Description & Citation

Description & Citation--Study No. 5010 Bibliographic Description Scope of Study Methodology Access and Availability
Bibliographic Description
ICPSR Study No.:	5010

Persistent URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR05010

Title:	Polity Data: Persistence and Change in Political Systems, 1800-1971

Principal Investigator(s):	Ted Robert Gurr

	Erica Gurr

Bibliographic Citation:	Gurr, Ted Robert, and Erica Gurr. POLITY DATA: PERSISTENCE AND CHANGE IN POLITICAL SYSTEMS, 1800-1971 [Computer file]. Compiled by Ted Robert Gurr et al. ICPSR ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor], 1999. doi:10.3886/ICPSR05010

Scope of Study
Summary:	This data collection consists of coded descriptions of the political structures of 144 countries worldwide (428 polities) in the period 1800-1971. One of four distinct but related datasets developed by Robert Gurr and his associates at Princeton University and Northwestern University to test hypotheses about the causes of conflict within contemporary nations and the correlates of institutional change, this study probes why some political institutions perform well and persist in response to challenges and crises while others change abruptly. Operational conceptualization of the study is provided with the description of salient characteristics of political systems in terms of the dimensions of authority patterns. Included are indicators of dimensions of authority, such as the openness of recruitment, decision constraints, participation, directiveness, and complexity, the degree to which each polity was autocratic, democratic, and anocratic, and the dichotomous indicator of coherence of a polity as consistently democratic. Additional data provide information on the circumstances of the birth and death of a polity, including the character of the polity and reasons for its termination. Three related studies focus on civil conflicts in polities: CONFLICT AND SOCIETY (ICPSR 7452), CIVIL STRIFE EVENTS, 1955-1970 (ICPSR 7531), and CIVIL STRIFE CONFLICT MAGNITUDES, 1955-1970 (ICPSR 7485).

Subject Term(s):	civil disorders, government, government crises, internal political conflict, nineteenth century, political change, political participation, political systems, social change, twentieth century

Geographic Coverage:	Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China (Peoples Republic), Colombia, Congo (Democratic Republic), Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia (Republic), Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea (North), Korea (South), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Prussia, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Soviet Union, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam (Socialist Republic), Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Global

Time Period:	1800 - 1971

Universe:	A total of 144 nations, most of which were members of the international system between 1817 and 1940.

Data Type:	aggregate data

Data Collection Notes:	The codebook is provided by ICPSR as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.

Methodology
Data Source:	(1) STATESMAN'S YEARBOOK, (2) ANNUAL REGISTER, (3) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD HISTORY, (4) Banks, Arthur S., and Robert B. Textor. A CROSS POLITY SURVEY. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1963, and (5) Banks, Arthur S., and Robert B. Textor. CROSS POLITY SURVEY, 1963 (ICPSR 5004)

Access and Availability
Note:	A list of the data formats available for this study can be found in the summary of holdings. Detailed file-level information (such as record length, case count, and variable count) is listed in the file manifest.

Original ICPSR Release:	1984-05-10

Dataset(s):	DS1: Polity Data: Persistence and Change in Political Systems, 1800-1971

Description & Citation

Description & Citation--Study No. 5010

Bibliographic Description

Scope of Study

Methodology

Access and Availability