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Course Research Guide Latin American Politics Political Science 598 Selected Resources
<-- Return to Latin American Studies subject guide <-- Return to Political Science subject guide	Day of the Heroic Guerilla, c.1968. Designed by Elena Serrano and published by OSPAAAL. From the Cuban poster collection in the International Institute of Social History.

Reference Books | Online Indexes & Databases | News Sources | Primary Sources
Policy & Advocacy Groups | Public Opinion Polls & Statistics | Web Sites

Reference  Books

Calvert, Peter, ed. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Latin America. London, New York: Europa Publications, 2004.
F1406 .C35 2004 HAYDEN REFERENCE

Country Studies/Area Handbook Series. Washington, D.C.: U.S Federal Research Division.
HAYDEN US DOCUMENTS and ONLINE
The Library of Congress’ Area Handbook Series provides excellent introductions to an individual country’s history, society, politics, economy, and military. Older editions are published under the title Area Handbook of [Country]. Newer editions can be found under the title [Country]: A Country Study.
URL: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html.

Dent, David W. The Legacy of the Monroe Doctrine: A Reference Guide to U.S. Involvement in Latin America and the Caribbean. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.
F1418 .D458 1999 HAYDEN REFERENCE & WEST STACKS
A valuable reference work containing essays and chronologies of major events for all Latin American states and four Commonwealth Caribbean countries.

Diccionario Electoral. 3rd ed. 2 vols. México, D.F.: UNAM: Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas: Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación: IFE, Instituto Federal Electoral: Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos (CAPEL), 2003.
JF1001 .D49 2003 HAYDEN REFERENCE
Published by the Interamerican Institute for Human Rights (IIDH), this two-volume resource is comprised of 145 lengthy definitions written by specialists for essential terms used in and to describe Latin American electoral systems.

Freedom in the World 2005. New York; Washington: Freedom House, 1978-
JC 571 .F75x 2005 HAYDEN REFERENCE
Published annually with the latest edition kept in Hayden Refence, this is annual survey of political rights and civil liberties across the world. See also: http://freedomhouse.org/

Gross, Liza, ed. Handbook of Leftist Guerrilla Groups in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.
F1410 .G83 1995 HAYDEN REFERENCE and WEST STACKS
Concise treatment of leftist guerrilla groups - Marxist-Leninist, Trotskyist, Maoist, Guevaraist, Castroist - in 19 countries includes important information on each organization's date of origin, its principal leadership, and its core ideology.

Gunson, Phil, et. al. The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of Central America and the Caribbean. London: Routledge, 1991.
F2183 .G86 1991b  HAYDEN REFERENCE
Alphabetically-arranged dictionary with cross-references provides easy look-up for key terms and figures.

Henderson, James D., et. al.  A Reference Guide to Latin American History. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, c2000 .
F1410 .R395 2000 HAYDEN REFERENCE 
Provides very useful general and topical chronologies.

The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's Who. 53rd ed. Leiden; The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1953-

JA 51 .I57 no. 53 2006 HAYDEN REFERENCE
Latest edition is kept in reference and contains international and national organizations, countries of the world and 6,000 biographies of leading personalities in public life and more.

Kapiszewski, Diana, ed.  Encyclopedia of Latin American Politics. Westport, CT; London: Oryx Press, 2002.
F1410 .E56 2002  HAYDEN REFERENCE
Source of basic information on Latin American politics in the past two centuries. Arranged by country with useful bibliographies and webliographies at the end of each chapter.

Nudelman, Ricardo. Diccionario de política latinoamericana del siglo XX. México, DF: Editorial Océano de México, 2001.
F1414 .N83 2001 HAYDEN REFERENCE

Rossi, Ernest E.  Latin America: A Political Dictionary. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, c1992.
F1406 .R67 1992  HAYDEN REFERENCE
Provides specific definitions for Latin American politics within thematic categories.

Szajkowski, Bogdan, ed. Political Parties of the World. 6th ed. London: John Harper Publishing, 2005.
JF 2051 .D397 2005 HAYDEN REFERENCE
Provides detailed and current sketches of political parties in each respective country, including web addresses when available.

Szajkowski, Bogdan, ed. Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of the World. 4th ed. London: John Harper Publishing, 2004.
JC 328.3 .D43 2004 HAYDEN REFERENCE

Companion volume to the source above that provides informational entries for groups which seek to challenge the legal parties.

Tenenbaum, Barbara A., et. al.  Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. New York: C. Scribner's Sons: Macmillan Library Reference USA: Simon & Schuster Macmillan; London: Simon & Schuster: Prentice Hall International, c1996.
F1406 .E53 1996 HAYDEN REFERENCE 

Online Indexes & Databases

America: History and Life (1954+)
This is the essential abstract index for literature on American history. It contains abstracts from American and foreign journals on all aspects of U.S. and Canadian history from the prehistoric period to the present.

CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online (1991+).
Comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. Includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences.

CQ Library (CQ Weekly and CQ Researcher)
(1983+) A service from Congressional Quarterly Inc. that provides access to two of CQ's premier publications, the CQ Weekly and The CQ Researcher.

Global Views and Voices 
The database includes more than 2,500 articles and 200 photo essays on more than 100 key topics of global relevance, written by more than 600 authors from 58 countries. Global Views and Voices juxtaposes the views of leading thinkers with local and personal perspectives on current events, globalization, media, development, culture, and the arts, from writers around the world.

Handbook of Latin American Studies (1935+)
Also available in print: Z 1605 .H23  HAYDEN REFERENCE (Index Table 2)
Selected, annotated bibliography on Latin America edited by the Library of Congress’s Hispanic Division. Alternates annually between the social sciences and the humanities. Offers Latin Americanists an essential guide to available resources. Chapter headings in print volumes give good overviews of current research trends by discipline.

Hispanic American Periodicals Index (1970+)
Also available in print: F 1401 .H5x HAYDEN REFERENCE (Index Table 2)
Indexes information on Central & South America, Mexico, the Caribbean basin, the U.S.-Mexico border region, & Hispanics in the United States in over 400 journals worldwide. Covers analyses of current political, economic & social issues as well as Latin American arts & letters.

Historical Abstracts (1954+)
Covers the world's scholarly literature in history. Includes article abstracts and bibliographic citations of books and dissertations on the history of the world from 1450 to the present, except for the United States and Canada.

International Political Science Abstracts (1989+)
Topics include method and theory; political thinkers and ideas; political and administrative institutions; political process (public opinion, attitudes, parties, forces, groups, elections); international relations; and national and area studies.

*PAIS International (1972+).
Index to political, economic, & social issues in current debate. Covers public & social policy literature of business, economics, finance, law, international relations, public administration, government, political science, & other social sciences.

Periodicals Index Online (formerly PCI) (1770-1995)
Periodical Index Online is an electronic index to the contents of millions of articles published in more than 4,300 periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences from their first issues to 1995. More than 325 of these journals are in Spanish. Full-text access is linked to and available through Periodicals Archives Online (PAO).  more

Political Risk Services
Provides political, geographical, social, and economic data on 100 countries. Includes brief overviews and comprehensive country reports. Ideal tool to determine economic risk for international business. 

Social Sciences Full Text
(1983+) Covers concepts, theories, and methodologies in all areas of the social sciences. Subjects covered include anthropology, criminology, economics, law, geography, policy studies, psychology, sociology, social work, and urban studies.

*Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (1975+)
Supplies up-to-date bibliographic information and research within the political science discipline and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration/policy.

News Sources

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
Provides data and forecasts about political, economic, and business climates of various regions and up to 200 countries as well as related news, analysis, and risk factor assessments. Includes the online version of the Country Report series, the Country Profile series, Country Commerce, Country Finance, the Business Briefings series, the Economist, Global Outlook, and selected Country Forecast series.

Global NewsBank (1996+).
Information on international issues and events taken from more than 1,500 international sources, including translated broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government documents.

INFO-LATINOAMERICA (1988+)
Formerly known as INFO-SOUTH, this resource provides access to the business, political, legal and socio-economic trends of the entire Latin American region. It includes bibliographic recourds, full-text articles, abstracts, and detailed summaries on Latin American current events, business, and legislation from over 1,500 mostly non-U.S. media sources. more

Left Index (1982+)
Indexes leftist & radical media from around the world. Covers political, economic, social & cultural issues, including the labor movement, ecology & environment, race & ethnicity, sociology, art, philosophy, history, education, & globalization.

ISLA (Information Services Latin America)
A non-profit organization which provides alternative media coverage on Latin America.

*Latin American Newsletters
(1967+) An online collection of current news sources in English comprised of local news digests from Latin America and the Caribbean, regional reports, personal briefings, special bulletins, research analyses, 5-year forecasts, etc. 

LexisNexis Academic
News aggregator provides selective archival full-text access to hundreds of newspapers from Spain and Latin America, including El Pais, El Mundo, Proceso, La Jornada, El Nuevo Dia, etc.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-1999)
Full-text and full-image database of articles published in The New York Times.

*UK Guardian Unlimited World News Guide
Handy country-by-country directory of major news web sites.
URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldnewsguide

*UT-Lanic’s Latin American Newspapers
Reliable and comprehensive source of links to newspapers in Latin America and around the world: regional, country, international, and U.S. Spanish-language resources.
URL: http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/news

Primary Sources

Declassified Documents Reference System - U.S. (1941-1992)
Includes full text of more than 500,000 pages of declassified U.S. government documents. Covers nearly every major foreign and domestic event from the end of World War II through the 1970s: the Cold War, Vietnam, foreign policy shifts, the civil rights movement, etc.

Latin American Microform Project (LAMP)
Since 1975, this cooperative microform project of CRL and SALALM has been acquiring and maintaining microforms of unique, scarce, rare, and/or bulk and voluminous research materials pertaining to Latin America. See the "Guide to the Collection" as well as CRL's "Guide to Foreign Newspapers" on LAMP's home page.
URL: http://www.crl.edu/areastudies/LAMP

Library Research Using Primary Sources
U.C. Berkeley's Teaching Library's guide to using primary sources includes a helpful working definition and advice on where and how to begin original research.
URL: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/PrimarySources.html

Primary Sources in History: A Guide to Microform Collections at ASU
Describes history source materials available at Arizona State University, as well as a selection of microforms located at NAU, UA, and the Center for Research Libraries.  Its purpose is to promote the use of sets and collections that, because of their publication in microformats, are relatively neglected.
URL: http://www.asu.edu/lib/hayden/ref/his/primary/

Using Primary Sources on the Web
Brief guide is designed to provide students and researchers with information to help them evaluate the internet sources and the quality of primary materials that can be found online. Written by the Instruction & Research Services Committee of the Reference and User Service Association and User Service Association (RUSA) in the American Library Association.
URL: http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/history/rusa/

Policy & Advocacy Groups (NGOs)

Amnesty International
Worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.
URL: http://www.amnesty.org/

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs
A nonprofit, tax-exempt independent research and information organization established to promote the common interests of the hemisphere, raise the visibility of regional affairs and increase the importance of the inter-American relationship, as well as encourage the formulation of rational and constructive U.S. policies towards Latin America.

URL: http://www.coha.org/

Elections Around the World
Maintains an updated list of all recent natiional elections. Also provides short breakdown of party composition of National Congresses and Parliaments with a brief description of the political parties.
URL: http://www.electionworld.org/

*Freedom House
Provides special reports on certain countrries and situations, as well as a ranking of countries by degrees of political freedom civil liberties.
URL: http://freedomhouse.org/

Human Rights Watch - Americas
Accessible in multiple languages, this site is maintained by an independent, nongovernmental organization, provides up-to-date news releases, briefing papers, comprehensive reports, and more for the Latin American region.
URL: http://hrw.org/doc/?t=americas

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Carries the commision's annual report as well as reports on selected country visits.
URL: http://www.cidh.oas.org/

Inter-American Development Bank
Contains reports on various economic and social issues, including poverty and inequality, rural development, health, fiscal reform and finance, etc.
URL: http://www.iadb.org/

*The Inter-American Dialogue
The premier center for policy analysis, exchange, and communication on issues in Western Hemisphere affairs.
URL: http://www.thedialogue.org/

*Polling the Nations Online
The database includes compilation of questions and responses from national, state, local and special surveys covering subjects from social and political concerns to economic issues. Information is gathered from professional polling organizations, television networks, universities, newspapers, businesses and associations.

*Transparency International
Tracks the extent of economic and governmental corruption throughout the world.  Conducts a reputational survey on which a ranking is made of some 90 countries.
URL: http://www.transparency.org/

World Values Survey
A worldwide investigation of sociocultural and political change. It is conducted by a network of social scientist at leading universities all around world.

URL: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org

UT-LANIC’s List of NGOs
Regularly updated list of non-governmental organizations: regional resources, country resources, and international organizations.
URL: http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/ngos

Public Opinion Polls & Statistical Sources

Internet Modern History Sourcebook
This web portal is one of the family of Internet History Sourcebooks which are collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts compiled under the direction of Paul Halsall of Fordham University.   Within this site are specific Latin American sub-sites: e.g. 19th Century Latin America; and 20th Century Latin America.
URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html

Organization of American States (OAS)
Informational web site for 35-member inter-American organization founded in 1948.
URL:  http://www.oas.org

Political Database of the Americas/Newspapers & Journals
Created by the Georgetown University Center for Latin American Studies and the Organization of American States, this site is designed to provide Internet access to primary sources on Latin American politics. This includes the full text of constitutions, electoral laws, information from the legislative and executive branches of governments, as well as election data. Also useful is the site's links to newspapers and journals from the region.
URL: http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba

Portals to the World: Iberia, the Caribbean, and Latin America
List of web sites selected and annotated by subject experts in the Library of Congress' Hispanic Division. Part of the ongoing Portals to the World project which aims to provide authoritative in-depth information about all the nations and areas of the world.
URL: http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/hispanic/countries/countries.html

SOSIG's Election Data for Latin America and the Caribbean
SOSIG, the British Social Science  Information Gateway provides links to the major election sites from candidates, political parties, pressure groups and newspapers.
URL: http://www.sosig.ac.uk/roads/subject-listing/World-cat/samerelect.html

U.S. Department of State: Human Rights Country Reports
Contains the annual reports issued by the Department of State on the condition of human rights of individual countries.
URL: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/

The World Bank
Data & Research and Publications sections of site contain useful reports, etc.

URL: http://www.worldbank.org/

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<-- Return to Political Science subject guide

Created by Claude Potts: March 13, 2005
Last Updated: June 6, 2006