Go to the main WWW Virtual Library site.The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs ResourcesGo to the main WWW Virtual Library site.

Please select the next resource category that you want.


American Foreign Policy

U.S. flag

NOTE: Also check the many relevant links in the United States Government Information Sources, U.S. Government Sources in International Business, Peace, Conflict Resolution, and International Security, International Relations Journals and Magazines, and Research Institutes sections of this Web site.
Available for free download: A PDF copy of my Internet Research Guide for American Foreign Policy

After September 11: Perspectives from the Social Sciences-- From the Social Science Research Council, "an extraordinary collection of essays by leading social scientists from around the country and the world. These are efforts by social scientists to bring theoretical and empirical knowledge to bear on the events of Sept. 11, their precursors, and what comes after."

America's Global Role-- From Public Agenda, a guide to the global role of the U.S., with an issue section on the facts and policy alternatives, and a public opinion section with a detailed profile of public thinking about the issue.

American Academy of Diplomacy-- "Private, non-profit, non-partisan, elected society of men and women who have held positions of major responsibility in the formulation and implementation of American diplomacy." This distinguished group posts publications within its mission "to help enhance the quality of American diplomacy and to build greater public understanding of the critical role played by diplomacy in America's foreign policy process."

American Diplomacy-- A free, quarterly "electronic journal of commentary, analysis, and research on American foreign policy and its practice," run largely by retired U.S. diplomats, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Includes an archive of past articles.

American Foreign Policy Council-- "Non-profit organization dedicated to bringing information to those who make or influence the foreign policy of the United States and to assisting world leaders, particularly in the former USSR, with building democracies and market economies." Many excellent online articles from a staff of noted experts.

Center for Defense Information-- Searchable information on and analysis of U.S. and world military expenditures, arms transfers, and many other international security issues, in the form of reports, analyses, issue briefs, and opinion essays. Free online access to CDI Defense Monitor, Russian Weekly and other insightful newsletters. The Terrorism Program offers online research papers on various aspects of that issue.

Center for International Policy-- Policy organization in Washington, D.C. "promoting a U.S. foreign policy based on international cooperation, demilitarization and respect for basic human rights." Posts International Policy Reports and a newsletter on human rights, international security, and conflict resolution issues.

Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments-- "Independent, non-partisan policy research institute established to promote innovative thinking and debate about national security strategy and investment options. CSBA’s goal is to enable policymakers to make informed decisions in matters of strategy, security policy and resource allocation." Posts information and analysis on financial implications of U.S. defense policies and actions.

Chicago Council on Global Affairs Public Opinion Surveys-- The online (PDF) full-text versions of the excellent Chicago Council on Global Affairs authoritative biennial studies of the American public's and leadership's attitudes on international matters. "In addition to painting a portrait of American public attitudes on baseline issues, each survey explores opinions on a timely theme...The surveys also compare American public attitudes with those in other countries." Site posts surveys since 1975.

Coalition for American Leadership Abroad-- Non-profit organization of 39 member organizations to further public debate about international issues affecting U.S. interests. Site provides basic information about major foreign affairs issues, and argues that engagement abroad is important to the U.S.

Cold War-- Much information about and from the excellent 1998 CNN TV series on the history of the Cold War.

Cold War International History Project-- From the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, works for release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War, and publicizes new information and perspectives on Cold War history. Has a large, searchable virtual library of documents, Working Papers, Bulletins, and a discussion group.

Combating Terrorism Center-- At the United States Military Academy, West Point, a research and educational unit "actively involved in supporting the Global War on Terror through education, research, and policy analysis." Posts Center reports, news, commentary, and analysis.

Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction-- Information about and March 2005 final report to the President of the Commission charged to "specifically evaluate the challenges of obtaining information regarding the design, development, manufacture, acquisition, possession, proliferation, transfer, testing, potential or threatened use, or use of Weapons of Mass Destruction, related means of delivery, and other related threats of the 21st Century in closed societies."

Council on American-Islamic Relations-- Organization whose "mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding," working "to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America." Posts information. news, and commentary about Islam, U.S. relations with Muslims, and related issues.

Council on Foreign Relations-- The most influential private organization in U. S. foreign policy, whose ranks include nearly all past and present senior U.S. government officials who deal with international matters, renowned scholars, and leaders of business, media, human rights, humanitarian, and other nongovernmental groups. This excellent site posts Council studies, with much current and archived analytical material online about international relations and U.S. foreign policy, by region and topic. Note the section of the site on Terrorism. The Council's prestigious journal Foreign Affairs has contents and some full-text articles and book reviews online, with archive, plus links to related online resources.

Diplomacy Monitor-- From the St. Thomas University School of Law, Miami, a searchable site that tracks, almost in real-time, online diplomatic communiqués, press briefings, and related official documents worldwide in several languages, with breakouts by topic and nation-to-nation interaction, including in human rights issues.

Foreign Affairs and Defense Issues-- U.S. public opinion data on international questions, from a variety of sources, from Polling Report.com.

Foreign Policy Association-- Excellent searchable site from a leading non-profit, non-partisan organization in American foreign policy and world affairs education. Provides objective publications, programs, and forums to increase community-level awareness of international matters that shape the U.S.'s future, and promotes citizen involvement in those issues. Information on the Great Decisions community discussions program, online discussion forums, insightful foreign policy blogs, analytical articles, searchable documents library, issue guides, reference maps, video streams, free e-mail newsletters, educators and students sections, more.

Foreign Policy In Focus-- A searchable, progressive gateway to American foreign policy issues, by topic or region, from the International Relations Center and the Institute for Policy Studies. Posts many policy briefs, commentaries, and papers.

Foreign Relations of the United States-- From the Office of the Historian in the U.S. Department of State, a series of volumes in the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Recently-released volumes contain declassified records from all the foreign affairs agencies. Many volumes are online in full-text, from 1945 onward. The University of Wisconsin Digital Collections project maintains a searchable, freely-accessible archive of these volumes from 1861 to 1960.

Foreign Service Journal-- From  the American Foreign Service Association, "foreign affairs from an insider's perspective," including Foreign Service officers, ranking academics, and diplomatic correspondents. Contents and some articles online, plus online archive. AFSA is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service.

Free Trade Area of the Americas-- "Official home page of the Free Trade Area of the Americas process or FTAA. This site follows the process initiated in the 1994 Summit of the Americas to integrate the economies of the Western Hemisphere into a single free trade arrangement."

Frontline Diplomacy: The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training at the Library of Congress-- "Interview transcripts from the oral history archives of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training... present a window into the lives of  U.S. diplomats during the second half of the 20th century... Hundreds of interviews with senior American diplomats, both career Foreign Service Officers and political appointees, serve as a door to the foreign policy process not normally open to the public."

Gallup Organization-- The Gallup Poll presents recent survey results on American attitudes toward international matters, and some data from non-U.S. publics, in summary form for non-subscribers.

Global Beat-- For journalists and editors who cover international issues, analyses of key global security issues from  research organizations, important official announcements and speeches, and documents. Has search engine and good links. A fine source on U.S. foreign policy from NYU's Center for War, Peace, and the News Media.

Global Security-- Research institute that "seeks to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons and the risk of their use" offers news, opinion, and analysis on many major issues of global security and American foreign policy.

GlobeScan Incorporated-- Canadian public opinion research firm that provides "research-based insight to companies, governments, multilaterals, and NGOs in pursuit of a prosperous and sustainable world." Posts results of many polls on attitudes around the world, including toward the U.S. and on topics of importance to U.S. foreign policy.

Guide to public opinion poll Web sites: Polling data from around the world-- Annotated article on Internet resources around  the world for public opinion studies, as of October 2006, in full-text and with hypertext links, from the College and Research Libraries News of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

Harris Interactive-- Selected survey results from the Harris Poll, one of the United States' leading public opinion polls. The Poll Library includes foreign policy and international affairs topics.

Homeland Security Institute-- Research institute focused on U.S. homeland security, with analytical material, opinions, legislative updates. Offers free Journal of Homeland Security and weekly newsletter.

Intelligence Forum-- "Dedicated to the scholarly study of intelligence history, theory, and practice," for scholars, professionals, and students, with forum, news articles, features, archives, and other resources.

Military Policy Awareness Links-- Published by the National Defense University Library as a current awareness service to "provide access to current U.S. Government policy statements on selected key topics, accompanied by additional resources that analyze the topic." Much information and analysis online.

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (The 9-11 Commission)-- "Independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002... chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks." Public hearings, press releases, and reports are posted online, including the Final Report released in July 2004.

National Committee on American Foreign Policy-- "Nonprofit, activist organization dedicated to the resolution of conflicts that threaten U.S. interests. Toward that end, the National Committee identifies, articulates, and helps advance American foreign policy interests from a nonpartisan perspective within the framework of political realism." Posts research reports and policy studies.

National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism-- In Oklahoma City, U.S.A., a non-profit corporation funded by a special Congressional appropriation to conduct "research into the social and political causes and effects of terrorism and the development of technologies to counter biological, nuclear and chemical weapons of mass destruction as well as cyberterrorism..." Oriented toward serving the emergency responder community, this site has much general information and analysis online about terrorism causes, prevention, mitigation, and response.

National Security Archive-- "A research institute on international affairs, with a library and archive of declassified U.S. documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act," located at the George Washington University. Many documents and reports available online-- a most valuable and excellent resource. Note The September 11th Source Books, "National Security Archive Online Readers on Terrorism, Intelligence and the Next War."

Noam Chomsky Archive-- From ZNet, full text of many of the major works of this prominent political dissident and critic of American and corporate foreign policies, plus complete audio of several important lectures, and numerous articles, interviews, and speeches.

North American Institute-- Trinational organization founded to deepen understanding of, and to promote new approaches to, all aspects of the North American regional relationship. Some publications online.

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life-- U.S. organization that "seeks to promote a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs... by delivering timely, impartial information to national opinion leaders... it tracks and aggregates news and conducts independent research, including surveys, legal backgrounders, reports, books and Q&A interviews... [and] provides a neutral venue for discussion." Posts much information and analysis on religion and society, in the U.S. and the world, including in U.S. foreign policy.

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press-- From "an independent opinion research group that studies attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues," searchable highlights and full reports of many American foreign policy-related polls, plus commentaries, cost-free online. Note especially the results from the many surveys of their excellent and insightful Pew Global Attitudes Project, "a series of worldwide public opinion surveys that encompasses a broad array of subjects ranging from people's assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues of the day."

PollingReport.com-- "An independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion," with searchable highlights of many foreign policy-related polls online, cost-free.

Program on International Policy Attitudes-- At the University of Maryland, does "research on [American] public attitudes on international issues by conducting nationwide polls, focus groups and comprehensive reviews of polling conducted by other organizations." Some reports available free online, and links to other sources of polling information. Also note the results from the many surveys of their excellent and insightful Americans and the World website that reports on "US public opinion on a broad range of international policy issues, integrating all publicly available polling data," to build a comprehensive resource on U.S. public opinion on international issues. The excellent feature WorldPublicOpinion.org is "a webzine published by PIPA dedicated to in-depth information and analysis on public opinion from around the world on international issues."

Project on Defense Alternatives-- Offers critical analysis of U.S. defense policy, as well as those of other nations, to adapt military policy to the circumstances of the post-Cold War era, with pragmatic, cost-effective alternative defense policy options that support progress toward more cooperative means of attaining security. Many studies and reports are available online. Note their excellent site Revolution in Military Affairs, a compendium of full-text online analysis and research tools on the revolution in military affairs, information war, and asymmetric warfare. Also check out their Chinese Military Power Page and the Defense Strategy Review Page, "a compendium of online analysis, background studies, official documents, and commentary essential to understanding U.S. defense reviews and the formulation of national security strategy."

Project for the New American Century-- A "non-profit, educational organization whose goal is to promote American global leadership" to shape a "new century favorable to American principles and interests" through a Reaganite conservative strategic vision of "military strength and moral clarity." Many of the Project's neo-conservative members became officials and advisors in the George W. Bush administration.  Many publications online.

Public Agenda Online -- "A nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organization based in New York City." Posts results and analyses of United States public opinion on various topics, including U.S. foreign policy issues. Note the Public Agenda Issue Guides that "provide facts and figures, different perspectives and analysis of public attitudes from surveys conducted by Public Agenda and by other respected polling and news organizations."

Public Diplomacy Web Site-- Sponsored by the USIA Alumni Association and the Public Diplomacy Foundation to show the role that public diplomacy plays in U.S. foreign policy. Posts reports and articles on the topic.

RAND: Homeland Security-- From the RAND Corporation research firm, a program that "supports the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies charged with preventing and mitigating the effects of terrorist activity within U.S. borders. Projects in this program will include critical infrastructure protection, emergency management, terrorism risk management, border control (particularly ports), first responders and preparedness, domestic threat assessments, domestic intelligence, and manpower and training." Free publications on these topics are available online.

Research Issues-- The conservative Heritage Foundation's central page for access to their  publications and links on a range of American foreign policy issues.

Roper Center for Public Opinion Research-- From the University of Connecticut, one of the United States' main public opinion polling organizations, which posts some surveys and analysis on American attitudes on foreign policy issues. See especially the articles from Public Perspective magazine and Public Opinion on Patriotism.

September 11 Digital Archive-- Project to "collect, preserve, and present the history of the September 11, 2001 attack in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania and the public responses to them," along with understanding of the historical antecedents and the consequences of these events. Many resources online.

Terrorism Knowledge Base-- From the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (USA), "a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing terrorism or mitigating its effects." This thorough site aims to be "the one-stop resource for comprehensive research and analysis on global terrorist incidents, terrorism-related court cases, and terrorist groups and leaders." Reports, data, maps, statistics and more online.

Terrorism Research Center-- An independent U.S. institute dedicated to the research of terrorism, information warfare, and other issues related to low-intensity political violence and gray-area phenomena. Includes online research, documents, links, and discussion forums.

Transatlantic Information Exchange System (TIESWeb)-- A joint European and American organization with a "Civil Society Agenda" to "strengthen the transatlantic partnership by promoting dialogue between individuals on a people-to-people level...not only to link citizens across the Atlantic but also to address key issues at the core of future EU/US relations." Promotes education and posts information and analysis on the topic.

U.S. Military and Defense Studies: Online Resources-- Annotated article on Internet resources in the topic, as of December 2004, in full-text and with hypertext links, from the "College and Research Libraries News" of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

Vox Populi--Project of the Center on Policy Attitudes, to research and analyze public opinion on key public policy issues. Note especially the section on American Public Attitudes on America's Role in the World.

•  Watching America-- "Discover What the World Thinks About U.S." with English language translations of foreign press commentary about the United States and its foreign policy, from around the world and with links to the original sources.

What The World Thinks of America-- This excellent and ample BBC site posts the results of a major May/June 2003 poll in 11 countries around the world about general attitudes towards the U.S., President George Bush, and United States foreign policy, military power, cultural influences, and economic might. Includes an online video of the BBC program, an "America Answers Back" video program, interviews of leaders, and a debate forum.

Worldviews-- An excellent site, "a joint Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and German Marshall Fund of the United States project aimed at investigating the attitudes of the American and European public[s] on a range of foreign policy issues" and their attitudes toward each other after September 11, 2001. Full reports and analyses of polls are online.

Top of Page
Home

Copyright © 1997-2008 Wayne A. Selcher.
.
This directory is edited and maintained by
Professor Wayne A. Selcher
e-mail