Children and Armed Conflict

Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

The situation in Afghanistan

The following resources are good places to look for background information on countries and organizations and events.

BBC News Country Profiles   This site will provide a guide to the history, politics and economics of countries and territories. Use it to locate backgroud information on important international institutions and NGO's. You can also find audio and video from the BBC archives.

CIA World Factbook Updated on a bi-weekly basis, the CIA Factbook, give a quick snapshot of each nation's demography, economy, government, geography, and other sectors such as transportation, communication, transportation and military.

Country Studies "On-line versions of books previously published in hard copy by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Army. The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world." While some of these books are dated ( check the title page for the date of publication) they are a good source for information on geograpy, culture, history. The library also has most of these titles in print in our collection.

Findlaw Resources by Country
Use this website to locate government websites of foreign countries. Results may vary depending on country.

Oxford Reference Online A searchable collection of online reference books including specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries and handbooks. Select from appropriate subject headings, for example, Political Science and Social Sciences. 

 U.S. Department of State Background Notes Find facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.

Europa Yearbooks

• Africa South of the Sahara, London, England: Europa Publications Ltd Linderman Reference 916.7 A258
• Europa World Year Book . London, England : Europa Publications Ltd Linderman Reference 914 E89a
• Far East and Australasia . London : Europa Publications Linderman Reference 915.03 F219
• Middle East and North Africa London: Europa Publications Linderman Reference 950 M627 2005
• South Asia London: Europa Publications Linderman Reference 950 S726
• Whitakers Almanack London: J. Whitaker FM Reference 314.2 W57a

The Encyclopedia of Nationalism. London: Academic Press  FM Reference  320.54  E56