INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COLLECTIONS

United States foreign relations and the development of U.S. foreign policy are among the collection strengths of the Government Documents and Information Center and of the Yale University Libraries. This page describes key international relations collections held in the Government Documents & Information Center and finding aids/indexes to those collections.

American Foreign Relations Since 1600: A Guide to the Literature (Yale subscription)

Lists more than 18,000 primary and secondary sources that cover the breadth of American history from the 17th century to the present.

Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)
In print: Government Documents & Information Center Seminar Room.
Online: from the U.S. State Department and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Note that some of the most recent volumes (from the Nixon-Ford administrations) are being published as "electronic only" versions, and therefore are available from the State Department's web site only.

"The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. The series, which is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian, began in 1861 and now comprises more than 350 individual volumes. The volumes published over the last two decades increasingly contain declassified records from all the foreign affairs agencies." (State Department, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/)

Department of State Bulletin and its successor, Dispatch.
In print: Government Documents & Information Center Seminar Room.
Online: through HeinOnline (available on Yale network)

The Bulletin "was produced sporadically from 1886-1989. The Bulletin contains articles about the views of the United States in the areas of public and private international law. The Bulletin also contains articles about diplomatic missions around the world and the activities of the State Department." (Description from HeinOnline)

State Department Electronic Archives
The University of Illinois at Chicago has archived electronic State Department publications produced from 1990 to 1997.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports (1946-1996, microfilm/microfiche). Search FBIS Daily Reports with: FBIS Electronic Index (1975-1996; dates of coverage vary by region). Pre-1975, see the table of contents at the beginning of each month on microfiche or microfilm.
Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS) Reports (1957-1993, various formats). A guide to finding JPRS reports is available in the Government Documents Reference Room, shelved with the various JPRS indexes in print.
World News Connection (1997-present)

FBIS Daily Reports contain translations of news service transmissions, newspaper articles and radio broadcasts from all countries. JPRS reports contain translations of "unclassified foreign documents, scholarly works, research reports, and other selected source materials" (JPRS Catalog Cards in Book Form). Beginning in 1993 most of the JPRS reports have been combined with the FBIS Daily Reports. The reports are organized and published in eight geographic area reports---China, East Asia, East Europe, Latin America, Near East and South Asia, Central Eurasia, Sub-Saharan Africa and West Europe.

World News Connection (WNC) replaces the microform copies of the FBIS Daily Reports. WNC provides full text and summaries of newspaper articles, speeches, TV and radio broadcasts. The material covers political, socioeconomic, scientific, technical and environmental topics. Generally, the information is available within 48-72 hours from the time of the original publication or broadcast.

American Foreign Policy and Treaty Index (1993-1999)
Government Documents & Information Center Reference Room

Index and microfiche collection of key documents from official government sources, including executive branch departments and offices, independent federal agencies, and the U.S. Congress, that make American foreign policy and conduct U.S. foreign relations.

U.S. Foreign Affairs on CD-ROM (1993-March 1998)
Call number: S 1.142/2:

Full text of a wide selection of official statements, testimony, transcripts, foreign policy fact sheets, annual reports, previously published materials and country information. It may be borrowed from the Government Documents & Information Center. Some of the same documentation is available through the Department of State's web site.  

Declassified Documents Collections

Yale Library also holds several collections compiled by commercial vendors of declassified foreign policy documents.

For additional Yale Library resources relating to foreign countries and international affairs, see the International Affairs Research Guide the International Law Collection, and the Economic Growth Center Collection in the Social Science Library.