WestMUNC Delegate Research Links
Online resources
United Nations system sites:
- www.unsystem.org
- Issues on UN agenda
- Key UN Documents
- UN InfoNation: International Comparisons
- UN Bibliographic Information System
- UN Documentation Centre
Online foreign affairs resource pages:
These three pages have a staggeringly comprehensive list of online resources
available for international and geopolitical studies. Virtually all information
that a delegate needs for WestMUNC can be found here.
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies:
http://www.sais-jhu.edu/library/Links/internet_resources/internet_resources.htm
Mansfield University International and Area Studies:
http://lib.mansfield.edu/country.html
Georgetown University Center for Peace and Security Studies:
http://cpass.georgetown.edu/links.htm
Selected links - Country studies:
Government resources:
- The CIA World Factbook <www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>
The authoritative source for statistical information on the nations of the
world, compiled by the US Central Intelligence Agency. Offers an almost overwhelming
number of facts and figures.
- Library of Congress Global Gateway <international.loc.gov>
Library of Congress researchers have compiled both an extensive directory of
links on nations as well as comprehensive studies of nations. An excellent
resource; one not to be missed.
- United Nations Statistics Division <unstats.un.org>
More numbers, for those of you who like that sort of thing: this time, compiled
by United Nations researchers. Databases on social & demographic indicators, energy and environment statistics, and industry statistics — but you have to pay to access many of them.
Commercial resources:
- CountryWatch <www.countrywatch.com>
This website offers a plethora of information and economic and political forecasts
for countries — but requires a fairly expensive subscription fee for virtually all this useful information. WestMUNC delegates can find information on political history and environmental conditions for free.
Non-governmental resources:
- Governments on the WWW <http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/>
This hand-compiled database has an incredibly comprehensive selection of country
links for not only nation-states, but multinational governmental organizations.
A simply staggering amount of information, and should be a required stop for
all delegates.
- Political Resources on the Net <www.politicalresources.net/>
Another good database of government and media links for most nations represented
in WestMUNC.
Selected news and media links:
The Associated Press <www.ap.com>
The AP news service is a US-based newswire organization.
Reuters <www.reuters.com>
Reuters is an older British newswire service.
Articles from both AP and Reuters can be found on Yahoo! News: <news.yahoo.com>
American newspapers:
The New York Times <www.nytimes.com>
This venerable newspaper is ubiquitous in Westchester and has excellent international
and US news coverage. Editorials tend to be center-left in political viewpoint,
although the Times usually gives fair grounds for conservative responses
in its op-ed pages. Generally considered to be the newspaper of record in the
United States.
The Washington Post <www.washingtonpost.com>
The sister newspaper to the New York Times; less pretentious writing
style and more coverage of Capitol Hill issues. Another excellent source for
news and opinions; also regarded to have a center-left political stance.
The Wall Street Journal <www.wsj.com>
Financial news and analysis, as well as strong international news coverage
and analysis. Tends toward strongly neoconservative political stances in news
analysis and editorials.
The Washington Times <www.washingtontimes.com>
Conservative newspaper begun as counterbalance to the Washington Post’s
perceived leftist slant. Useful source for right-leaning news analysis and
editorials.
International newspapers:
The Economist <www.economist.com>
Influential conservative British newsweekly notable for its superbly authoritative
international news coverage and analysis, and read by business and political
leaders across the world. Essential reading for anyone interested in international
affairs, although infested by that peculiarly British sense of humor.
The Times <www.thetimes.com>
Left-leaning British daily newspaper; the rough British equivalent to the New York Times.
Ha’aretz <www.haaretzdaily.com>
Center-left Israeli newspaper, excellent for coverage of Middle Eastern and
Israel-Palestinian conflict issues.
Many more world newspapers can be found at these excellent international newspaper
portals:
www.world-newspapers.com
www.online-newspapers.com
directory.google.com/Top/News/