Assessing women's political party programs - best practices and recommendations 2008
http://www.ndi.org/node/15121
This site provides free access to a 101 page book published by the National Democratic Institute NDI in 2008. It assesses the effectiveness of a number of its programmes to encourage women's participation in political parties. Cases studies are provided from Morocco, Indonesia, Serbia and Nepal, to highlight effective policies and instances of good practice. These are then intended to form the basis of recommendations to encourage greater female political l;eadership worldwide.
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British Journal of Political Science
http://www.cambridge.org/journals/journal_catalogue.asp?historylinks=ALPHA&
The British Journal of Political Science is a leading political journal which is published quarterly by Cambridge University Press. It covers a broad range of political science topics including political theory, political philosophy, international relations and public policy worldwide. The website provides free access to abstracts and tables of contents from 1997 onwards. Some sample articles can be downloaded free of charge. The full-text is available to subscribers only.
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Building Political Parties: Reforming Legal Regulations and Internal Rules
http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~pnorris/Acrobat/Building%20political%20parties.
This site provides access to the full-text of a paper prepared by Pippa Norris for International IDEA. It gives an overview of the literature relating to strengthening political parties worldwide. This includes coverage of international rules relating to the regulation of parties, including the funding of parties, election campaigns and political donations. It then considers means to strengthen internal decision making processes within political parties. Users should note that the paper is in PDF format and therefore requires access to an Adobe Acrobat Reader for use.
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Discipline and process: a topography of power in the modern political party
http://www.psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2009/Rye.pdf
This site provides free access to a conference paper by Danny Rye which was delivered at the 2009 Political Studies Association conference, Manchester, April 2009. The 14 page paper develops a theoretical framework for examining issues relating to discipline within political parties. This involves consideration of structures of power within political parties.
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DiscovertheNetwork.org: A Guide to the Political Left
http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/
This guide is maintained by an editorial team headed by David Horowitz. It provides a free informative guide to the political left wing. It includes profiles of individuals, political parties and organisations with details of their purpose, funding and links to their websites. It also includes a library of articles which analyse these groups and study their inter-connections. The site state that these materials are subjective and rely upon the personal opinions of the authors. Topics covered include: socialism, marxism, radical Islam and anti-war movements.
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European Peoples Party (EPPE)
http://www.epp.eu/
The European Peoples Party (EPP) is the largest political grouping within the European Parliament with approximately 180 members from all the states of the Union. It adopts a right of centre stance. Its members include Christian Democrat and conservative parties in the EU. Its website contains recent press releases and information on the structure and organisation of the group, plus a list of member parties. It is not to be confused with the more eurosceptic EPP-ED group in the European Parliament.
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Funding of Parties and Election Campaigns
http://www.idea.int/publications/funding_parties/index.cfm
This site provides access to the full-text of the book which was published in 2003 by International Idea (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) a collaborative body which promotes the growth of a democratic culture and to supports electoral processes worldwide.ISBN 9189098927. It provides a survey of regulations relating to the funding of political parties in a large number of nations worldwide. Issues considered include the strengths and weaknesses of different national laws, the relationship between political donations and corruption and opportunities for disclosure of funding sources. Users should note that the full-text is in PDF format and therefore requires access to an Adobe Acrobat Reader for use.
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Global Greens
http://www.globalgreens.info/
Global Greens is an international network of green parties, ecological and conservation movements founded in 2001. Its website provides information on the history, aims and current activities of the organisation. Its website is a good source of information on green parties worldwide as it maintains calendars of events, directories of national and regional green parties and regularly posts bibliographies of books and articles about green politics.
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Groupe de recherche sur la citoyenneté active
http://www.unige.ch/ses/resop/greca/
Le Groupe de recherche sur la citoyenneté active (greca) is based at the University of Geneva. It is a specialist group conducting research on political participation and mobilisation in Europe. Its website provides information in French about the aims of the group, its membership and activities. This includes free access to some of its research reports, working papers and statistical data. Topics covered include the changing nature of social and political movements, political party membership, political participation and mobilisation.
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Hague and Harrops Internet Guide to Comparative Politics
http://www.palgrave.com/politics/hague/internet_guide.htm
This site provides access to a collection of extracts and supplementary materials to the textbook 'Comparative Government and Politics:an Introduction' by Rod Hague and Martin Harrop which is published by Palgrave Press. It includes chapter notes, sample essay questions and topics for discussion. Also available is a useful Internet guide which points students to key sites mentioned in the book. These cover basic topics such as political parties, elections, constitutions, legislatures, central, federal and local government. All sites are in English.
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IDEA's database of political party reports
http://www.idea.int/parties/country_reports.cfm
This database is maintained by International Idea (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). It provides information on political parties worldwide. This includes coverage of rules relating to political donations, state funding and regulation. Most of the reports were written after dialogue with the political parties. They also discuss future needs for democratic political party development. Information can be browsed by region. Information on the methodology used to compile the database is accessible.
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Illicit political finance and state capture
http://www.idea.int/resources/analysis/illicit_politic_finance.cfm
This site provides free access to the text of a discussion paper by David Kupferschmidt which was published by International IDEA in August 2009. The 49 page report was published as part of the preparatory process for a 2009
Democracy Round Table co-organized by International IDEA and Mexican institutions on the topic of Illicit Funding in Politics scheduled to take place in Mexico-City on 1 and 2 December 2009.It provides some discussion of the nature a, sources and problems associated with political corruption. Topics covered include bribery, funding from illicit drug trading, political finance of parties; lobbying and funding of political parties.
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Individual pathways in participation
http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/Images/Individual%20Pathwa
This site provides access to the full text of a 28 page pamphlet published in February 2007 by the the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC. It is the third in a series of special seminars entitled 'Engaging Citizens', organised by the ESRC in collaboration with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). It explores ways in which political participation amongst Uk citizens can be encouraged to create a deliberative democracy. This includes consideration of whether involvement in volunteering and community activities can result in participation in politics. The full text is in PDF format.
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International Comparative Political Parties Project
http://www.janda.org/ICPP/index.htm
The International Comparative Political Parties Project was founded at Northwestern University by Kenneth Janda under a 1966 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation. This site provides access to information about the various stages of the project and a substantial amount of data collected by it. It includes the full-text of its major publication. Kenneth Janda, Political Parties: A Cross-National Survey (New York: The Free press, 1980). This contains information on 158 political parties operating from 1950 to 1962 in 53 countries. Also available is some data from Robert Harmel and Kenneth Janda's longitudinal assessment of "Environment, Performance, and Leadership in Party Change" from 1950 to 1990. This study covered 19 parties in four countries--the U.S., U.K, Germany, and Denmark.
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International Democrat Union
http://www.idu.org/
The International Democrat Union (IDU), sometimes known as Freedom International, is an international association of over 70 Conservative, Christian Democrat, Centre and Centre Right political parties. Its website provides information on the purpose of the organisation, a directory of its members with links to their Internet sites where available and news of current and forthcoming events.
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International IDEA Database on Political Finance Laws and Regulations
http://www.idea.int/parties/finance/db/
This database is maintained by International Idea (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). It provides information and data on laws and regulations relating to political finance in over 100 nations worldwide. This includes coverage of rules relating to political donations, state funding of politics, funding of political parties and disclosure rules. Information can be browsed by region. Information on the methodology used to compile the database is accessible.
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International Network of Liberal Women
http://www.inlw.org
An international organisation which seeks to expand the participation of women in liberal politics at local, national and international level and within Liberal parties world-wide. Its website provides information on the aims of the association, its membership and activities. It includes the full text of recent press releases and meeting reports. These provides insight into the participation of women in politics worldwide.
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International Political Science Association Research Committee on Political Finance and Political Corruption
http://rc20.ipsa.org/
This is the website of the Research Committee on Political Finance and Political Corruption, a specialist sub-group of the International Political Science Association. It provides information on the aims, membership and current research interests of the group. It includes lists of relevant papers and conferences. Topics covered include the role of money in politics; comparative and historical studies of political corruption, political donations and the funding of political parties.
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International Young Democrat Union
http://www.iydu.org/
The International Young Democrat Union (IYDU) is a global alliance of centre right political youth organizations who campaign for conservative free market policies. Its website provides information on the aims of the organisation, its membership and activities. It is a good starting point for tracing key centre right groups in different nations worldwide as it includes a directory of organisations with contact addresses and website links.
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IPSAs permanent online paper room 
http://paperroom.ipsa.org/
This website has been created by the International Political Science Association (IPSA) to provide free online access to its conference papers. These cover all areas of political science research, often focussing on cutting edge topics and examples of new areas. They include assessments of the state of the profession in different parts of the world and coverage of developments in political science education. It is possible to search by author. title and subject area. Materials are available from the 2009 conference onwards. Although there are also some earlier examples. Copyright information is displayed on the website.
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Is the party over? - the decline of party activism and membership across the democratic world
http://www.psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2009/Whiteley.pdf
This site provides free access to a conference paper by Paul Whiteley which was delivered at the 2009 Political Studies Association conference, Manchester, April 2009. The 37 page paper examines the state of political party membership in a number of western democratic countries. It then seeks to explain declining levels of interest and membership using a number of competing hypotheses.
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Leftist parties of the world
http://www.broadleft.org/
This is a useful directory of links to the Internet sites of left wing political parties worldwide. These include Marxists, socialists, anarchists, Leninists. They cover international organisations, political parties and social movements. It is possible to browse the list by region or political persuasion. Minimal annotations on content. Site maintained by Nico Biver.
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Liberal International
http://www.liberal-international.org/
The Liberal International (LI) is the world union of over 70 liberal parties in 48 countries and was founded in 1947. The LI coordinates the foreign policy work of its member parties, promotes freedom, tolerance, democracy, international understanding, the protection of human rights and an economy based on market principles and has consultative status as a Non-Governmental Organisation with the United Nations / ECOSOC, the Council of Europe. The website includes information on the membership of the union and its policies. It also includes the full-text of all the key Liberal International manifestos and accepted resolutions from 1947 to date. Also available is a transcript its most recent annual Isaiah Berlin lecture and a section which provides details of the organisations human rights programmes worldwide.
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Libertarian International Organization
http://www.libertarian-international.org/
The Libertarian International seeks to promote and coordinate the activities of Libertarian and anarchist political parties, organisations and movements worldwide. Its website provides information on Libertarian political philosophy, its also contains news, calendars of events and links to the websites of Libertarian organisations worldwide.
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Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy
http://www.nimd.org/
The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy was established in 2000 by a grouping of Dutch political parties (PvdA, VVD, CDA, D66, the Green-Left party, the Christian Union and SGP) to encourage and support democratic political development and multi-party political systems in developing democracies and nations in transition. Its website provides information on the aims and activities of the Institute. It includes free access to news headlines, plus full text handbooks on democratic development and reports on political party development in regions of the world such as Africa; Latin America and the post-communist nations.
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