This guide defines politics as the governance of a country including their relations and public affairs.
Please apply the search strategies outlined in Introduction to Finding Data with the keywords below to help orchestrate a search to find datasets related to politics.
Keywords: election, governance, bureaucratic, democracy, legislative, congress, senate, war, treaty
"Repository of detailed electron results at the constituency level for lower chamber and upper chamber legislative elections around the world." Those funding the database can be found here.
"The GTD includes systematic data on domestic as well as transnational and international terrorist incidents that have occurred during this time period and now includes more than 200,000 cases. For each GTD incident, information is available on the date and location of the incident, the weapons used and nature of the target, the number of casualties, and--when identifiable--the group or individual responsible."
IDEA hosts a series of databases on direct democracy, electoral justice, electoral management design, electoral system design, gender quotas, information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Elections, political finance, voter turnout, and voting from abroad. A list of partners can be found here.
"The PDBA offers centralized and systematized information about institutions and political processes, national constitutions, branches of government, elections, political constitutional studies, and other subjects related to the strengthening of democracy in the region." CLAS at Georgetown University, Organization of American States, and FLASCO-Chile.
Open Secrets tracks campaign contributions and lobbying data. A list of funders of this 501(c)3 can be found here.
"SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control, and disarmament." A list of those funding SPIRI can be found here.
The primary provider of data on organized violence, including those relating to war, protests, elections, and supporters of conflicts. Funded by Uppsala Universitet, the Sweedish Research Council, and the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (Sweedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences).
The government database primarily focuses on campaign finance data, including the raising, spending, and loaning of money, it's filings and reports, candidates and committees, external resources, and campaign finance statistics.
Political Disclaimer: Working with political data requires a heightened awareness of ethical considerations due to their potential impact on public perception, policy decisions, and democratic processes. Researchers and analysts should prioritize transparency, accuracy, and impartiality in their data collection, analysis, and reporting. Ethical considerations include protecting individual privacy and confidentiality, ensuring data accuracy and reliability, avoiding bias in data selection and interpretation, and refraining from the manipulation or misrepresentation of data to advance specific political agendas. Additionally, researchers must be cautious when using personal information obtained from publicly available sources and adhere to data protection laws and regulations. The ethical handling of political data is crucial for maintaining public trust, promoting informed political discourse, and upholding the integrity of democratic principles.