Archives Unbound:
International Relations
 
Archives Unbound: International Relations

Diplomatic history, global foreign affairs, activists and activism, war and conflict, and colonialism are just some of the topics featured in these collections. Researchers can study the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, global trade and commerce, European Colonialism in the early twentieth century, U.S. Foreign Policy, and the origins of the Cold War, among other topics.

Global Studies

Alexander III and the Policy of "Russification," 1883-1886 - This collection, as seen through the eyes of the British diplomatic corps in Russia, provides a unique analysis of this "retro-reform" policy, including the increase of revolutionary agitation, deepening of conservatism and changes from agrarian to industrial society, and spread of pan-Slavism, both in the Russian Empire and Eastern Europe. The British Foreign Office Records of General Correspondence for Russia, in record class F.O. 65, is the basic collection of documents for studying Anglo-Russian relations during this period of fundamental change.

Commercial and Trade Relations Between Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and the U.S., 1910-1963 - This collection of U.S. State Department Central Classified Files relates to commercial and trade relations beginning in the Tsarist Russia period and extending through the Khrushchev period in Soviet history. It contains a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats including materials on treaties, general conditions affecting trade, imports and exports, laws and regulations, customs administration, tariffs, and ports of entry activities.

International Climatic Changes and Global Warming - For over the past 200 years, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and deforestation, have caused the concentrations of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" to increase significantly in our atmosphere. This collection documents the U.S. response to the threat posed by climatic change and global warming. The research behind the studies, reports, and analyses represents an exhaustive review of the facts, causes, and economic and political implications of a phenomenon that threatens every region of the world.

La Guerra Civil Española - This collection presents approximately 3,000 rare pamphlets, including publications from Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and the Philippines, as well as more than 100 German pamphlets published in Spanish. Distributed throughout Spain, Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, and North America, the pamphlets in this collection represent the opinions and philosophies of the insurgents, anarchists, socialists, and communists. The pamphlets contain a wealth of information on Spanish and international history, ideology, political science, church and state conflicts, nationalism, socialism, fascism, and communism.

The Global Financial and Economic Crisis - This collection delivers the full story leading to the current global economic and financial crisis -- highlighting corporate finance, joint ventures, and M&A, country profiles, capital markets, investor relations, currencies, banking, risk management, direct investment, money management and all the rest -- specifically tailored for faculty and students around the world. Included are over 320 papers and reports published by the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Reserve Banks, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. General Accountability Office, Congressional Research Service, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Office of Thrift Supervision, International Organization of Securities Commissions, and other bodies.

National Security and FBI Surveillance Enemy Aliens - Between the early 1920s and early 1980s, the Justice Department and its Federal Bureau of Investigation engaged in widespread investigation of those deemed politically suspect. Prominent among the targets of this sometimes coordinated, sometimes independent surveillance were aliens, members of various protest groups, Socialists, Communists, pacifists, militant labor unionists, ethnic or racial nationalists, and outspoken opponents of the policies of the incumbent presidents.

Origins of the Cold War - The historical conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States, and the world events that served to influence relations between the two world powers are presented here. The documents in this substantial collection are drawn from major archival holdings and provide a rich sample of a half-century of Russian-American relations. They present to students of international affairs the raw material from which historical conclusions may be drawn on the most significant rivalry between two nations of the twentieth century.

Political Relations and Conflict between Republican China and Imperial Japan, 1930-1939: Records of the U.S. State Department - The records in this collection relate to political relations between China and Japan for the period 1930 -1939. The records are mostly instructions to and despatch from diplomatic and consular officials; the despatches are often accompanied by enclosures. Also included in these records are notes between the Department of State and foreign diplomatic representatives in the United States, memorandums prepared by officials of the Department. There are records on the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, beginning with the Mukden Incident, in 1931; military action at Shanghai in 1932; further Japanese political and economic penetration into China, 1935-1936; and the course of the undeclared war between Japan and China, 1937-1939.

Political Relations Between China, the U.S. and Other Countries, 1910-1929 - This collection includes the microfilmed U.S. Department of State records for 1910-1929 relating to the political relations between the United States and China and relations between China and other states. The collection includes predominantly instructions to and despatches from diplomatic and consular officials; the despatches are often accompanied with enclosures. Also included in these records are the correspondence, reports, and journals of the commissions concerned with extraterritoriality in China, as well as notes between the Department of State and foreign diplomatic representatives in the United States, memoranda prepared by officials of the Department, and correspondence with officials of other government departments and with private firms and individuals.

Records of the Deutsche Ausland-Institut, Stuttgart: Records on Resettlement - This collection includes Nazi records on resettlement kept or collected by the Deutsches Ausland-Institut (German Foreign Institute, DAI), Stuttgart, seized from the Axis Powers during and after WWII. These records are most valuable in documenting the implementation and modification of the National Socialist race doctrine. Included are records of resettlement negotiations and agreements with the Russians, Rumanians, and Italians and records describing the treatment and attitudes of all kinds of resettlers. In addition, the collection throws light on the conflict between diverse SS agencies as well as between the SS and other agencies of Party and State. In fact, it documents nearly all aspects of resettlement, not least through the untranslatable language in which this project in demographic engineering was conducted.

Records of the Office of the Reich Commissioner for the Strengthening of Germandom - The Reich Commissioner for the Strengthening of Germandom (Reichskommissar für die Festigung deutschen Volkstums, RKFDV) was an office in Nazi Germany responsible for repatriation, and settlement of both German citizens and ethnic Germans who lived abroad, into Nazi Germany and German-held territories. This collection of RKFDV records seized from the Axis Powers covers primarily the records of the Chief Staff Office (Stabshauptamt). Some records of other offices of the RKFDV are also included: Kattowitz office, Aussiedlungsstab Kauen (Kaunas/Kowno), Zentralbodenamt. A small amount of material of the Höhere SS- und Polizeiführer Süd (Wehrkreis VII) als Beauftragter des RKFDV, Sonderstab Henschel and Getto-Verwaltung Litzmannstadt (Lodz) are also included.

Records of the U.S. State Department: Subject Files of the Office of Special Political Affairs and the Creation of the United Nations Organization, 1940-1946 - The Alger Hiss Papers reproduced in this collection are from the State Department’s Office of Special Political Affairs. For the most part, they document the post-war planning process, Alger Hiss’ role, and work on the Dumbarton Oaks and United Nations conferences. The papers are organized as subject files. They include memoranda addressed to Hiss, occasional responses, correspondence, and associated reports. Much of the correspondence in this series consists of letters and reports that Alger Hiss was copied on. This record group provides excellent documentation about U.S. politics and policy as they related to the war, post-war planning, and the founding of the United Nations. These files describe the post-war planning process undertaken by the State Department in late 1943. They document the process by which the United Nations was created, beginning at the Dumbarton Oaks conference in 1944 and culminating in the San Francisco conference two years later, with an emphasis on Alger Hiss’ role as first Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The Amerasia Affair, China, and Postwar Anti-Communist Fervor - The Amerasia Affair was the first of the great spy cases of the postwar era. It prompted several congressional investigations, stirred up partisan controversy, and threatened to destroy the political reputations of several government officials.

The Chinese Civil War and U.S.-China Relations: Records of the U.S. State Department's Office of Chinese Affairs, 1945-1955 - The U.S. State Department’s Office of Chinese Affairs, charged with operational control of American policy toward China, amassed information on virtually all aspects of life there immediately before, during, and after the revolution. Declassified by the State Department, the Records of the Office of Chinese Affairs, 1945-1955, provide valuable insight into numerous domestic issues in Communist and Nationalist China, U.S. containment policy as it was extended to Asia and Sino-American relations during the post-war period. This product comprises all 41 reels of the former Scholarly Resources microfilm product entitled Records of the Office of Chinese Affairs, 1945-1955.

The Global War on Terrorism - The Global War on Terrorism assembles research studies that analyze the goals and strategies of global terrorism. These studies, reports, and analyses were conducted by governmental agencies and private organizations under contract with the Federal government. They represent the most rigorous and authoritative research on the global war on international and domestic terrorism. The documents in this collection are diverse in scope and emphasis. They dissect specific terrorist events, explore the goals beyond the violence, illuminate the psychology of terrorism, trace the origins and development of terrorist movements, particularly al-Queda, compare state-sponsored and independent terrorist activities, and address the formidable problem of developing feasible counterterrorist measures and policies.

The International War on Drugs - Spanning the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, The International War on Drugs documents the United States Government’s response to the global illicit drug trade. Studies, reports, and analyses compiled by governmental and military agencies demonstrate how the U.S. organized and waged a decades-long campaign against drugs. Documents in the collection include U.S. military analyses and recommendations for halting the illegal drug trade; strategy reports from the Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs; and reports from the Congressional Research Service. Topics covered include terrorism and drug trafficking; money laundering and financial crimes; individual country reports and actions against drugs; U.S. policy initiatives and programs; U.S. bilateral and regional counterdrug initiatives.

Tiananmen Square and U.S.-China relations, 1989-1993 - This digital collection reviews U.S.-China relations in the post-Cold War Era, and analyzes the significance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, China’s human rights issues, and resumption of World Bank loans to China in July 1990.

U.S. Operations Mission in Iran, 1950-1961 - This collection is a record of the U.S. Operations Mission's experiences in Iran. In it are outlined the programs that were initiated, the problems encountered, and the results of the 11-year effort. The program of technical cooperation in Iran was frequently cited as an example of the ideal Point Four program. The overthrow of the established government led naturally to questions concerning the "failure" of American technical assistance in that country. Three kinds of aid were provided: United States technicians advised or worked with the Iranian Government; supplies and equipment were provided for demonstration purposes; and Iranian personnel were sent to the United States or third countries for observation or training programs. The bulk of assistance was directed towards improving agricultural methods, but much also was achieved in such areas as preventive medicine, education, and administrative improvement.

U.S. Relations with the Vatican and the Holocaust, 1940-1950 - Much has been published chronicling the role of Pope Pius XII regarding refugees, the Holocaust, and relations with America during the war years and the immediate post-war period. This publication provides a wealth of unique correspondence, reports, and analyses, memos of conversations, and personal interviews exploring such themes U.S.-Vatican relations, Vatican’s role in World War II, Jewish refugees, Italian anti-Jewish laws during the papacy of Pius XII, and the pope’s knowledge of the treatment of European Jews.

Weapons of Mass Destruction and Nonproliferation - The Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction assembles research studies that analyze the weapons, efforts to control, and proliferation. These studies, reports, and analyses were conducted by governmental agencies and private organizations under contract with the Federal government. They represent the most rigorous and authoritative research on global efforts to halt proliferation and reduce the threat. The documents in this collection are diverse in scope and emphasis. They dissect specific weapons, explore efforts to control proliferation, illuminate the psychology of WMD terrorism, trace the origins and development of international efforts to reduce WMDs, and address the formidable problem of developing feasible counter-measures and policies.

World Communism: Pamphlets from McMaster University - This collection contains un-cataloged pamphlets about communism, socialism, and class struggle. The pamphlets are global in scope, although they are all in English unless otherwise noted. The bulk of the collection originates from China and Soviet Russia during the post-WWII period, although Cuba and Britain are strongly represented as well.

World War II, Occupation, and the Civil War in Greece, 1940-1949: Records of the U.S. State Department Classified Files - This collection charts the Axis occupation during World War II and the terrible hardships experienced by the Greek civilian population.