Research Guides: International Relations: Primary Sources

Digitized Primary Sources

The primary sources listed below, and available to view online, are excellent starting points for those in TRN 250: Empire, Nationalism, and the History of International Relations. Special acknowledgement to Professor Cindy Ewing for suggesting many of the links.

EuroDocs
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European primary historical documents. Some are translated or reproduced in facsimile.
The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training
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Frontline Diplomacy: The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training contains transcripts of interviews with U.S. diplomatic personnel capture.
Foreign Relations of the United States Online (1945-1988)
Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. From the Lincoln (1861-65) through to the Clinton administration (1993-2000).
The National Security Archive
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An independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
World events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II-through the 21st century.

The Cold War International History Project (CWIHP)
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CWIHP is based at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.
The Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy
Full-text of primary historical documents in the field of law and diplomacy (from Yale Law School).
Latin American Pamphlet Digital Collection
Scarce and unique pamphlets, primarily from Chile, Cuba, Bolivia and Mexico, published during the 19th and early 20th centuries (from Harvard University Libraries).
Vietnam War Archive
The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive collects and preserves the documentary record of the Vietnam War (from Texas Tech University).
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives digital collections
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives collects both geographically and thematically. With more than 1 million library volumes and 6,000 archival collections, originating from 171 countries and in 69 languages.
League of Nations Archives
The League of Nations (1920-1946) was the first global international organization aiming to establish peace and cooperation and was the precursor to the United Nations.
Civil Rights Digital Library
The Civil Rights Digital Library Initiative represents one of the most ambitious and comprehensive efforts to date to deliver educational content on the Civil Rights Movement via the Web (from University of Georgina Libraries).

Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
World events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II-through the 21st century.

Archives Unbound (UTORid login required)
Gale's "Archives Unbound" includes a range of primary source collections (including an "International Relations" section). Particular strengths include U.S. foreign policy; U.S. civil rights; global affairs and colonial studies; and modern history.
Adam Mathew Archives Direct (UTORid login required)
Collections from the British National Archives in a variety of document formats. Available collections include:
- Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1994
- Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan, 1834-1922
- Confidential Print: Africa, 1834-1966
- Confidential Print: Latin America, 1833-1969
- Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969
- Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961
- Conflict in Indochina: Foreign Office Files for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, 1959-1979
- Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980
- Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980
- Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952
- Foreign Office Files for the Middle East, 1971-1981
- Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963
- The Nixon Years, 1969-1974
History Commons (UTORid login required)
History Commons is a platform for discovering digitized historical and primary sources. Collection highlights (mainly from UK National Archives) include:
- Secret Files from World Wars to Cold Wars
- Cold War Eastern Europe, 1946-1982
- Weimar and Nazi Germany

Primary Source Anthologies

The titles listed below are available either in print or online through U of T Libraries.

Voices of Early Modern Japan
Available online
Twentieth Century China: a history in documents
Call Number: DS773.89 .S36 (available at Robarts and UTSC Library)
China and the Three Worlds: a Foreign Policy Reader
Available online
Lenin and the Making of the Soviet State
Available online
The ISIS Reader
Call Number: HV6433 .I722 I535 (at E.J. Pratt Library)
Also available online
The Arab-Israeli conflict : an introduction and documentary reader
Available online
America in the World
Call Number: E744 .A4857 (at Robarts, Kelly, Graham, and UTM Libraries)
Also available online

Audio-Visual Resources

American History in Video (North America) This link opens in a new window
Documentaries.

Meet the Press
American news programme, 1947-
World Newsreels Online: 1929-1966
Key collections include: Universal Newsreels, Universal Studios, Les Actualites Francaises, Nippon News and The March of Time.

Research Guides

International Relations

Digitized Primary Sources

Primary Source Anthologies

Audio-Visual Resources

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