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Research Collections
In addition to the many research links to information about specific countries and topics, here are some excellent collections of research data that should be helpful to anyone with an interest in the Persian Gulf or many other related issues.
These collections are regularly updated and reflect the judgment of top research and reference organizations about the best sites on the Web. Needless to say, many of the same sites appear in more than one of these collections.
Although these collections are produced by reputable organizations, we cannot vouch for the accuracy of the data they contain.
General/Search Engines
- Jihadica
Expert analysis and (Western) commentary on the worldwide jihadist movement, operated by Princeton PhD and Counter-Terrorism Center (West Point) Fellow William McCants.
- Stanley Foundation
Policy analysis, articles, commentary on Gulf and other issues.
- Library of Congress Country Profiles
Detailed profiles of most countries in the world, prepared and regularly updated by the Library of Congress.
- Right Web
Monitors and critiques U.S. organizations and individuals "that promote militarist foreign and defense policies, with a special focus on the 'war on terror' and the Middle East."
- The Kurdish Institute of Paris
A non-political, secular site with resources focused primarily on Kurdish intellectuals and artists, but wide-ranging in scope.
- Bibliographies on the states of the Arabian Peninsula
Compiled by Glenda Armstrong, Bibliographer, Maxwell Air Firce Base. Strong on security and official documents.
- Background and Analysis of the operations of the UN Security Council
Compiled by an independent academic body affiliated with Columbia University.
- Online Maps of the Middle East
A list of sites with good maps (including this one)
- Google automatic translations from/into many languages
Sometimes better than others, but always better than nothing.
- The RAND Corporation
Research and analysis from the original "think tank"
- Portals to the World
Directory to information on almost every country in the world, prepared by the Library of Congress
- Resource Shelf
Declassified documents on many subjects
- UNDP Sub-Regional Resource Facility for Arab States (SURF-AS)
IT and other developments in the Arab states.
- International Crisis Group Databases
Capsule histories, databases and maps of the conflicts that they study and report on; designed for quick reference; reliable
- Military affairs search engine
More than 1 million pages, indexed, from Maxbot.com; fast and very easy to use.
- The History Guy
Search engine that includes a well-organized summary of major events and links to additional research sites by Roger Lee, the "history guy."
- Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Company
Information and analysis of all 16 Middle Eastern countries.
- Pars Times
Collection of websites about Iran and the Middle East
- National Council on US-Arab Relations
Resources include GulfWire e-letter and several resources on Saudi Arabia and US-Saudi relations; also publications, fellowships and other services.
- Assyrian Communities in the Middle East
- J.E. Peterson Web Site
and source materials on the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, including several complete books and many articles; some hard-to-find materials.
- The Arab Reform Bulletin
News and analysis about political developments in the Middle East from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Available in Arabic at:
www.alwatan.com.kw/arb or in PDF format at www.ceip.org/arabic.
- The Arab World
The National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education has developed
this site as a resource for all who would develop a better understanding
of the Arab world; ten modules contain a variety of original texts, video
clips and audio files from online and print sources.
- The Unseen Gulf War - 1991
Photo Journalism by Peter Turnley.
- Global Connections: Middle East
General background on Middle East history, culture, politics, economics; timeline of events since 1900; also search by theme. WGBH Boston in collaboration with several academic institutions.
- Wayback Machine
Archive of billions of web pages, past and present, every conceivable subject, the ultimate web library.
- Middle East & Asian Governments on the WWW
History, personalities, and a vast array of useful information on the states of the region.
- CIA World Factbook
A wealth of facts, maps, by country.
- New York Times Reference Links
An annotated collection of search engines and
links to resources on U.S. government, politics, and many other subjects
selected by the editors of the NY Times.
- Infonation - UN Statistics
Compare statistical data on up to seven countries. Very easy to use.
- Arab Social Science Research
A virtual library devoted to the study of the Arab world.
- The Kurds
Documentary material and links.
- Islamic Culture Propagation Office
Publisher of Islamic books, to bring greater familiarity with the Islamic Shi'ite tradition. Religion, science, fiction and even childrens' books.
- A Shi'ite Encyclopedia
Stanford Univ. Part of a series on Islam, from a Sunni perspective. Other Islamic resources can be accessed via this link.
- Baha'i Studies
Background, documentation on the Baha'i religion by J.R. Cole of the University of Michigan.
- Islam
A wide range of resources available on the Web.
- Central Eurasia Resources
Soros Central Eurasia Project provides a wealth of information about countries just north of the Persian Gulf.
- Trade and Development Database
American University. Case studies on major issues and conflicts in Gulf countries and elsewhere in the Middle East. Select cases from list.
- Facts on International Relations and Security Trends (FIRST)
A database service by the International Relations and Security Network
(ISN) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI),
providing country profiles, including: membership, agreements & events,
conflicts & peace keeping activities, arms production & trade, military
expenditure, weapons of mass destruction, armed forces & conventional
weapon holdings, political system & country indicators, and other
reference data.
Media/Internet
- Al-Jazeera
The famous and controversial Arabic TV channel in a English version.
- Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
Translations of selected (and often obscure) articles from the regional press, with special empahsis on terrorism, US policy, anti-semitism.
- The Arab Net
Links to Arab businesses, institutions in the Middle East. Internet directory for the Middle East. News and other information in Arabic.
- Albawaba Middle East Portal
An entry point to information on the region and each country.
- Middle East North Africa Internet Resource Guide
An excellent compilation of listservs and on-line discussion groups for a wide range of academic disciplines. Managed by the Middle East Center at the University of Utah.
- Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA)
Managed by Barry Rubin at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. On-line journal, original articles, survey of periodical literature, tips on Mid East research, links to many other sites.
- National Security and the Internet in the Persian Gulf Region
Survey of regional internet resources by Grey Burkhart.
Government and Politics
- European Institute for Security Studies
A European perspective on the Gulf, the Middle East, and beyond, from the official research institute of the European Union.
- Security Council Report
An independent report on all activities at the UN Security Council, searchable by country, with informed background context and live links to relevant UN documentation.
- International Crisis Group
Independent reporting on critical issues worldwide; good coverage of Middle East.
- Public Diplomacy & Media
US public diplomacy projects involving the Middle East, related media resources, including links to MidEast media outlets.
- Background Notes - US State Department
Background information by country and organization, plus maps and more.
- Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR)
An information clearinghouse devoted exclusively to governance in the Arab states. Fact-filled essays, links and references on 8 different dimensions of Arab governments and societies.
- Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments
Want to know the name of the Minister of Oil in Qatar? This site will give
you the names of Chiefs of State and key members of government of every
country in the world, updated daily by the CIA.
- U.S. Government (FirstGov)
A powerful search engine to access all parts of the U.S. Government: foreign and domestic policy; military and defense; executive, legislative and judicial branches; business and economy; environment; and much more.
- Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Useful archives of research, commentary.
- US Information Agency
US official policy statements, interviews, USIA electronic journals (full text in multiple languages).
- George W. Bush Administration
Documentation from January 2001.
- Clinton White House
Documents from January 1993 to January 2001.
- G.W. Bush Administration State Department
Documentation from January 2001.
- Clinton State Department/ Near East
Documents from January 1993 to January 2001.
- British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
"Focus International" -- Briefing papers on international issues from the FCO.
Human Rights
- Human Rights Watch
Reporting and archives. Includes some material in Arabic.
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Full texts of UNHCR reports. Search by country name.
- Amnesty International
- Human Rights Library
Global search engine for human rights issues, reports, institutions. University of Minnesota.
- US State Department: International Religious Freedom
Annual Report on International Religious Freedom: Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, September 5, 2000.
- US State Department Country Reports (Bush Administration)
On Human Rights.
- US State Department Country Reports (Clinton Administration)
On Human Rights.
Demographics/Population
- World Bank - Country Data
Search by country. PDF format.
Oil/Energy/Commerce/Finance
- Oil Maps/Data
The location and relative size of oil and gas deposits throughout the world, from the U.S. Geological Survey.
- US Department of Energy
Energy profiles of individual countries.
- MiddleEastDirectory.com
A site in Dubai that advertises itself as the most comprehensive Middle East search engine. Current business news and a huge array of reference sites. Excellent place to find a company, a government agency or a private institution.
- The Gulf Business magazine
Extensive business and finance reporting on the Gulf countries.
- The World Bank in the Middle East
- International Monetary Fund
Search by country. Position of each country in the IMF. Internationalcapital markets. Publications & reports.
- Business Directory of the Arab Gulf States
Business contacts, addresses, exhibitions. By country.
Terrorism and Security
- National profiles of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and missile development of countries throughout the world
Prepared by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies for the Nuclear Threat Initiative
- The Islamic Imagery Project: Visual Motifs in Jihadi Internet
Produced by The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point; jihadist use of images on the internet.
- A Military Guide to Terrorism
- MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
A resource for comprehensive research on domestic and international terrorism, with information on terrorist incidents, terrorism-related court cases, and terrorist groups and leaders.
- Iraq War Bibliography.
A working bibliography about the war in Iraq, much of it online, compiled by the bibliographer of the Air University Library, Maxwell Air Force Base.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
An immense amount of documentation and information on international nuclear issues of all sorts."
- Terrorism Knowledge Base
A collaborative effort to present 35 years of data about terrorism in a user-friendly site. Produced by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) in Oklahoma City, a living memorial of the Murrah Federal building bombing, April 19, 1995.
- Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington
Quantitative analyses of major Middle East economic and security trends, prepared by Anthony Cordesman and Judith Kipper.
- Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis
Includes a quarterly analysis of Middle East security issues, with a special focus on the Gulf and Israel.
- Institute for Science and International Security
Nuclear non-proliferation studies and background data, prepared by David Albright and others.
- Carnegie Endowment Non-Proliferation Project
Documentation on Weapons of Mass Destruction, with extensive reporting on Iran & Iraq.
- Center for Security Studies and Conflict Resolution, Zurich
Links to International Relations and Security resources & organizations.
- Organization for Prevention of Chemical Weapons
The Chemical Weapons Convention and its signatories.
- Center for Non-Proliferation Studies, Monterey Institute
Research on nuclear, chemical, missile proliferation.
- US Department of State
Annual report on global terrorism.
- "US Defense Policy: Dept of Defense
Search by topic or country.
- Gulf War Illnesses
US Dept of Defense: Background, documentation.
- Federation of American Scientists
Arms sales, military analysis (esp. Iraq), intelligence programs.
- War Report
Select articles, documents, and analyses compiled by Project on Defense Alternatives
- Voices of Dissent: Finding Alternative Media On-Line
By the University of Windsor
- Project on Defense Alternatives
Military/strategic reporting, with considerable emphasis on Iraq.
- Librarians Index to the Internet: War and Peace
Well-researched and reliable resources related to the current Iraq crisis.
- Pentagon Coverage
Official Pentagon coverage of the war on terrorism
- Nuclear Terrorism
The Nuclear Control Institute, Washington DC.
- UN Counter-Terrorism
- Terrorism Q&A
A terrorism encyclopedia prepared by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Markle Foundation.
- Indictment of Moussaoui as the "20th Hijacker"
- Internews: Open Media Watch/Sept. 11
A collection of media stories from diverse sources and points of view.
- Social Science Perspectives
Commentary by leading social scientists, organized by the Social Science Research Council.
- From the University of California at Berkeley
Excellent collection of links on Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US.
- Afghanistan
Collection of background information on the country, history, people, women's issues, the Taliban etc.
- Attack on America
US Documents--government and private--on the terrorist strike of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath.
- Afghanistan and current politics
- The Terrorism Directory
A portal to major sites dealing with terrorism.
- Afghanistan: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1973-1990
National Security Archive's collection of primary documents relating to U.S. policy in Afghanistan.
- International Crisis Group Databases
Capsule histories, databases and maps of the conflicts that they study and report on; designed for quick reference; reliable
- The Center for Defense Information (CDI)
Well-researched information on military-related issues, from a relatively dovish perspective.
- Military affairs search engine
More than 1 million pages, indexed, from Maxbot.com; fast and very easy to use.
Libraries/Research Centers
- Yale University Library
Links and resources on the Middle East.
- Caspian Studies Program, Harvard
The Gulf's next door neighbor.
- Columbia University: Middle East Studies Resources
A comprehensive collection of bibliographies, links to other libraries with strong Middle
East collections, and links to specialized sources on such topics as
biographies, language, literature, and minorities in the Middle East.
- E-Prints from Durham University's Middle East and Islamic Studies Department
- Gulf Research Center (Dubai)
Some documentary material free; library, database and most other resources require paid membership.
- Research Papers of the British Parliament
Many research papers, prepared for Members of Parliament, are available to the public in .pdf form.
- Columbia University
Middle East Institute. Research sites & projects, resources, employment opportunities.
- The Arab Gulf Collection of Exeter University
Catalogues, documentation on Gulf states, holdings of the Centre for Arab Gulf Studies.
- University of Texas
Center for Middle Eastern Studies
- UCLA
Middle East resources.
- The Middle East Institute, Washington DC
Table of Contents of The Middle East Journal, with selected full text articles. Description of library, conferences, activities relating to the Middle East.
- The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
Journal of Islamic Studies; OCIS Newsletter.
- The WWW Virtual Library
International Affairs Resources. More than 1400 annotated links on international affairs topics. Includes NGOs, research institutes, live news feeds, international development, communications, environment, and international business, in multiple languages.
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