get_polity5: Retrieve the Polity5 Dataset

In demcon: Interfacing with Popular Polity, Institutional, and Constitutional Datasets

Retrieve the Polity5 Dataset

Description

Download the Polity5 Dataset from the Center for Systemic Peace website.

Usage

get_polity5(load = TRUE, del_file = TRUE, excel = TRUE, write_out = FALSE)

Arguments

load	Logical to load downloaded data into local environment.
del_file	Logical to delete downloaded and unzipped files/directories after loading into the local environment.
excel	Logical to download the .xls (TRUE) or the SAS .sav format (FALSE).
write_out	Logical to write the Polity 5 dataset to your local directory as a .csv file.

Details

Polity5

The Polity5 project continues the Polity research tradition of coding the authority characteristics of states in the world system for purposes of comparative, quantitative analysis. The original Polity conceptual scheme was formulated and the initial Polity I data collected under the direction of Ted Robert Gurr and informed by foundational, collaborative work with Harry Eckstein, Patterns of Authority: A Structural Basis for Political Inquiry (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1975). The Polity project has proven its value to researchers over the years, becoming the most widely used resource for monitoring regime change and studying the effects of regime authority.

Structure

The Polity5 dataset contains 17,574 country-year observations and 37 variables. For more information regarding variable descriptions and other dataset documentation, please refer to the POLITY5: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800-2018 Dataset Users’ Manual.

Value

A data.frame of Polity5 country-year data.

Examples

polity <- demcon::get_polity5(excel = TRUE, del_file = TRUE, write_out = FALSE)

demcon documentation built on March 31, 2023, 10:27 p.m.