Library Guides: International Relations: Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

Primary sources are sources that were created during the time period a researcher is studying, and provide firsthand evidence about a person, event, work of art, or object. This can include:

letters or other forms of direct communication
creative writing such as novels, poems, or plays
speeches
newspapers
works of art, photographs, and music recordings
eyewitness accounts
interviews
maps

International Primary Sources

EuroDocs
A directory of primary documents in Western European history.
Gallica
The digital library of the National Library of France, containing historical, legal, and government records.
MIDAS: Mexican Intelligence Digital Archives
The Mexican Intelligence Digital Archives (los Archivos del Autoritarismo Mexicano), is a crowd-sourced, public access digital archive of historical documents from Mexican intelligence agencies. The collection is drawn from Mexico’s two principal security services, the Dirección Federal de Seguridad (DFS) and the Dirección General de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociales (DGIPS) and covers the period c.1940 to c.1985.
The National Archives of the United Kingdom
Archival records from the UK National Archives and over 2,500 archives across the UK

U.K. Parliamentary Papers
British government working documents for the following subject areas: social, political, economic, and foreign policy from 1901-2004.
United Nations Official Document System
A full-text web resource for official United Nations documentation. Covers all types of documents originating from duty stations worldwide, including selective documents of the regional commissions.
Comprehensive coverage starts in 1993. Older United Nations documents are added to the system on a daily basis. Selective coverage of General Assembly and Security Council documentation currently reaches back to 1985. The ODS also provides access to the resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council from 1946 onwards.

Wilson Center Digital Archive
The Wilson Center Digital Archive provides access to declassified documents from governments and organizations all over the world, much of it in translation and including diplomatic cables, high level correspondence, meeting minutes and more. Collections include The Cold War International History Project, The North Korea International Documentation Project, The Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, and more.

United States Primary Sources

Directory of U.S. Presidential Libraries
Freedom of Information Archive
Open access database and platform with over 4.6 million declassified documents from History Lab and Columbia University Libraries
Foreign Relations of the United States
Foreign Relations of the United States is the official documentary record of U.S. foreign policy, covering 1861-1988 (through the Reagan presidency).

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FRUS is also available from HeinOnline.

HeinOnline
Legal history and documents, including the United Nations and League of Nations Treaty Series, all United States Treaties, the Foreign Relations of the United States papers, and more.

The National Security Archive
The National Security Archive is a combined investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, and library and archive of declassified U.S. documents

U.S. Congressional Serial Set
Records from U.S. Congresses, 1817-1980.

International Relations

What is a primary source?

International Primary Sources

United States Primary Sources

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