A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations, but some are semi-autonomous agencies within government or are associated with particular political parties, businesses or the military. Think-tank funding often includes a combination of donations from wealthy individuals and personal contributions, with many also accepting government grants.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. Since 1997 its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts policy studies and strategic analyses of political, economic and security issues throughout the world, with a specific focus on issues concerning international relations, trade, technology, finance, energy and geostrategy.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is an American pro-Israel think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East. The institute's mission statement says that it seeks "to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them."
The Elliott School of International Affairs is the professional school of international relations, foreign policy, and international development of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. It is highly ranked in international affairs and is the largest school of international relations in the United States.
Sharon Weinberger is an American journalist and writer on defense and security issues. She is a Carnegie/Newhouse School Legal Reporting Fellow where her "project will examine a legally murky intersection between ethics and fraud in military contracting". Starting in Autumn, 2009 she became an International Reporting Project fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
John Julian Hamre is a specialist in international studies, a former Washington government official and President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a position he has held with that think tank since 2000.
The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi, is India's foremost think tank for advanced research in international relations, especially defence, strategic and security issues, and providing training to civilian, military and paramilitary officers of the Indian government. It is funded by the Indian Ministry of Defence but operates as a non-partisan and autonomous body. It aims to promote national and international security by carrying out research on defence and security-related issues and disseminating the knowledge among the policy-makers and wider public.
The Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies is an Israeli think tank affiliated with Bar-Ilan University and supported by the NATO Mediterranean Initiative, conducting policy-relevant research on Middle Eastern and global strategic affairs, particularly as they relate to the national security and foreign policy of Israel and regional peace and stability. The center's mission is to contribute to promoting peace and security in the Middle East, through policy-oriented researches on national security in the Middle East. It is located at the Social Sciences Faculty of Bar-Ilan University. The center was founded by Thomas Hecht, a Canadian-Jewish leader, and was dedicated to Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, who signed the Egypt–Israel peace treaty, the first peace agreement ever signed between Israel and an Arab country.
Kurt Michael Campbell,, is an American diplomat and businessman, who formerly served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Obama administration. He is the chairman and CEO of The Asia Group, LLC, which he founded in February 2013.
Taras Kuzio is a British academic and expert in Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. He has British citizenship, but is based in Toronto, Canada.
Justin Vaïsse is a French historian and intellectual. Since March 2019, he is the Director General of the Paris Peace Forum organization, an independent NGO he founded in 2018 under the impetus of French President Emmanuel Macron. The Paris Peace Forum is an annual event that aims at promoting new rules and solutions to address the global challenges of our time. Prior to this role, he was Director of Policy Planning at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2019.
The Institut français des relations internationales is a think tank dedicated to international affairs, based in Paris, France.
Hekmat Khalil Karzai is the deputy foreign minister of Afghanistan. He was appointed as the deputy foreign minister on 21 January 2015.
Walter R. Roberts was an American writer, lecturer, and former government official.
Michael E. Brown is an American academic. He formerly served as Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs of the George Washington University, where he currently serves as Professor of International Affairs, Political Science, and Gender Studies.
Stephen D. Biddle is an American author, historian, policy analyst and columnist whose work concentrates on U.S. foreign policy. Currently, he is the Professor of International and Public Affairs at School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. He received recognition for his 2004 book Military Power: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern Battle, published through Princeton University Press. He also has worked in groups under Generals Stanley McChrystal and David Petraeus forming U.S. counter-insurgency policy.
David Shambaugh is the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science & International Affairs, and director of the China Policy Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington DC. He is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) is an independent Israeli research institute and think tank affiliated with Tel Aviv University dealing in areas of national security matters such as military and strategic affairs, terrorism and low intensity conflict, military balance in the Middle East, and cyber warfare.
Charles Louis Glaser is a scholar of international relations theory, known for his work on defensive realism, as well as nuclear strategy. He is the founding director of the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, as well as a professor of political science and international affairs. His best-known book, Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation received an Honorable Mention for 2011 Best Book from the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association.
