Research Guides: *International and Global Studies (IGS): US & International Grey Lit Sources

Think Tanks

Think tanks are non-governmental organizations that conduct research and analysis on specific political, economic, or social issues and produce this work in reports, policy briefs and white papers. While the research is usually thorough and robust, you will also want to dig into the nature of the organization that produced it to identify areas of bias.

PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Public policy papers and grey literature from over 120 countries, 1915-present.
Policy File Index (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Offers access to U.S. foreign and domestic policy papers and gray literature. Updated weekly with abstracts and links to reports, papers, and documents from think tanks, research institutes, and agencies.

Syria, 1974

UN Medics treat Syrian children, 1974

US Government Sources

Department of State Bilateral Fact Sheets
Provides overall status and lists of sources on every country in the world, from the US State Department. Updated periodically

Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
Includes more than 60,000 of the most important declassified documents regarding critical U.S. policy decisions post WWII.
ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Access to congressional publications, hearings, debates, committee prints, CRS reports, legislative histories, bills, current laws, and regulations. Presently includes the full texts of hearings from 1824-2023, House & Senate Reports (Serial Set 1 & 2) from 1789-2003, CRS reports from 1916-2003, committee prints from 1830-2022, historical Congressional Record (debates) from 1789-1997 as well as the current Daily Congressional Record (debates) from 1985 to present, the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.

State Department E-Reading Room - Freedom of Information Act
Search nearly 100.000 released records from the State Department or request release of specific information under FOIA,
State Department - Office of the Historian
Responsible, under law, for the preparation and publication of the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy in the Foreign Relations of the United States series.

The CRS, a division of the Library of Congress, provides policy and legal analysis to representatives and senators in Congress. CRS reports are renown for authoritative, objective, and non-partisan research but are not directly released to the public. CRS reports are available in several online collections including:

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
Analytical, nonpartisan reports on major policy issues, prepared for members and committees of the United States Congress. This search interface will have CRS reports published from September 2018 onward, with an ongoing effort to fill in the back file.
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More information on the public release of CRS Reports.
University of North Texas CRS Reports Collection
UNT digital collection of Congressional Research Service Reports boasts a robust number of entries on various topics and is updated constantly.
Federation of American Scientists CRS Reports
This CRS repository focuses on foreign policy, military, and arms-related topics. FAS was founded in 1945 by many of the Manhattan Project scientists who wanted to prevent nuclear war. Updated monthly.

International Sources

EUROPA, Official Website of the EU
Topics include policy, economy, law and financial reports.
Global Issues in Context
Offers international viewpoints on a broad spectrum of global issues, topics, and current events. UNet login required.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation. Research, reports, data and statistics available on topics from the economy, politics and policy.
National Parliaments Website List (IPU)
List of countries with links to parliamentary websites from the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The IPU was founded in 1889 to act as a forum for those countries with active parliaments.

OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
Books, papers, and statistics from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Published factbooks bring together essential statistics by theme; other statistical data can be manipulated as tables or charts within iLibrary and downloaded.

Untied Nations
News, updates, bulletins from the United Nations.
World Bank
The World Bank is a United Nations international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. Policies, statistics, research and other information available here.