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: Social Science Library reference collection.
Online: from HeinOnline (available on Yale network), U.S. State Department, and 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." (U.S. Department of State)

U.S. Treaties and Other International Agreements
Online: through HeinOnline (available on Yale network)

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.

The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports are comprised of translations of news service and newspaper articles and broadcast transcripts from all countries. The Daily Reports are published by region: Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, East Europe, West Europe, Central Eurasia (Soviet Union), People's Republic of China, Sub-Saharan Africa, Near East and South Asia.

Access:

• 1946-1974 (excluding 1948-1952): microfilm/microfiche at the Government Documents & Information Center. To find specific articles, consult the table of contents at the beginning of each month on microfiche or microfilm.
• 1974-1996: FBIS Daily Reports full text online (not all regions available yet)
• 1974-1996, regions not yet available full text online: microfiche. Use FBIS Electronic Index to locate specific articles on the microfiche (1975-1996).
• 1997-present: FBIS Daily Reports ceased publication in 1996 and were replaced by World News Connection, which provides translations in full text online

American Foreign Policy and Treaty Index (1993-1999)

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)

Fulltext of a wide selection of official statements, testimony, transcripts, foreign policy fact sheets, annual reports, previously published materials and country information. 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 information and resources relating to foreign countries and international affairs, see the International Relations subject guide developed by the Librarian for Political Science, International Affairs, and Government Information, the International Law Collection at Goldman Law Library (Yale), and the Economic Growth Center in the Social Science Library.