Library Resources: Political Philosophy: Getting Started

Online Background Research Resources

Political philosophy is a discipline that has spanned thousands of years. In that history, important movements, concepts, philosophers and thinkers have emerged. Yet, how does one get an understanding of these things. Begin with a reference resource where you can find background information and explanations about the topics you explore. Additionally, this section is a great place to explore information on different government roles and positions.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a great place to begin looking for background explanations of philosophers and concepts in political philosophy.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Another great place to find background information that is freely available online is the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy with a lot of great introductory articles on philosophers and their ideas.
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
An expansive encyclopedia of philosophy from the library.

Gale eBooks (Gale Virtual Reference) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to popular Gale specialized encyclopedias and resources in arts, biography, business, education, environment, history, science, social science and more. PROVIDES WORD and PAGE COUNT for EACH ARTICLE when browsing.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference is a full-text online reference service. Our collection includes over three million entries from hundreds of well-regarded titles from some of world's the best reference publishers. Credo’s collection is intelligently integrated with millions of cross-references and contains dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, quotations and atlases, plus a wide range of subject-specific titles covering everything from art to accountancy, science to Shakespeare and law to literature.

Political Philosophy Articles in One Search
From our One Search system, which does a cross search of online library resources, comes this list of reference articles on Political Philosophy. Change the search terms to search additional articles.

Reference Books on Political Philosophy

Reference books in the library

Key Articles

Key Articles on Political Philosophy

Philosophy Basics: Political Philosophy
Encyclopedia Britannica: Political Philosophy
An introduction to some of the major thinkers and schools of thought in Political Philosophy.
Encyclopedia of Philosophy: History of Political Philosophy
This article details major thinkers and branches of thought throughout the history of political philosophy.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Political Philosophy
An introduction to some of the major schools of thought in Political Philosophy.
The Daily Idea -- Political Philosophy
This site contains numerous introductory articles, videos, and podcasts on Political Philosophy.
Political Philosophy: An Introduction and Collection of Resources

Key Articles on U.S. Government

Branches of US Government
This articles is explains the three main branches of the US government and how they are organized.
The White House Executive Branch
This section provides a summary of the different positions in the president's cabinet.
The United States Cabinet: History and Development
This encyclopedia article from "The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History" discusses the presidential cabinet and its history.
Most Powerful Jobs in White House
Keith Hennessey is a former advisory to the president and on this page he presents a list of the most important people advising the president.
White House Chief of Staff
This article examines the role of the White House Chief of Staff and the part he plays in assisting the president.