Very Short Introductions to International Relations
The Very Short Introductions series (Harvard Login) from Oxford University Press offers concise introductions to a wide variety of topics, written by established scholars in that particular field. Because they are indeed very short, they are an excellent point of entry to a new field of study. The following Very Short Introductions are available in international relations and its subfields:
Bibliographies & Literature Reviews
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Oxford Bibliographies: International Relations (Harvard Login)Continuously updated bibliographies on a variety of themes in International Relations scholarship, ranging from broad topics like IR theory to specific ones like Chinese foreign policy.
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SHAFR Guide Online (Harvard Login)Extensive annotated bibliography of primarily historical scholarship on U.S. foreign relations from the colonial era to the twenty-first century, published under the auspices of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.
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Annual Reviews (Harvard Login)State-of-the-art overviews written by experts in the field, offering context, background, and references to seminal texts in one convenient location. For IR scholarship, try, in particular, the Annual Review of Political Science (Harvard Login).
Encyclopedias, Handbooks, etc.
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The Oxford Handbook of International Relations (Harvard Login)Broad introduction to major theories, methods, and subfields of international relations.
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International Studies Encyclopedia (Harvard Login)Offers more than 400 peer-reviewed essays that provide state-of-the-art overviews of topics in international studies and international relations ranging from "advances in feminist geography" to "xenophobia and anti-immigrant politics."
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Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies (Harvard Login)Provides detailed synopses of major research problems and themes in international relations, with extensive bibliographies.
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Oxford Companion to International Relations (Harvard Login)Surveys the IR field from a largely thematic, global perspective intersected by more regionally focused articles.
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Oxford Encyclopedia of Empirical International Relations Theory (Harvard Login)Provides survey essays of major themes in international relations theory.
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The Oxford Handbook of International Political Theory (Harvard Login)Offers state-of-the-art overviews of major theoretical approaches to international relations and international politics.
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The Oxford Handbook of International Organizations (Harvard Login)Rather than focusing on individual international organizations, provides a thematic approach that focuses on what international organizations do, how they are governed, and why they matter.
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The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations (Harvard Login)Provides overviews of various aspects of the organization, politics, and history of the UN, including detailed summaries of its policy initiatives.
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The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy (Harvard Login)Provides in-depth essays on actors, issues, and practices in diplomacy, as well as select case studies.
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Oxford Encyclopedia of Foreign Policy Analysis (Harvard Login)Comprehensive entries on all aspects of foreign policy analysis, primarily from a theoretical, methodological, or conceptual perspective.
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Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World (Harvard Login)Provides articles on major historical developments as well as political, social, and cultural movements and events from the mid-eighteenth century to the present.
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Statesman's Yearbook Online (Harvard Login)Guide to world politics, economics and international relations. Provides details regarding population, officials, exports, constitutions, governments, diplomatic representatives, religion, finance, and basic histories of nations and states, as well as international and non-governmental organizations and think tanks.