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Subject guide

International Studies

This Subject Guide will provide you with an overview of useful databases and online resources available within and outside the University Library. This subject guide is your starting point, aiding you in finding sources for any research field within the field of International Studies and International Relations.

Subjects
International relations, globalization, political economy, history, culture
Geographical areas
Africa, East, Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East, Russia and Eurasia, East Asia, South and Southeast Asia

About the collection

All sources within the library, both digital and on paper, are available to you. This Subject Guide will focus on offering you a guide to sources that are most relevant to you when working within the field of International Studies.

The University Library has many locations. The Hague Campus houses the Wijnhaven Library, where you will find a ‘reference library’. These are key texts within your field of studies or course material. You cannot borrow these books, but you can use them within the library and make copies and scans for your personal use. Please ask the librarians on location to help you.


The Wijnhaven Library also has ‘Course Reserve Shelves’. These are shelves where your teachers place required course materials and recommended reading. You cannot borrow these books while they are on these shelves, but you can use them within the library and make copies and scans for your personal use. Teachers choose this option to help you; both to ensure availability of required texts when supply is low or inaccessible, or to provide you with a ready-made supplemental reading list.

Location

Publications from the various UBL locations may be borrowed at the Wijnhaven Library by requesting them using the Catalogue (choose ‘Campus Den Haag’ as a pick-up location). This is not an interlibrary loan, and asking for books to be transported to different locations is free, and fast! (link to delivery times Delivery schedule - Leiden University (universiteitleiden.nl)).

Book/Article not available? When an article or book is not available, you can request an interlibrary loan (LINK Can't find it at UBL - Leiden University (universiteitleiden.nl)) Interlibrary loan is quick and affordable. If ILL is not an option, you can make a Purchase Request to your Subject Librarian. The library cannot purchase individual articles or journals for you. The subject librarian will process your request in two weeks. If they decide to purchase the book for you, it may take up to 6 weeks for it to arrive.

Political Economy

  • Oxford Handbooks Online: Economics and Finance
    The handbooks in this subcollection of Oxford Handbooks Online consist of scholarly review essays written by the world’s leading scholars to evaluate the current thinking on a field or topic and make an original argument about the future direction of the debate in the field of economics and finance.

 

International Relations

Also see the dedicated subject guides of Political Science, Public Administration, Law, History or individual area studies.

  • Yearbook of the United Nations
    The Yearbook is the principal reference work of the United Nations and provides a detailed overview of the Organization's activities. Each Yearbook is fully indexed and includes all major General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council resolutions.
  • UN iLibrary
    Research repository providing access to the digital content created by the UN on topics such as peacemaking and security, international law and justice, governance and economic development.
  • International Encyclopedia of Political Science
    Encyclopedia covering all main subdisciplines of political science, containing articles and extensive bibliographical references on topics such as  political economy and international relations.
  • Encyclopedia of Global Justice
    Interdisciplinary reference work related to issues of global justice, such as human rights, globalization, political economy and a range of international organizations and institutions.
  • Eur-lex
    Eur-lex is a portal to European Union law, including the Official Journal, treaties, legislation (also in preparation), case-law, parliamentary questions and documents.
  • Legal Intelligence
    Legal Intelligence is a database containing legal information from free public legal sources in their mutual relations. The legal domains are: Legislation (Dutch & European), Case law (Dutch & European), International Treaties, Dutch and European official publications, and articles from law journals.

 

  • SIPRI Yearbook:  SIPRI yearbook is the yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on armaments, disarmament and international security. It contains analysis, data, and commentary written by leading researchers. SIPRI Yearbook Online offers access to editions of the SIPRI yearbook from 2010 and onwards.

Also see the dedicated subject guides of Literary Studies, Linguistics, or the various area studies.

  • Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
    The LLBA is a bibliographical database covering the field of linguistics in its widest sense. It provides citations and abstracts of articles published in ca. 1200 journals worldwide and in collective works.
  • MLA International Bibliography
    The MLA International Bibliography is a subject index for books, articles and websites published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics, the majority of of which are from English-language publications.
  • Linguistics Bibliography Online
    The Linguistic Bibliography Online database provides bibliographical references to scholarly publications in linguistics. It covers all branches of linguistics, both theoretical and descriptive, from all geographical areas.
  • Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics
    Though a bit dated, the Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics is a comprehensive reference work on all aspects of language and linguistics, serving well as a starting point for research.

Netherlands

Also see the dedicated subject guide to Dutch Studies.

  • Bibliografie van de Nederlandse Taal- en Literatuurwetenschap (BNTL) (Dutch)
    The Bibliografie van de Nederlandse Taal- en Literatuurwetenschap comprises descriptions of books, articles in journals and books, and electronic publications, in the field of Dutch and Friesian language and literature from the 1940s onwards.
  • Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands (EWN) (Dutch)
    This etymological dictionary traces the meaning of contemporary Dutch words back to their origin and development.
  • Nexis Uni (Dutch)
    Nexis Uni contains the complete fulltexts of the Dutch newspapers Algemeen Dagblad, NRC Handelsblad, Parool, Trouw en De Volkskrant. The archive of the NRC starts in 1990; the other newspapers in the period 1991-1995.
  • StatLine (Dutch)
    StatLine is the electronic database of the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics, containing statistical information on many social, political and economic subjects regarding the Netherlands, in the shape of tables and graphs.
  • Staten-Generaal digitaal. Parlementaire handelingen uit de periode 1814 tot 1995 (Dutch)
    Staten-Generaal digitaal contains written reports from the Dutch Senate and House of Representatives for the period 1814-1995. Searchable on themes such as Europe, human rights and the political history of the Netherlands.
  • Verdragenbank (Dutch)
    The Treaty Database of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs covers all treaties published in the Netherlands Treaty Series that apply to any part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Treaty Database only contains information on treaties, not the full texts of the treaties.

Germany

Also see the dedicated subject guide to German Language and Culture.

  • Bibliographie der deutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft (BDSL) (German)
    The BDSL is the most important bibliography for German language and literature studies published worldwide from 1985 onwards.

  • Historische Bibliographie Online (German) 
    The database Historische Bibliographie, published since 1990, records German-language books, articles from German and non-German journals, contributions from miscellanea and festschriften, as well as dissertations and other monographs, articles from journals and collected volumes. All historical periods are represented; prehistory, antiquity, middle ages, early modern and modern times.

  • Digital national security archive (English)
    The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified (U.S.) government documents available and covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. For example includes documents about the Berlin Crisis (1958-1962).

France

Also see the dedicated subject guide to French Language and Culture.

  • Klapp-Online (French)
    Klapp-Online is the most comprehensive overview of publications on French literature since 1956. It is mainly used to search for references of books and articles.

European newspapers

  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Nexis Uni (all European languages)
    NexisUni is a database of full-text articles from thousands of international newspapers.

Encyclopedias and dictionaries

  • American national biography
    In the American National Biography you will find the biographies of more than 19.000 people from all over the world that have contributed to American History. The illustrated database is updated twice a year.
  • American periodicals (1740-1940)
    American Periodicals contains digitized images of American special interest and general magazines, labor and trade publications, scientific and literary journals, and photographic periodicals, as well as other historically significant titles.
  • Literary Encyclopedia Online
    Literary Encyclopedia Online is a databases with background information in English about classic and modern literature, covering the English and American literature.
  • Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
    This authoritative dictionary traces the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It gives the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words, present and past, from across the English-speaking world.
  • The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English 
    This dictionary details the slang and unconventional English of the English-speaking world since 1945, and through the first decade of the new millennium. With an emphasis on post-World War II slang and unconventional English, equal prominence is given to American and British English slang, and entries included from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, South Africa, Ireland, and the Caribbean. Includes commentary on the term’s origins and meaning, as well as hundreds of thousands of citations from popular literature, newspapers, magazines, movies, and songs illustrating usage of the headwords.

Databases

  • The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available and covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. For example includes information about: 
    • Terrorism and U.S. Policy, 1968–2002
    • U.S. Espionage and Intelligence, 1947–1996
    • U.S. Intelligence and China: Collection, Analysis and Covert Action
    • The U.S. Intelligence Community: Organization, Operations and Management, 1947–1989
    • The U.S. Intelligence Community After 9/11
    • U.S. Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction: From World War II to Iraqi
    • U.S. Military Uses of Space, 1945–1991
    • U.S. Nuclear History: Nuclear Arms and Politics in the Missile Age, 1955–1968
    • U.S. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Policy, 1945–1991
    • U.S. Policy in the Vietnam War, Part I: 1954-1968
    • U.S. Policy in the Vietnam War, Part II: 1969-1975
    • The United States and the Two Koreas (1969-2000) 
  • Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice collection provides a means for students to use images of the documents, manuscripts and images  revelant to the history of slavery, abolition and social justice. Useful for the study of world history, U.S. history, British history, and Latin American history.
     
  • Congressional Hearings (1824-1979) provides both published and unpublished congressional hearings from the United States and constitutes a source of policy analysis and research in for example economics, international relations and national security. Contains full transcript of the proceedings, including oral statements, committee questions and discussions, as well as related reports, statistical analyses and correspondence between 1824 and 1979.

Newspapers

  • Factiva (English and Spanish)
    Factiva is a database of full-text articles from thousands of international newspapers, including from North America.

Also see the dedicated subject guide for Latin American Studies.

Bibliographies

  • Hispanic American Periodicals (HAPI) (English, Spanish and Portuguese)
    This Database of Hispanic American Periodicals includes bibliographical records of articles, bookreviews and other material on Latin America from 1970 to the present.
  • Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) Online (English) 
    Bibliographical database on Latin America edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress, covering a range of disciplines such as art, economics, geography, government and politics, international relations, literature, philosophy, and sociology.

Databases

  • Digital national security archive (English)
    The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available and covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. For example includes information concerning:
    • Argentina, 1975-1980: The Making of U.S. Human Rights Policy
    • Chile and the United States: U.S. Policy toward Democracy, Dictatorship, and Human Rights, 1970–1990
    • Colombia and the United States: Political Violence, Narcotics, and Human Rights, 1948-2010 
    • The Cuban Missile Crisis
    • Death Squads, Guerrilla War, Covert Ops, and Genocide: Guatemala and the United States, 1954-1999
    • El Salvador: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1977–1984
    • El Salvador: War, Peace, and Human Rights, 1980–1994
    • Nicaragua: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1978–1990
    • Peru: Human Rights, Drugs and Democracy, 1980-2000
  • Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice (English)
    This collection provides a unique means for students to comprehend the form of historical investigation by using images of the documents, manuscripts and images - not typed and transcribed renditions. Useful for the study of world history, U.S. history, British history, and Latin American history.

Newspapers

  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Factiva (English, Spanish and Portuguese)
    Database of full-text articles from thousands of international newspapers, including from Latin America.

Also view the dedicated subject guide for Chinese Studies.

Encyclopedias & Bibliographies

  • Brill’s encyclopedia of China online
    Brill’s Encyclopedia of China Online is based on the originally a thousandpage reference work on China with a clear focus on the modern period from the mid-nineteenth century to the 21st century. Written by the world’s top scholars, Brill’s Encyclopedia of China is the first place to look for reliable information on the history, geography, society, economy, politics, science, and culture of China.
  • Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics
    The Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics offers a systematic and comprehensive overview of the languages of China and the different ways in which they are and have been studied. It provides authoritative treatment of all important aspects of the languages spoken in China, today and in the past, from many different angles, as well as the different linguistic traditions they have been investigated in.
  • Bibliography of Asian Studies
    This bibliography covers a variety of journals, particularly ones published in Asia, that are not available anywhere else. Coverage spans most subjects with an emphasis in humanities and the social sciences. Contains records from journals, conference proceedings, Festschriften and more on all subjects (especially in the humanities and the social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide. BAS also covers Western-language chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, Festschriften and similar publications. Coverage starts in 1971, with monographs being excluded from 1992.
  • Oxford Bibliographies – Chinese Studies
    This bibliography provides a good introduction on the history, language, culture and politics of China. In addition to the bibliography on particular topics it provides an introductory text covering the key insights and debates. Updated regularly.

Full-text academic journals

  • China academic journals (Chinese)
    The China Academic Journal Database provides access to the full-texts of more than 2,000 academic journals from the PRC, from 1994 to the current date. The following general topics are covered with our license: 1) literature, history & philosophy, politics, military affairs & law, 2) Politics, Military Affairs, Law, 3) Education & Social Sciences, 4) Economics & Management.
  • Airiti (Chinese)
    The Airiti Journals are a collection with over 900 full text journals from Taiwan in the fields of humanities (religion, philosophy, history, art, linguistics, literature, anthropology, etc.) and social sciences. Most of the journals are in Chinese, but there are also several journals in English.

Databases

  • Digital national security archive
    The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available and covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. For example includes the databases:
    • China and the United States: From Hostility to Engagement, 1960–1998
    • U.S. Intelligence and China: Collection, Analysis and Covert Action
  • China Yearbooks full-text database (English and Chinese) 
    This database collects various type of yearbooks including national, regional, industry, enterprise yearbooks and so on. A yearbook is a type of chronicle almanac which records facts, statistics, activities, events and other national or regional conditions in an intensive, detailed, timely, comprehensive and systematic manner. Through yearbook, you can learn about a country, a specific industry or field, or a particular region from every aspect such as politics, economy, science and technology, culture and education.

Newspapers

  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Factiva (English and Chinese)
    Factiva is a full text newspaper database with thousands of newspapers worldwide. Factiva comprises fulltext articles from thousands of international newspapers (more than 2,000) and journals (more than 3,200), offering a wealth of information on various corporations, ministeries, banks and so forth. Through selection of subject (‘economic news’), region (Asia) and language (Chinese) search queries can be narrowed down. In ‘Search builder’ under ‘source’ includes BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, which consists of translated (to English) local news.

Also see the dedicated subject guide of Japanese Studies.

Bibliographies

  • Bibliography of Asian Studies Online (English)
    This bibliography covers a variety of journals, particularly ones published in Asia, not available anywhere else. Coverage spans most subjects with an emphasis in humanities and the social sciences pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide. BAS also covers Western-language chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, Festschriften and similar publications. Coverage starts in 1971, with monographs being excluded from 1992.

Encyclopedias and dictionaries

  • JapanKnowledge (Japanese and English)
    JapanKnowledge is a full-text, searchable online collection of most of the major encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference works and specialized publications on Japan. The database includes English-language reference works and encyclopedia’s.

Databases

  • Digital national security archive (English)
    The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available and covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. For example includes documents concerning Japan and the United States: Diplomatic, Security, and Economic Relations, 1960–2000.
  • Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal affairs and communications (English and Japanese)
    The Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) is responsible for Japan's fundamental censuses and statistical surveys. The Population Census and the Economic Census are the most basic censuses. The Population Census covers all the people living in Japan, which clarifies the status of population and households. The Economic Census investigates the distribution and the activities of all business establishments and enterprises in Japan. 

Newspapers

  • Japan Times (English)
    The Japan Times was founded in 1897 with the intention to "give Japanese the opportunity to read news and current events in English. Contains issues published between 1897 and 2016.
  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Yomidasu rekishikan (English and Japanese)
    Full-text and image data of articles from Yomiuri Shinbun, Japan’s oldest and largest newspaper. Includes the English edition, The Daily Yomiuri, and bibliographical information on some 2000 people. Important Japanese newspaper available online from the first edition. It enables you to search within certain sections of the newspaper such as economy, finance, business and so forth.
  • Factiva (English and Japanese)
    Factiva is a full text newspaper database with thousands of newspapers worldwide. It comprises fulltext articles from thousands of international newspapers and journals offering a wealth of information on various corporations, ministeries, banks and so forth. Through selection of subject (‘economic news’), region (Asia) and language (Japanese) search queries can be narrowed down. In ‘Search builder’ under ‘source’ includes BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, which consists of translated (to English) local news.
  • Asahi Shimbun (Japanese)
    Database containing all editions of one of the largest Japanese newspapers, the Asahi Shimbun, and the Aera news magazine. Also contains an encyclopedia of contemporary vocabulary Chiezō.

Also see the dedicated subject guide of Korean Studies.

Bibliographies

  • Bibliography of Asian Studies Online (English)
    This bibliography covers a variety of journals, particularly ones published in Asia, not available anywhere else. Coverage spans most subjects with an emphasis in humanities and the social sciences pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide. BAS also covers Western-language chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, Festschriften and similar publications. Coverage starts in 1971, with monographs being excluded from 1992.

Full-text articles

  • DBpia (Korean)
    DBpia is a database that provides access to fulltext articles from Korean scholarly journals about amongst others economics and management, education, administration, social sciences, literature, arts and humanities.
  • KISS (Korean)
    Kiss is a full-text database including articles from thousands of scholarly journals on linguistics, humanities, social science, natural science, engineering, agricultural science, marine science and arts.

Databases

  • Statistics Korea (English and Korean)
    Statistics Korea provides information helpful to locate existing statistical surveys on topics such as business activities, fishing and agriculture, retail, transportation, consumption, education, labor force, income and expenditure, consumer prices, cause of death, and more. 
  • K-Developedia (English and Korean)
    This database provides easy access to resources of Korea’s development, containing full texts, photos and videos on Korea’s development experience. It covers economy, industry and technology, territorial development, social development, government, law and official aid.

Newspapers

  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Factiva (English and Korean)
    Factiva is a full text newspaper database with thousands of newspapers worldwide. Factiva comprises fulltext articles from thousands of international newspapers (more than 2,000) and journals (more than 3,200), offering a wealth of information on various corporations, ministeries, banks and so forth. Through selection of subject (‘economic news’), region (Asia) and language (Korean) search queries can be narrowed down. In ‘Search builder’ under ‘source’ includes BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, which consists of translated (to English) local news.
  • Korea Integrated News Database System (KINDS) (Korean)
    Database for full-text newspapers from the 1990s onwards.

Also see the dedicated subject guide to South and Southeast Asian Studies.

Bibliographies

  • Bibliography of Asian Studies (English)
    This bibliography covers a variety of journals, particularly ones published in Asia, that are not available anywhere else. Coverage spans most subjects with an emphasis in humanities and the social sciences. Contains records from journals, conference proceedings, Festschriften and more on all subjects (especially in the humanities and the social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide. BAS also covers Western-language chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, Festschriften and similar publications. Coverage starts in 1971, with monographs being excluded from 1992.

Databases

  • KITLV Digital Media Library
    The KITLV Digital Media Library is a collection of more than 190,000 digitised photographs, prints, drawings, maps, pamphlets, publications and songs particulary from Indonesia, the Netherlands Indies, Suriname and the Caribbean. Additionally there are images of migrants from these areas who resided temporarily or resettled in the Netherlands.

Newspapers

  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Factiva (English and Bahasa Indonesia)
    Factiva is a full text newspaper database with thousands of newspapers worldwide. Factiva comprises fulltext articles from thousands of international newspapers, offering a wealth of information on various corporations, ministeries, banks and so forth. Through selection of subject (‘economic news’), region (Asia) and language (Bahasa Indonesia) search queries can be narrowed down. In ‘Search builder’ under ‘source’ includes BBC Monitoring South Asia, which consists of local news translated to English.

Also view the dedicated subject guide to Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Encyclopedias & Bibliographies

  • Literary Encyclopedia Online (English)
    A database with background information on classic and modern English, American and Russian literature.

Newspapers

  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Factiva (English and Russian)
    Factiva comprises fulltext articles from thousands of international newspapers. Through selection of subject (‘economic news’), region (Asia>Russia) and language (Russian) search queries can be narrowed down. In ‘Search builder’ under ‘source’ includes BBC Monitoring Central Asia as well as Former Soviet Union, which consists of local news translated to English.

Also view the dedicated subject guide to Middle Eastern Studies.

Dictionaries

  • Oxford Dictionaries Arabic
    Extensive online dictionary that is fully searchable in both English and Arabic.

Encyclopedias & Bibliographies

  • Encyclopedia of Islam III (English)
    The most complete encyclopedia on the Middle East and Islam. Authoritative source not only for the religion but alsof or the believers and the countries in which they live. Comprehensive coverage of the history, culture, religion and politics of Islam in the twentieth century and of Muslim minorities all over the world.
  • Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics (English)
    This encyclopedia contains lemma’s on all aspects of the study of Arabic (pre-classical Arabic, Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic vernaculars, mixed varieties of Arabic).
  • Encyclopaedia Iranica (English)
    Multi-disciplinary reference work and research tool designed to record the facts of Iranian history and civilization. It focuses on the land, life, culture and history of all Iranian peoples and their interaction with other societies. Topics include linguistics, foreign relations, material culture and history.
  • Encyclopedia of jews in islamic world (English)
    Reference work covering the Jews of Muslim lands in North Africa and the Middle East throughout history.
  • Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies (English)
    Guidance to key literature on topics in Islamic Studies, such as Islamic political theory, Arab Spring, Arab language, human rights, and Islam in various countries.

Databases

  • Digital national security archive
    The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available and covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. For example includes the databases:
    • Iran: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1977–1980
    • The Iran-Contra Affair: The Making of a Scandal, 1983–1988
    • Iraqgate: Saddam Hussein, U.S. Policy and the Prelude to the Persian Gulf War, 1980–1994

Newspapers

  • African Intelligence (English - only in University Library)
    Africa’s leading news site, reporting on politics, business and economics in each country in the region. Covers much of North Africa, such as Marocco, Algeria, Tunesia and Libya (but excludes Egypt).
  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Factiva (English, Arabic or Turkish)
    Factiva comprises fulltext articles from thousands of international newspapers and journals. Through selection of subject (‘economic news’), region (Middle East) and language (Arabic, Turkish) search queries can be narrowed down. In ‘Search builder’ under ‘source’ includes BBC Monitoring Middle East, which consists of translated (to English) newspaper articles from the Middle East.

For more African resources, see the website of the Africa Studies Centre Leiden.

Guides to sources

  • ASCL Country Portal (English)
    Provides a list of free internet resources and other information curated by the staff at the Africa Studies Center Leiden. This portal presents information on each African country at a glance, linking to e-resources on topics such as government, law, human rights, security, economy and development.
  • Studying Africa. A guide to sources (English)
    Very useful guide from 2014 providing practical guidance on literature and fact searches, bibliographies, databases, handbooks, statistics and official documents compiled by the Nordic Africa Institute.
  • Brill's Africa Yearbook Online (English)
    Overview of major domestic political developments, foreign policy and socio-economic trends in each state of Sub-Sahara Africa per calendar year.

Newspapers

  • African Intelligence (English - only within University Library)
    Africa’s leading news site, reporting on politics, business and economics in each country in the region.
  • Africa Confidential (English - only within University Library)
    Provides in-depth news and analysis on political, economic and security developments across the African continent. Allows for searches per country and category (economy, emerging markets, human rights, peace building etcetera).
  • Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) (English)
    Translated transcripts of a broad range of news sources from around the world collected by the United States’ CIA in the period 1941-1996: broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. 
  • Factiva (English)
    Factiva comprises fulltext articles from thousands of international newspapers and journals. Through selection of subject (‘economic news’), region (Africa) search queries can be narrowed down. In ‘Search builder’ under ‘source’ includes BBC Monitoring Africa, which consists of local news translated to English.

Streaming video databases

Online consultation 
Many of our audiovisual resources are available in digital format. Students and staff of Leiden University can consult these resources from within or outside the university network via our Catalogue after signing in with their ULCN and password. For guests of the library many of our online resources are only available from within the library buildings. The UBL has computers available for this purpose, but you can also bring your own laptop or tablet.

How to find streaming video databases

  • Go to our Catalogue
  • Hit Find Databases
  • Select the type: Streaming Video
  • Hit Search

Relevant collections

  • Current affairs in video
    Politics and Current Affairs Video Online brings together documentaries covering immigration and border studies, Middle East studies, urban studies, politicial science, globalization, human rights, and related topics.
  • Docuseek 2
    Collection of independent documentaries and social issue films. Searchable through relevant topics, such as 'Political economy', 'International relations and geopolitics', 'Citizenship, social movements and activism' and 'Immigration and refugees', as well as well as by region.
  • Etnographic video online
    Large video streaming collection about human culture and behaviour. Volume II is particularly relevant for International Studies, including films and  documentaries about global issues such as environmental degradation and climate change, refugee migration, and endangered languages.
  • Beeld en geluid op school (only in Dutch)
    Television and radio programs from the archives of the Dutch Institute for Sound and Vision (Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid), consisting of both archive materials and a selection of recent programs (news, documentaries etc) of Dutch public broadcasting associations.
  • Asian film online
    Asian Film Online is a repository of documentaries, feature films and shorts that provides a first-hand perspective into contemporary Asian issues through the voices of Asian filmmakers and content producers.
  • Food studies online
    Food Studies Online is a database that includes archival content, visual ephemera, text and videos (130 documentaries, 81 commercials  as well as interviews and news stories) on a range of topics related to food studies. Subjects include marketing and advertising, packaging, food industry, organic farming/small farms, school lunch programs, childhood nutrition, environmental impact of GMOs, food security, famine, vegetarianism, labor practices, food safety, obesity, gender roles through history, food habits around the world and more.

Physical collection

Consultation of physical AV materials (DVD, CD, etc.) 
Our collection contains a limited selection of audio and video resources stored on DVD, CD, cassettes, etc. that may be interesting for International Studies. These materials can be located via the Catalogue and requested by clicking the button Availability under the title. An exception is made for AV resources from the Social and Behavioural Sciences Library where these materials can only be requested at the library desk.

Borrowing/consultation physical AV materials (DVD, CD, etc.) 
Most DVDs, CDs and other physical available audiovisual materials, are not for loan. They are only available for consultation within the library. One can consult these materials in one of our libraries. Staff  members of Leiden University form the exception: they are allowed to borrow these materials with a maximum loan period of 3 days.

How to find a known AV title

  • Go to our Catalogue
  • Enter several words from the title and hit Search, e.g.: Metropolis
  • Refine, using the filters on the left, with Resource Type = Audiovisual
  • If you do not see Audiovisual, then hit More options under Resource type


How to find AV material by subject in our Catalogue

  • Go to our Catalogue
  • Enter a subject, e.g.: “international relations” and hit Search
  • Refine, using the filters on the left, with Resource Type = Audiovisual
  • If you do not see Audiovisual, then hit More options under Resource type

Project Muse is a collaboration between libraries and publishers providing 100% fulltext and online access to over 380 high quality humanities and social sciences journals from over 60 scholarly publishers.

Web of Science (WoS) is a frequently used bibliographical database, that is comprised of three different citation databases, including the Social Sciences Citation Index (1956 to present). WoS contains abstracts of journal articles and books, references and citations. 

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts is a bibliographic database that allows for searching articles in international journals in political science, international relations and public administration. It provides abstracts, citations and references for many articles. 

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