilsonWeb)
Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines.

World News Connection (Must use login and password.)
Excellent source, along with LexisNexis, for international newspapers. These are foreign language newspapers that have been translated to English.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

  1. When searching for articles in library databases, 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 or by ISSN . 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  --  Interlibrary Loan (in the Quick Links box)  --  Articles request form). Fill out the form with as much information as possible. Ask for help, if you have questions.

U.S. Government Documents

Muhlenberg College receives about 30% of all materials published by the U.S. 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.


Selected Websites

African Studies Center (University of Pennsylvania)
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/AS.html

African Studies Internet Resources (Columbia University)
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/

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

World Legal Materials from Africa (Cornell University Law School)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/world/africa.html

Selected Organizations

African Union
http://www.africa-union.org/

International Monetary Fund: Country Information
http://www.imf.org/external/country/index.htm

United Nations
http://www.un.org/english/

Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (UN)
http://www.un.org/africa/osaa/

Economic Commission for Africa (UN)
http://www.uneca.org/

World Bank: Sub-Saharan Africa
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/

World Bank: Middle East & North Africa
http://www.worldbank.org/mena

World Trade Organization
http://www.wto.org/

Regional Economic Organizations

CEN-SAD: Community of Sahel-Saharan States
http://www.cen-sad.org/

COMESA: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
http://www.comesa.int/

ECCAS: Economic Community of Central African States
http://www.ceeac-eccas.org/index.php?lang=en&pageId=0 (English)

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

IGAD: Intergovernmental Authority on Development
http://www.igad.org/

SADC: Southern African Development Community
http://www.sadc.int/

UMA: Union du Maghreb Arabe
http://www.maghrebarabe.org/

Conference Papers

International Studies Association Paper Archive
http://www.isanet.org/paperarchive/

Citing Your Sources

For help using Chicago/Turabian Style, consult the following resources:

The Chicago manual of style, 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.027 C632m (at Reference Desk)

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Reference Desk Reserve 808 T929m 1996 (at Reference Desk)

Trexler Library handout on using Chicago style: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/chicago_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/DocChicago.html

© Muhlenberg College
Last modified: 12 September 2009