Publisher: New York: Freedom House, annual.
Location: Firestone Library (F)
Call Number: JC571 .xG3 (1978- )
Current Volume: SSRC Ready Reference
Available Online: http://www.freedomhouse.org/ratings/index.htm
Since 1972, Freedom House has published an annual assessment of the state of freedom in all countries and select territories. Individual countries are evaluated based on a checklist of questions on political rights and civil liberties derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each country is assigned a rating for political rights and a rating for civil liberties. The combined average of each country's ratings determines an overall status of Free, Partly Free, or Not Free.

Publisher: Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2000.
Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
Call Number: JF1001 .I57 2000
A very useful encyclopedia that explains many key electoral concepts. Articles are written by notable experts, many ending with bibliographic references. The appendix "Basic Features of Parliamentary Elections" provides information on parliamentary elections covering 144 countries. "Basic Features of  Presidential Elections" provides information on presidential elections for 88 countries.

Publisher: Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications, irregular.
Location: Firestone Library (F)
Call Number: 7560.729 (1928-1970)
Call Number: JF37 .P6 (1975- )
Current Volume: SSRC Ready Reference
Provides essential political information about every country in the world, including heads of government, cabinet members, leaders and programs of political parties, representation in national legislatures, news media, and membership in international organizations. The handbook's primary focus is on government and development of the country's political climate.

Publisher: London: John Harper, 2005.
Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
Call Number: JF2051 .D39 2005q
Arranged by country, this book provides brief background information on each country, including its capital, population, and recent political history, followed by entries describing the country's major and minor political parties. Party information includes the official party name (generally in English), contact information (if available), party leadership, and a historical profile.

Publisher: New York: Facts On File, 1999.
Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
Call Number: JF2011 .W67 1999
This encyclopedia serves as a guide to the world's countries and where they stand in the spectrum of democracy and party politics. Articles provide descriptions of each country's institutions of government, historical background, electoral system, major parties, opposition parties, major social institutions and groups, and prospects for further political stability.

Top

Publisher: Washington, DC: International Foundation for Electoral Systems, irregular.
Available Online: via http://www.ifes.org/research_comm/publications.html (Winter 2000- )
This journal explores the role of elections in places of conflict and the challenge facing democracy in crisis.

Publisher: UK: Pergamon Press, quarterly.
Location: Firestone (F)
Call Number: JF1001 .E4 (1991-2002)
Available Online: via ScienceDirect (1995- ) (PU only)
This international journal focuses on the behavior of voters, the effect of electoral systems, and the rules pertaining to elections. Of special interest are the "Notes on Recent Elections" and "National Elections" features.

Publisher: Washington, DC: National Endowment for Democracy, quarterly.
Location: Firestone (F)
Call Number: JF1051 .J68  (1990- )
Available Online: via Project Muse (1995- ) (PU only)
This journal monitors and analyzes democratic regimes and movements in scores of countries around the world. Each issue features an "Election Watch" section that provides reports of recently decided and upcoming elections in developing nations and the postcommunist world.

Top

URL: www.cnn.com/WORLD/election.watch/
In partnership with the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) CNN provides this website for access to information on recent legislative, Presidential and referednum elections. Listings are arranged by region and country.

URL: www.electionworld.org/
Edited by Wilfried Derksen of the Netherlands, Electionworld provides a comprehensive database on the most recent election results, political parties, and parliaments on a country basis. Links to many additional sites related to elections and parliaments are provided.

URL: www.ifes.org/
IFES works to encourage democracy by providing expert technical assistance in all areas of election administration and election management. They supply election observation and analysis and are one of the world's leading centers of election information and resources. IFES develops programs that strengthen the rule of law, good governance, and civil society. The ElectionGuide.Org section provides an election calendar, as well as information on electoral structures, parties and candidates, and previous elections back to 1998. IFES publications include the journal Elections Today and several white papers.

URL: www.ipu.org/
The IPU is the international organization of parliaments of sovereign states, established in 1889. It is the focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace, cooperation and the firm establishment of representative democracy. Search the PARLINE database to find general information on each of the parliament's chambers, a description of the electoral system, and results of the most recent elections. The PARLIT database provides bibliographic references on books and articles dealing with parliamentary law and practice.

URL: dodgson.ucsd.edu/lij/
Housed at the University of California, San Diego, the Archive is a research collection of district level election results for approximately 350 national legislative elections in 26 countries. The objective of the Archive is to systematically collect election statistics in as much detail as possible. The catalog of holdings provides details for archive holdings of both print and online data, as well as access to data when it can be freely disseminated.

URL: www.georgetown.edu/pdba/
Housed at Georgetown University, this is a non-governmental Internet-based project that provides reference materials, primary documents, comparative studies, and statistical data for countries in the Western Hemisphere. The information is organized into themes of Constitutions and Constitutional Studies, Electoral Systems and Election Data, Decentralization, Political Parties, Executive Institutions, Legislative Institutions, Judicial Instituions,  and Civil Society.

URL: www.essex.ac.uk/elections/
Based in the Department of Government at the University of Essex, the principal aim of the project is to explain the role of electoral systems in the process of democratization in post-communist Europe. Its focus is on 12 countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Here users may find election laws, information on constituencies and candidates, and election results back to 1990.

Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
Call Number: JQ1879.A55 E44 1999
This book represents an attempt to collect elusive data on elections for the countries of Africa, including dates of elections, referenda and coups de etat; evolution of the electoral bodies; participation of parties and alliances; distribtutions of votes; conposition of parliaments; and lists of power holders. Individual sections are written by political scientists and include bibliographies for further refernence.

Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
Call Number: JQ38 .E6 2001
This is a similar effort to the volume above. This 2-volume set provides electoral data for the states of Asia and the Pacific. Vol.1. covers the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia, while vol.2 covers South East Asia, East Asia and the South Pacific.

Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
Call Number: JF1001 .E432 2005
Continuing the effort of the volumes above, this 2-volume set provides electoral data for all 35 countries in the Americas since the introduction of universal male suffrage. Vol.1. covers North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Vol.2 covers South America.

Publisher: New York: Groves Dictionaries, 2000.
Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
Call Number: JN94 .A95 C372 2000
Provides a systematic and standardized collection of general election results at the level of single constituencies for 18 Western European countries since the 19th Century. The accompanying CD-ROM provides access to the data in Excel, SPSS and SAS formats (see DSS Study No. 2762).

URL: news.google.com/
Google News presents information culled from approximately 4,500 news sources worldwide and automatically arranged to present the most relevant news first. Topics are updated continuously throughout the day. Google News pulls together related headlines and photos from thousands of sources, allowing users to see how different news organizations are reporting the same story. Very useful for breaking news.

Provides full text access to news from across the U.S. and around the world. Coverage of most newspapers goes back to the mid 1980s, but varies widely.

Provides full text access to select newspapers from around the world. Be sure to click on "The World" above the map of the U.S., then select the region and/or country. Coverage of papers varies, most start within the last few years.

Top

URL: www.aceproject.org/
The ACE Project is the result of a collaboration between the International Foundation for Election Systems, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Its main purpose is to widen the range of choices available to electoral administrators, provide complete and systematic information to those who design and implement electoral procedures, and support those who advise election management worldwide.

Publisher: Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1971-
Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
Call Number: K3157.A2 B528 1971
Loose-leaf copies of the constitutions of each of the countries of the world. Most are in English, with some only in the native languages. Constitutions provide authority for the election of heads of state and representative bodies. For more detailed election laws, see the legal sources available via Lexis Nexis and Westlaw, and other statutory sources.

URL: www.usaid.gov/democracy/index.html
Home page of the United States Agency for International Development's program to promote democracy worldwide. USAID's four democracy sectors cover rule of law, elections, civil society and governance. Their web site provides access to many technical publications.

URL: www.idea.int/
International IDEA is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Sweden with 18 member states and 4 international NGO associate members that exists to sustain and promote democracy around the world through a variety of in-country and thematic projects and programs. See their Voter Turnout section for turnout data on different countries.

URL: http://www.osce.org/
Headquartered Vienna, the OSCE is made up of 55 participating states from Europe, Central Asia and North America. It is active in early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation. The OSCE deals with a wide range of security-related issues, including human rights, democratization, election monitoring.

URL: www.transparency.org/
Transparency International is a civil society organization dedicated to curbing both international and national corruption. TI has developed a "national integrity system" by which anti-corruption activists adopt a holistic approach to reform. TI's publications include the Corruption Fighters' Tool Kit, Global Corruption Report, and Conflict of Interest: Legislators, Ministers and Public Officials. See the Corruption Online Research and Information System (CORIS).

Top