Useful links

There's a vast wealth of information on world politics available on the internet. I couldn't begin to namecheck all the best sites, but this is a short selection of those I find most helpful in my own research and writing. If you want to know more about the subjects discussed on The Democrat's Diary then cast your eyes over the list below and click on the links to explore further.

Asia Times
Authoritative analysis of international relations, security and economic issues across Asia.

Amnesty International
Global human rights watchdog that compiles and catalogues abuses from around the world. A mine of information.

Christian Aid
Campaigning third world development charity whose publications provide analysis and information on global poverty and the role played by the West.

Conflicts Forum
Run by two eminent, experienced and knowledgeable security and international affairs experts, Conflicts Forum aims to facilitate dialogue between the West and political Islam in the Middle East, especially over Israel-Palestine. They give some first-rate analysis on the nature of groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, and the wider political context they operate in. An extremely worthwhile project.

Human Rights Watch
Like Amnesty, a global human rights watchdog that compiles and catalogues abuses from around the world. Also a very useful source of information.

Juan Cole
The blog of US Middle-East expert Juan Cole has become the first stop of the day for thousands around the world who want to understand what’s happening in that region. Cole rounds up the news from the western and the regional press and gives his expert analysis on events as they occur. A daily personal tutorial on Middle Eastern current affairs. Essential.

Medialens
Whilst I sometimes have my criticisms of Medialens, its still the case that if they didn’t exist someone would have to invent them. Their realtime analysis of the behaviour of the British liberal media is always thought-provoking, and spot-on 95% of the time. On the two most important aspects of Western Iraq policy – sanctions and the post-invasion death toll – they’ve done some truly invaluable work.

Naspir
The Network of Activist Scholars of Politics and International Relations, of which I'm a member. Naspir promotes politics and international relations scholarship that supports non-violent action against oppression. It has members around the world and across academic disciplinary boundaries; scholars, students, non-academic activists and interested citizens, with theoretical, empirical and/or campaigning interests.

Noam Chomsky
If Juan Cole’s essential on the Middle East, Chomsky’s just essential full stop. The most insightful critic of western power alive whose work also constitutes a treasure trove of information and ideas for further reading. This site pulls together interviews, articles, book chapters, audio and video covering his whole career of political dissent.

The Nation
Comment and analysis on the US political scene.

Paul Rogers
Here, British security expert Paul Rogers gives a monthly briefing on global security issues, from a UK-US angle. His columns for Open Democracy are also worth a visit.

Tom Dispatch
In depth and highly readable comment and analysis from a selection of top quality US writers. All drawn together by Tom Engelhardt – a superbly talented and insightful writer himself, who often adds his own contributions.

War on Want
Same as above on Christian Aid. Good campaigning third world development charity and a great source of information.

War In Context
Daily selection of the best news and analysis of the “war on terrorism” from the world’s press.

ZNet
Based in the US, but the exceptionally good left-alternative comment and analysis they offer is really from a global perspective. There’s lots of good stuff here that you probably wouldn’t find anywhere else. The “another world is possible” movement at its best.