Research Guides: International Relations & Foreign Policy: Country Research

Get Started with Country Profiles

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics This link opens in a new window
Use for topics related to the country and politics. Find sources by tracing linked citations.

Political Handbook of the World
Publication Date: Published annually
Facts and analysis on each country's government, political and economic history, foreign relations, political parties, and current issues. This is a must-use resource when studying a country's politics, and is particularly strong for understanding political parties.

Europa World This link opens in a new window
Select the country in the upper right drop menu, and be sure to click into the country profile for political history, constitution and government, regional and international relationships and more.

CIA World Fact Book
Get started here for basic country information. Select country from search box at the top right. Subjects include geography, transportation and more.
BBC Country Profiles
These profiles are particularly useful for media clips and photos and quick historical timelines.

Political Science Complete (and Military Collection)
It can be helpful to search for the country's name as a subject in the drop menu.

PAIS This link opens in a new window
This is the best place to start for articles, books, government information, and research reports on topics related to public affairs and public policy. Coverage is international. Be sure to click the blue "Other SMU Options" button to get the full text.
Library Search - Advanced This link opens in a new window
Use Library Search to find books about the country. Make the country's name a subject using the drop menu.

Foreign Affairs (1922-present)
News and analysis on global issues and policy, from the Council on Foreign Relations.
Foreign Policy (1990-present)
American news publication focused on global affairs, current events, and domestic and international policy
Current History (1914-present)
Scholarly journal dedicated to explaining global events and trends

ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window
This is your best bet for articles about a country's government in relation to business. Search for the country's name as "location/LOC."
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
This is another database for topics related to government, politics, and business
View the Company Research and Industry Research tutorials for more insights.

OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
Get reports on economics, education, governance and more for specific countries. Reports include statistics and information to give context to the numbers. Browse by country and theme.

World Bank: Open Knowledge Repository
A collection of studies and documents from the World Bank. Click Collections to browse by resource type. Look for Country Strategy Documents and Economic and Sector Work Studies. Click Topics to browse or search for your topic.
United States Institute of Peace: Regions & Countries
Find research, policy analysis publications on topics related to conflict, peace, and stability by country. USIP is a nonpartisan group that works to promote peace.
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance: Publications
Reports on topics related to democracy and elections
Election Guide
Search for election information by country, type of government, and year to find dates of elections, results, and voter turnout.
Wikipedia: Elections by Country
Links to elections by country. Find election results by party and background on electoral system.
Freedom House
Locate continent and country information about human rights and democracy efforts.
UN Human Development Index Reports
The Human Development Report Office releases five composite indices each year: the Human Development Index (HDI), the Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), the Gender Development Index (GDI), the Gender Inequality Index (GII), and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

Country Politics and Economy
Find resources for articles, statistics and data on specific countries.