Political parties of the world. 5th edition, 2002

Book abstract:

Over two decades since 'Political Parties of the World' was first published, monumental changes have taken place across the global political landscape. Even since the fourth edition was published in 1996, over 400 new political parties have been created, which are included in this edition with the result that more than 2,550 political parties are covered. While the focus of the book is global, there is still detailed coverage of political parties across the European continent from Ireland in the west to the Ukraine in the east.

Each country entry provides details of the size of the population, the capital, a recent brief political history as well as all the political parties operating within that country in alphabetical order. Each party entry provides a concise overview of the party, its leader and any recent successes. Within party entries, cross-references to other parties with entries under the same country are provided in addition to links to similar parties in other countries. Reflecting developments in technology, website addresses and email contacts are provided for over 750 parties as well as the traditional contact data.

The introduction also provides the reader with useful suggestions of where to go for further information on the internet, including links to sites providing up to date information on national elections and also different electoral systems. The appendices also offer the reader membership details of the five main international party organisations and a list of those party groups in the European Parliament.

This book will be particularly useful for politics students but people with a general enquiry about any political party in the world should also find the majority of the information they require here and if not, the book should certainly provide details of where to go for further research.