LibGuides: International and Area Studies: Security Studies

Background Information

Congressional Research Service Reports (US govt)
CRS reports provide Congress with both anticipatory and on-demand research and analysis to support their legislative, oversight, and representational duties. All reports adhere to the core values of CRS; they are authoritative, objective and nonpartisan. Reports range in length from several pages to more than one-hundred pages and cover the full breadth of topics of interest to Congress.
Homeland Security Digital Library (US govt)
As of 8-21-25 site says: "Some content on this platform has been removed in accordance with the President’s executive orders and DHS priorities." The nation’s premier collection of documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management. The HSDL is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
Military Balance (International Institute for Strategic Studies)
Annual assessment of the military capabilities and defense economics worldwide.

Open Source Intelligence

See this article from the CIA on the use of open source intelligence.

BBC Monitoring (Proquest or Factiva)
NOTE: Link goes to catalog. Choose region of interest.
Provides news and information based on round-the-clock monitoring of radio, TV, press, internet and news agency sources around the world. Reports are translated into English from more than 100 languages.
CIA Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room
Provided as a public service by the Directorate of Digital Innovation's Information Management Services.

Current Digest of the Russian Press
Coverage: 1949-present
Founded in 1949, The Current Digest of the Russian Press presents a selection of Russian language press materials, carefully translated into English. Content is taken from a wide selection of sources and features a diverse range of reporters and authors. Selections are presented as documentary materials without elaboration or comment, and state the opinions and views of the original authors, not of the publisher of the journal.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
Digital National Security Archive
Coverage: 1954-1999
The DNSA collection is the most comprehensive collection available of significant declassified U.S. government documents central to U.S. foreign and military policy since 1945. University of Oklahoma Libraries provides access to four sub-collections relating to Latin American policy and human rights:
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports
Full text of U.S. government translations of foreign broadcasts, publications, and government statements. FBIS was followed by the Open Source Center (OSC) in 2005 and was included in the database World News Connection, which the library does not have. The CIA discontinued public access to the OSC in 2013.

Foreign Relations of the United States (1861-1988; HeinOnline)
Official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. The volumes published over the last two decades increasingly contain declassified records from all the foreign affairs agencies. Also available from the Department of State here.
Freedom of Information Archive / Declassification Engine (Columbia University and the History Lab)
Open access database for searching declassified documents. See this page for more information on collections included.

Joint Publications Research Service
Full text of English translations of foreign language materials from regions throughout the world. Includes monographs, reports, serials, journal and newspaper articles, and radio and television broadcasts. JPRS merged with FBIS (above) in 1995.

National Security Archive (George Washington University)
Founded in 1985 by journalists and scholars to check rising government secrecy, the National Security Archive includes a library and archive of declassified U.S. documents.

Pravda Archive
Coverage: 1959-1996
Articles published by Pravda during the Cold War and the years immediately following, collected and translated into English by the CIA.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
Pravda Digital Archive
Coverage: 1912-2023
Pravda was the official voice of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1918 and 1991 and the most important newspaper of the Soviet era. This resource provides full text images of the Russian language newspaper.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
Propaganda and the Chinese Press
Coverage: 1946-1996
Articles published by major communist Chinese newspapers, collected and translated into English by the CIA.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
U.S. Declassified Documents
Provides access to a wide range of previously classified federal records from the twentieth and twenty first centuries. These documents cover significant foreign policy development and international crisis, as well as domestic issues. Materials include policy papers, cabinet meeting minutes, briefing materials, military reports, diplomatic correspondence, CIA and FBI intelligence memoranda, and more. NOTE: The majority of the documents are presidential records.

Analysis and Articles

Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals
References to articles, news items, book reviews and editorials from 60+ English language military and aeronautical periodicals. NOTE: "Check for Full Text" is not available in this database; you must search the Local Catalog for the title of the journal to see if we own it.
Center for Security Studies Resources
Features the analyses of CSS experts, external partners and like-minded institutions in order to promote dialogue on international relations and security-related issues.
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
A bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to providing strategic insights and policy solutions to help decision makers chart a course toward a better world.

Columbia International Affairs Online
Columbia International Affairs Online provides access to materials in international affairs, including working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals, and policy briefs.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

CSI Publications (Central Intelligence Agency)
Links to full-text books and monographs and the periodical Studies in Intelliegence.
IREON – The International Relations and Area Studies Gateway
IREON provides access to the WAO – World Affairs Online database, containing more than 900,000 bibliographic references. "Check for Full Text" is not available in this database; you must search the Local Catalog for the title of the journal to see if we own it.
JSTOR Security Studies
Explore a wide range of journals, ebooks, and research reports in the field of security studies. This content looks at security studies through a broad lens, encompassing research on international security and peace and conflict studies from all corners of the globe.

Military & Government Collection
Coverage: 1950-present
Provides access to current news pertaining to all branches of the military. Resources include academic journals, popular magazines, trade publications, and military publications. This database includes nearly 300 full text journals and indexing and abstracts for more than 400 titles.
For more information about using this resource view the publisher's online print or video tutorial.

National Defense University Press Publications
Books, case studies, occasional papers, etc. from the National Defense University.

PAIS Index
Coverage: 1915-present
Index to public and social policy issues, foreign and domestic. Materials indexed include journal articles, government documents, books, pamphlets, yearbooks, and directories.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

RAND Corporation
Search research briefs and other policy-oriented publications. The majority of publicly available research documents published since 1998 are available as free eBook downloads or hard-copy purchase.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Coverage: 1975-present
Covers international literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration/policy. This database combines Political Science Abstracts and ABC POL SCI and includes over 800 journals.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

International and Area Studies

Background Information

Open Source Intelligence

Analysis and Articles

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