Government: Recommended Websites

The Avalon Project will mount digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. We do not intend to mount only static text but rather to add value to the text by linking to supporting documents expressly referred to in the body of the text.

Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions.

The World Factbook (also known as the CIA World Factbook) is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The Factbook provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 266 U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.

The "Comparative Political Data Set" (CPDS) is a collection of political and institutional country-level data provided by Prof. Dr. Klaus Armingeon and collaborators at the University of Berne. It consists of annual data for 36 democratic countries for the period of 1960 to 2014 or since their transition to democracy.

The CSES Secretariat is in cooperation between the Center for Political Studies and GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, with support from the American National Science Foundation, GESIS, and the University of Michigan.

Country profiles and information documents prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress.

The world's constitutions to explore and compare

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

Our mission is to document threats to the First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition, all rights that are critical to self-governance in a democratic society. We agree with James Madison, author of the First Amendment, who recognized the “right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right.”

Our mission is to foster First Amendment freedoms for all.

The Free Speech Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy center dedicated to building understanding of the five freedoms of the First Amendment through education, information and engagement. It does not participate in litigation or lobbying. Note the First Amendment Encyclopedia

The Gerrymandering Project does nonpartisan analysis to understand and eliminate partisan gerrymandering at a state-by-state level.

Use GovTrack to track bills for updates by getting alerts and understand the broader context of legislation through our statistical analyses. Read our original research on GovTrack Insider and in our congressional misconduct database.

For more than five decades, IPS scholar-activists have provided critical support for major social movements by producing seminal books, films, and articles; educating key policymakers and the general public; and crafting practical strategies in support of peace, justice, and the environment.

We are a small research, engineering, and editorial group housed at the Cornell Law School in Ithaca, NY. Our collaborators include publishers, legal scholars, computer scientists, government agencies, and other groups and individuals that promote open access to law, worldwide. We are supported by private donations, corporate sponsorships, and our parent institution, the Cornell Law School.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.

The National Constitution Center brings together people of all ages and perspectives, across America and around the world, to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives. Our goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all. We draw on 60 years of experience and insights to better prepare the world of tomorrow.

The QOG Institute at the University of Gothenburg studies good governance and corruption on a global scale. QoG provides a range of datasets available for free, and data visualization tools. QoG Standard Dataset contains the most qualitative variables from the Standard Dataset. The QoG Expert Survey is a dataset based on our survey of experts on public administration around the world, available in an individual dataset and an aggregated dataset covering 107 countries.The QoG OECD dataset covers countries who are members of the OECD. The EU Regional Data consists of 450 variables from Eurostat and other sources, covering three levels of European regions - country, major socio-economic regions and basic regions for the application of regional policies.

The new commentary, news, and resource hub covers state constitutional developments nationwide.

Welcome to the State Library’s Digital Collections, home to Commonwealth of Massachusetts state publications that have been digitized or published electronically. This repository includes documents published by the Massachusetts Legislature and other state agencies, as well as town reports and historical non-governmental materials.

The independent resource on global security

Welcome to Wex, LII's community-built, freely available legal dictionary and legal encyclopedia.

Country profiles prepared by World Bank staff are available for 157 nations. Sites provides direct links to the World Bank data catalog for each country along with access to the latest publications, news items, and development topics published by, or related to, World Bank operations.

The official website of he Commonwealth

MCC login required December 2016

October 2020

MCC login required 2018

September 17 is designated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. Learn more about the U.S. Constitution through our public programs, family activities, and online resources.

In September 1787, the Founders signed the most influential document in American history, the U.S. Constitution. On Constitution Day, the National Constitution Center presents a series of programs and events highlighting the history and meaning of the amendment.

Note: The following text is a transcription of the Constitution as it was inscribed by Jacob Shallus on parchment (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflect the original.

2021

Welcome to the new eCFR! Check out our Getting Started guide to make the most of the new site.

Yes, I know it is Wikipedia bu it is also concise and relatively thorough.

The daily journal of the United States Government.

A backgrounder piece.

January 2023

Link to a PDF

Making government services easier to find