Research Guides: POLS 055: Ethics and International Relations (SC): Researching Case Studies

Browse for cases

Try browsing these resources for possible case studies. Resources like CQ Researcher and Oxford Reference can give you basic information about conflicts and issues.

Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Researcher
Original reporting and analysis on issues in the news, focusing on the economy, education, the environment, health, international affairs, social trends, and technology. Published weekly, 1991-present.
Oxford Reference
Bringing together 2 million digitized entries across Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias, Oxford Reference is the premier online reference product, spanning 25 different subject areas with coverage from 2002 to the present.
Global Nonviolent Action Database This link opens in a new window
The Global Nonviolent Action Database is a repository of case studies on nonviolent action around the globe. Compiled by student researchers at Swarthmore College, with additional contricutions by students at Tufts and Georgetown Universities, the GNAD covers over 200 countries worldwide, from 1170 BCE to the present day. The GNAD can be searched or browsed by date, country, "wave" of campaigns, methods of nonviolent action, and more, and each case study includes details about the campaign's goals, participants, opponents, and success.

Environmental Justice Atlas
The EJAtlas maps and documents social conflict around environmental issues. Cases must meet these criteria:

- Economic activity or legislation with actual or potential negative environmental and social outcomes;
- Claim and mobilization by environmental justice organization(s) that such harm occurred or is likely to occur as a result of that activity
- Reporting of that particular conflict in one or more media stories.
ReliefWeb (UN)
Pulls together updated information about new and ongoing humanitarian crises around the world.

ReliefWeb's editorial team monitors more than 4,000 key sources, including humanitarian agencies at the international and local levels, governments, think-tanks and research institutions, and the media. (Project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)

History Overviews

These sources offer overviews of various historical time periods and themes. In addition to finding some basic historical details, you can use these sources to identify relevant readings to explore a particular case in greater depth.

Cambridge Histories Online
Searchable collection of e-books; useful starting point for exploring topics in history
Very Short Introductions
Launched by Oxford University Press in 1995, Very Short Introductions offer concise introductions to a diverse range of subject areas from Climate to Consciousness, Game Theory to Ancient Warfare, Privacy to Islamic History, Economics to Literary Theory.

Handbooks and companions [Tripod] search
Instead of making a narrow argument, these books (many available online) offer a broader perspective on the topics they discuss. Great for getting an introduction and finding key readings.

POLS 055: Ethics and International Relations (SC)

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History Overviews