Portable Interactive Atlases for Political Science Research

Political scientists increasingly work with data that capture relationships among countries across time, yet these patterns can be difficult to explore and communicate through static figures and tables. This article presents a practical workflow for building portable interactive atlases that allow researchers to examine longitudinal networks through a single HTML file. Combining maps, temporal navigation, inspectable observations, and data and image exports, the approach makes visualization choices and underlying evidence accessible to readers without requiring specialized software or website maintenance. An application to international trade around economic sanctions illustrates how researchers can examine shifts in trading partners, compare relationships over time, and assess patterns consistent with potential sanctions busting. The discussion emphasizes transparent measurement choices and distinguishes descriptive trade changes from evidence of intentional circumvention. By connecting an adaptable workflow to concrete analytical tasks, the article offers political scientists a practical approach to exploring and sharing relational data.