Political Science Research Guide: International Relations

International Relations represents the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system - including the roles of states and non-state participants.  Areas of interest in the field include:

As this area touches on areas dealing with a wide range of players (i.e. various Governments and NGOs), International Law, Foreign Governments, International Relations & events unfolding in Foreign Countries, you may need to consult a wide array of information sources.

To locate Journal Articles on:

•  International Relations (in General) consult the International Relations Databases Box Listed Below.
   
•  How events impact citizens in various states, consult the Society and Social Group Databases listed in the box below
   
• Political Theory and International Relations (e.g. the relations between Communist vs Capitalist States), review our listing of Political Theory and Political Philosophy Databases listed in the box below.
   
• International Law, consult the Lexis-Nexis Database.which has Treaties as well as Journal Articles dealing with International Law. 
  NOTE: To find International Treaties in this database, select Sources - Browse Sources - then click on Treaties and International Agreements.

For more information on IGOs, NGOs, INGOs and MNCs go to the section of  the Libguide that deals with International Organizations.

For access to Legal Documents pertaining to International Law, consult the Legal Resources listed in this Libguide.

For current information about International Affairs consult one of the Library's Newspaper Databases.

To access Books related to International Relations, search the Library Catalog .

Databases of Relevance to International Relations  include:

• Canadian Reference Center
  Lists articles in Canadian Publications including those dealing with Canada and the World
   
• EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier
  Interdisciplinary full-text database indexing many Political Science journals. Also has indexing for Newsmagazines which makes it useful for current events.
   
• JSTOR
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences.  Coverage is retrospective (3-5 years and older).
   
• Periodical Archive Online
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Coverage is retrospective (3-5 years and older).
  
   
• Project Muse
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences.  Unlike  Periodical Archive Online and JSTOR Project Muse is current.
   
• Web of Knowledge
  Coverage:Interdisciplinary database that indexes the most widely respected periodicals in Academia.

For a Historical Treatment of International Relations, you will need to consult:

• America: History and Life
  Useful resource for historical Political Science Topics.  Indexes Canadian and American History Journals.  Use for topics like constitutional history.
   
• Historical Abstracts
  As Historical Abstracts index history journal outside of North America, it is a useful tool for Political Science topics such as Historical Monarchies, Oligarchies, Theological Regimes, Marxist Regimes, Failed States, Nation Building, etc.
   

For information about the Moral and Ethical aspects of International Relations (e.g. dealing with Genocide), try consulting databases such as:

• ATLA Religion Index
  Religion index with information on ethics.
   
• Philosopher's Index
  Philosophy index with information about Moral and Ethical issues.

If your topic deals with how different groups (Women, First Nations, etc) are effected by events occuring around the world  you may also wish to consult databases that cite literature related to them.  They are listed below.
 

• Bibliography of Native North Americans Database
  Useful for topics dealing with First Nations People and Political Behavior.
   
• LGBT Life Database
  Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Trans-Gender Studies is useful for topics dealing with Gender Orientation and Political Behavior.
   
• ATLA Religion Index
  Database that indexes journals in the field of Religion. Useful for topics dealing with Religion and Political Behavior.
   
• SocIndex
  This Sociology Database will provide you with citations to articles that deal with people in different groups and how they participate in political decisions.
   
• Business Source Premier
  This Database will provide you with information on how Businesses in various parts of the world effect - and are effected by - events in various countries.

There are a few good places to look for journal articles in the areas of Political Theory and Political Philosophy. These include:

• Philosopher's Index  (Highly Recommended)
  Good resource for issues related to  Ethics, Justice, Liberty, Human Rights, Consent & Duties, (etc) - as well as  what political philosophers say are the pros and cons of various Forms of State. 
   
• SocIndex  (Also Highly Recommended)
  Use to locate Journal Articles pertaining to Peace and Conflict - or  Social Order and Citizenship - in a particular society (e.g. Rwanda).
   
• EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier
  Iinterdisciplinary full-text database indexing many Political Science journals. Also has indexing for Newsmagazines which makes it useful for current events.
   
• JSTOR
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences.  Coverage is retrospective (3-5 years and older)
   
• Periodical Archive Online
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences.  Coverage is retrospective (3-5 years and older)
   
• Project Muse
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences. 
   
• Web of Knowledge
  Coverage:
  Interdisciplinary database that indexes the most widely respected periodicals in Academia.

At times, you may be looking fo a Historical Treatment of any one of these topics (e.g. past Fascist regimes).  If you need this type of information consult one of the following History Databases:

• America: History and Life
      Use for Political Theory and Political Philosophy topics in North American History - like the American Civil Rights movement. 
      Also useful for a discussion of the Historical Debate around the U.S. Constitution, Parliamentary Democracy, or Responsible 
      Government in Canada.
   
• Historical Abstracts
      Use this database to locate journal articles that deal with Political Theory issues as they occurred in World  History (outside of 
      Canada and the  U.S.)  It is also very useful for issues related to Forms of State that occurred in the past (e.g. Nazi Germany, 
      Soviet Union, Maoist China, Monarchies, etc.) 

After searching a Database, you may need to learn if an article cited is in a journal held by the library. 

To learn if the library owns the journal, search our Journal Titles List.

If a journal is not in our collection, you can still get the article via Inter-Library Loans.

If you are a student or faculty member at Brandon University, you can access databases from off campus.

If you are accessing the library's web site from off campus, most links on the library's web site will first take you to the Proxy Authentication Page, where you can log in with your Brandon University username and password. Once you have logged in, you will be taken to the destination of the link. You should only have to log in once per session.

To log in, you will need your Brandon University username and password - the same username and password you use to log into the Brandon University network when you're on campus. If you have not claimed your username and password or you are having trouble logging in with those, you should contact the Brandon University Help Desk (Phone 571-8500 Monday -Friday 8:30AM to 4:30PM).

For more information, see the Off-Campus Access Page