Internet Resources
This guide covers concepts related to the forms of government and political ideology. Information presented here covers resources available bot online and in McKee Library's collection.
- Political System: BritannicaPolitical system, the set of formal legal institutions that constitute a “government” or a “state.”
- World Government: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy“World government” refers to the idea of all humankind united under one common political authority. Proposals for a unified global political authority have existed since ancient times—in the ambition of kings, popes and emperors, and the dreams of poets and philosophers. Recently, some have argued that a world government is already here, or nascent in contemporary conditions of capitalist globalization.
- Law and Ideology: Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyIf law is a system of enforceable rules governing social relations and legislated by a political system, it might seem obvious that law is connected to ideology. Ideology refers, in a general sense, to a system of political ideas, and law and politics seem inextricably intertwined. Just as ideologies are dotted across the political spectrum, so too are legal systems. Thus we speak of both legal systems and ideologies as liberal, fascist, communist, and so on, and most people probably assume that a law is the legal expression of a political ideology.
Research & Reference
- Forms of Government: Credo ReferenceA Credo Reference landing page covering the forms of government. This page includes links to reference materials, journal articles, and a mind map.
Databases
- Humanities Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Humanities Source Ultimate offers access to key content covering literary, scholarly, and creative thought. It also includes hundreds of scholarly full-text journals cited in leading subject indexes to round out student research.
- Political Science Complete This link opens in a new window
Political Science Complete (PSC) provides access to scholarly works in the field of political science. Access full text for more than 520 journals, and indexing and abstracts for over 2,900 titles, including top-ranked scholarly journals.
Streaming Media
- Crash Course US Government and PoliticsIn which Craig Benzine introduces a brand new Crash Course about U.S. Government and Politics! This course will provide you with an overview of how the government of the United States is supposed to function, and we'll get into how it actually does function. The two aren't always the same thing. We'll be learning about the branches of government, politics, elections, political parties, pizza parties, and much, much more!
- Forms of Government 101Knowing how people elect their leaders and how those leaders govern nations is crucial to understanding how the world works. How countries elect their government and what type of government rules can have serious consequences in a nation’s future. Leaders can be democratic or authoritarian, or in between. Governments can also be democratically elected or manipulate elections, authoritarian systems can be toppled by reforms and revolutions, while democracies can gradually become less free by what we call democratic backsliding.
Perspectives
Ideology: a Very Short Introduction
Ideology is one of the most controversial terms in the political vocabulary, exciting both revulsion and inspiration. This book examines the reasons for those views, and explains why ideologies deserve respect as a major form of political thinking. It investigates the centrality of ideologyboth as a political phenomenon and as an organizing framework of political thought and action. It explores the changing understandings of ideology as a concept, and the arguments of the main ideologies. By employing the latest insights from a range of disciplines, the reader is introduced to thevitality and force of a crucial resource at the disposal of societies, through which sense and purpose is assigned to the political world.