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, and some are associated with particular political parties, businesses or the military. Think tanks are often funded by individual donations, with many also accepting government grants.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four continents, producing data and research on questions of defence, security and global affairs, publishing publications and online analysis, and convening major security summits. The Guardian newspaper has described the IISS as ‘one of the world’s leading security think tanks.’
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. CFR is based in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C. Its membership has included senior politicians, secretaries of state, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, professors, corporate directors, CEOs, and prominent media figures.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University. The center conducts policy studies and strategic analyses of political, economic and security issues throughout the world, with a focus on issues concerning international relations, trade, technology, finance, energy and geostrategy.
William John Lawrence Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire,, is a British academic, writer, and Liberal Democrat politician, who was a Lord in Waiting from 2010 to 2015.
The Royal Institute of International Affairs, commonly known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It is the originator of the Chatham House Rule.
The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) is a British think tank specialising in foreign policy. It was founded in 1998 by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and his colleagues. It was launched at an event with Prime Minister Tony Blair, with the aim of developing a "vision of a fair and rule-based world order" and supports the European Union.
The Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) is an Australian research institute and think tank which focuses on International relations. It publishes the Australian Journal of International Affairs. It is one of the oldest active private research institutes in Australia.
Esther Diane Brimmer is an American foreign policy expert and former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. In June 2013, she left her post as Assistant Secretary and returned to academia.
Michael E. Cox is a British academic and international relations scholar. He is currently Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Director of LSE IDEAS. He also teaches for the TRIUM Global Executive MBA Program, an alliance of NYU Stern and the London School of Economics and HEC School of Management.
The Atlantic Community was a German-American project to apply Web 2.0 ideas to transatlantic foreign policy strategy. Launched in April 2007 as an undertaking of the Atlantic Initiative, the Atlantic Community aims at facilitating discussion between young thinkers and established members of the foreign policy realm in order to increase participation in a system that, in Europe, is often closed off to the public at large. The Advisory Board of the Atlantic Community is non-partisan, and includes journalist Marvin Kalb, UK Liberal Democrat Lord Wallace, and German diplomat Jürgen Chrobog as members. In January 2009 the Atlantic Community was selected as a "Landmark in the Land of Ideas" by Germany: Land of Ideas. Germany: Land of Ideas is a shared initiative of the German government, commerce, and industry under the patronage of former Federal President Horst Köhler.
Robin Shepherd is a British-born political commentator and analyst. He is currently a Global Fellow at the Washington DC-based Wilson Center, and an Advisor at Strider Technologies, a leading cyber security and international intelligence firm based in Salt Lake City. Formerly a senior fellow, running the Europe programme, at Chatham House in London, he has also held fellowships with a number of leading think tanks in the United States and Europe including the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Shepherd was Executive Director, North America for GLOBSEC, Central and eastern Europe's pre-eminent think tank dedicated to democracy and international security. He previously served as vice president of the Halifax International Security Forum.
Justin Pierre Albert 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.
Rachel Briggs OBE was Founding Executive Director of Hostage US, the first Director of Hostage UK and was awarded an OBE in the 2014 Honours List for services to hostages and the families of victims kidnapped overseas. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Center on Cooperative Security, an expert on foreign and security policy and an Associate Fellow of Chatham House.
The Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) is an American research center based at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C., United States. FPI is housed in the Benjamin T. Rome building on the Embassy Row in Washington, D.C. It organizes research initiatives and study groups, and hosts global leaders as resident or non-resident fellows in fields including international policy, business, journalism, and academia.
Professor Richard G. Whitman is an academic, think tank member and media commentator focusing on the European Union's international role and the UK's foreign policy. He is professor of politics and international relations and a member of the Global Europe Centre at the University of Kent. He is also an associate fellow at Chatham House.
GLOBSEC is a non-partisan, non-governmental organisation based in Bratislava, Slovakia. One of its main activities is the annual GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum, in existence since 2005. Other projects include the Tatra Summit conference on European affairs or Chateau Béla Central European Strategic Forum. Its think-tank called GLOBSEC Policy Institute boasts a wide research area based on four pillars. Its main outputs are policy papers and analyses on different topics in the area of international politics and security issues. Since 2016, GLOBSEC is not only the name of one of the top forums on international security worldwide, but also of the legal entity and organiser of the Forum.
James Crabtree is a British author and geopolitical analyst. He is currently a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Crabtree writes columns for Nikkei Asian Review, Foreign Policy, and The Straits Times. Previously, he was the Singapore-based executive director of the Asia branch of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He was also an associate professor of practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and a senior fellow at the school’s Centre on Asia and Globalisation. He was also a non-resident fellow at Chatham House, the London-based think tank. His first book, The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age, was released in July 2018.
The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) is an independent South African public policy and foreign relations think tank based in Johannesburg. Founded 1934 in Cape Town, the institute is located on the campus of the University of the Witwatersrand since 1944.
