Description Proposed systems for determining governance and/or policy which differ from and are offered as potential replacements for existing political systems.

Anarchism is a political theory which aims to create anarchy, "the absence of a master, of a sovereign." [P-J Proudhon, What is Property , p. 264] In other words, anarchism is a political theory which aims to create a society within which individuals freely co-operate together as equals. As such anarchism opposes all forms of hierarchical control - be that control by the state or a capitalist - as harmful to the individual and their individuality as well as unnecessary. From: An Anarchist FAQ,

Political sites organized by their respective countries.

Links to Politics categories for geographic areas and regions.

Links for subjects related to political campaigns and elections, including electoral and voting systems, campaign finance and election laws, professional campaign strategy and resources, and national and international popular election news.

Discussion forums / message boards on the subject of politics.

Adherents of Christian Democratic ideologies generally hold that the Christian faith provides the best mechanism for the creation of a just civil society, and that Christian concepts such as stewardship, communitarianism, social justice, and individual morality should be observed in the administration of public policy. Many movements in Europe attempted to meld religious action to political action, but true support did not arise until the late nineteenth century when modernism began to threaten the privileged place of the Church in Western society. Christian Democratic parties saw an explosion of growth in particular after the Second World War; they represented an alternative path resisting both the harsh oppression of secular fascism and communism and the extremes of individualism and materialistic capitalism. During the Cold War, many Christian Democratic parties became active not only in Europe but in other predominantly Christian nations around the globe. Although the specifically Christian tone of many of the major Christian Democratic parties has been muted in the later 20th century (and thus introduces confusion and electoral overlap with conservatives and social democrats alike), it nonetheless remains one of the major ideological strains in the world at large.

Political conservatism is an orientation which holds that Man being fallible, tradition is an important transmitter of wisdom, and that maintenance of the established order with moderate reform is preferable to utopian idealism and revolutionary change.

Conservatism is sometimes mischaracterized as mere resistance to change or modernity. For example, the Encyclopædia Britannica definition states

"Conservatism: Political philosophy that emphasizes conserving as much as possible of the present economic, social, and political order."

It must be added that this approach is stated in contrast to radical ones, in which the very principles or institutions conservatives assume to underlie a society are attacked. In practical political terms, conservatives may actually advocate substantial changes in policy or outlook to preserve such institutions or principles, although the specific positions held by the conservative party will vary from time to time and place to place.

Just as conservative traditionalism contrasts with radicalism in the arena of social or political change, conservative realism contrasts with liberal rationalism. Conservatives holds that civilizations are complex and organic rather than reductive and mechanical, and that the judgment of a person or a school during a single lifetime is fallible and unreliable. Therefore, the instigation of new policy is fraught with the danger first, of unintended consequences that undermine society, and second, of fallacy. Conservatism is frequently at odds with ideology, technocracy, and theories which favor imposed change.

Conservatives have existed as long as there has been tradition to conserve, but as a philosophy, conservatism is most commonly traced to the Irish-born Edmund Burke. His seminal work Reflections on the Revolution in France contrasted the radical and bloody French Revolution-- which sought to completely rebuild society from its foundations-- with the American Revolution, which maintained the preexisting social and economic systems, and most political systems, even amidst the expulsion of the sovereign power.

Literally "rule by the people," democracy is a system of government in which the candidates or policies which garner the widest support of the populace (usually measured by direct voting) are adopted. In addition to theoretical considerations of democratic government and competing democratic systems, this category also includes organizations and resources on subjects such as democracy-building and enlivening debate in democratic societies.

This category was created to provide the average citizen with resources which would allow them to more fully participate in the political process. This category should not be considered a clearinghouse for individual or group political philosophies or manifestos.

Fascism is essentially characterized by three themes (in various forms and proportions): ethnic particularism (national or racial), combined with some sort of radical economic "third way" opposed to both Marxist socialism and free-market capitalism, and a revolutionary, anti-democratic political program.

"Federalism" according to a common meaning, refers to the regionalization and localization of governance within a state, i.e. distribution of power to the constituent governments away from the central government.

The phenomenon of increasing political and economic interdependence among the countries and regions of the world. The term has come to be used to describe an international perspective encouraging free(r) trade, and the deregulation of markets. Associated with Globalization are the growing reliance on an international labor force, the outsourcing of jobs and tasks from North America and Europe, international trade agreements, and the resulting effects on income inequality and the standard of living. Anti-globalization activists argue that this form of globalization accentuates the gap between rich and poor and punishes developing countries in particular. Proponents argue that free trade and deregulation will result in an increased standard of living by stimulating the economy in developing countries.

Green politics' core values are ecological sustainability, and direct democracy. A future which is not sustainable is no future at all, and a political system where people have poor executive power will not reflect their wishes. Greens are also committed to fairness and non-violence. We seek to build a society in which everyone has a stake, in harmony with the environment.

Since there have been political leaders there has been political humor. Like all humor some is crass, some is mean and some is insightful. Not all of those who poke fun at the world of politics are as clever as Dr. Swift or Mark Russell. They all have something to say, though. Sometimes they are cutting right to the heart of an issue in a way that would be far more difficult or far less interesting without a punchline. Though internet humor can be as silly as the photocopy fodder that proceeded it, we all want to see the form raised above that level. The sites that are pointed out as being the best all manage to raise the bar somehow. No effort is being made to single out folks with whom the editor agrees. As long as it is clever and makes a point, we hope you will find a site to be worth a visit.

The word "liberalism" is derived from the Latin liber, free. As the name indicates, liberalism is traditionally a political ideology emphasizing the personal liberty of each individual, including freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion, expression, assembly, association, movement, enterprise, occupation, contract, etc. which the state should not violate, except to protect the rights of others. Classical liberalism emerged first in the seventeenth century Europe, and was represented during the following centuries by such thinkers as John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Beside personal liberty, classical liberalism also advocated economical liberty, the right of property, capitalism and free markets. In the beginning of the twentieth century, however, the meaning of the word "liberalism" became altered in North America. The "New Liberalism" demanded a much stronger role of state in protecting personal liberty and social justice, in expense of economical liberty. This variant of liberalism is also known as "welfare liberalism" or "social liberalism" or "liberal egalitarianism". Its most famous theorists include American philosophers John Rawls and Ronald Dworkin and British economist John Maynard Keynes. As the default meaning of the word "liberal" changed in North America, began the American classical liberals call their philosophy "libertarianism" or "market liberalism". Its most notable modern representatives include Austrian economists Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Hayek, American economist Milton Friedman and American philosopher Robert Nozick. In Europe and other parts of the world "liberalism" usually still refers to its more or less classical meaning. Therefore a liberal encountered in Europe more likely supports free market, and a liberal in America more likely defends welfare state. The former would be called a libertarian in America, the latter a social liberal or a social democrat in Europe. In most other languages than English the word "liberalism" refers almost solely to the free market variant of the word. Because of the varying meanings of the word "Liberalism" this category is divided to two subcategories, "Social Liberalism", which refers to the meaning of liberalism more common in North America, and "Libertarianism", which refers to the meaning of liberalism more common in Europe and other parts of the world.

This category lists sites related to the lobbyists and lobby firms, and resources for professionals in the field. Broadly, a lobbyist is defined as someone who is paid compensation for encouraging the passage, defeat, or modification of legislation or regulation by communicating with or soliciting others to communicate with government officials, such as legislative representatives, commissioners, or magistrates, on behalf of an interested party such as a citizen's group, business association, or government agency. In many jurisdictions, lobbyists and often their clients must be licensed, certified, or registered with the government and comply with certain industry ethics codes and rules.

Nationalism is the belief that nationality is the proper focus of political identity and that the nation-state is the proper focus of political loyalty. This sentiment expresses itself variously in separatist movements, which advocate political self-determination for people of a certain cultural heritage (primarily language); in irredentist claims on territories historically or ethnically belonging to the nation; and in movements to save the national identity from being diluted or altered by immigration. Nationalism can fall on the right, left or center of the political spectrum. Generally, left-wing nationalists are of the "national liberation" variety. Right-wing nationalists aim to prevent the loss of national sovereignty to supranational entities such as the European Union, and to prevent the loss of national identity through mass immigration. However, there are exceptions, and there can be right-wing national-liberation movements, or left-wing nationalist movements in existing nation states.

Sites for media coverage of international politics.

Organizations related to politics and the public policy process.

Political parties work to establish or promote particular theories or principles of government, specifically by recruiting and organizing support for candidates for public office. This category contains links to other categories, where parties are sorted according to the country where they are located or to the ideology which they represent. If there isn't such category for a particular country, the parties are probably listed in the politics category of that country. Sites devoted to an internationally structured party, such as the Natural Law Party or the Humanist Party, may also be grouped together at this level, along with international directories of political parties.

Political commentary, links, essays, rants, etc. which represent the personal views of individuals or small groups. Should be of an amateur nature (no professional journalists or politicians). No official campaign or commercial pages.

Sites about socialism.

Political tests and quizzes.