Institute for East West Strategic Studies

Last updated
Institute for East West Strategic Studies
Formation1997
Type Think tank
Headquarters Apethorpe Palace
Apethorpe, England
Chairman
Professor Jean Christophe Iseux von Pfetten

The Institute for East West Strategic Studies (RIESS) is a think tank, incorporated as a charity [1] registered in the UK since 17 October 1997 under number 1068421. RIESS has a strong relationship with the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, with many alumni sitting either on its advisory board or on its board of trustees.

Contents

Purpose

The goal of RIESS is to enhance better communication between East and West at leadership level. [2] [3] RIESS used to be hosted by Merton College, Oxford. Its permanent seat is now within the premises of the secluded former royal palace of Apethorpe.

Governance is handled by a board of trustees constituted of one permanent director (also called chairman) seconded by two vice-chairmen (Owen Matthews and Paul Laikin). The Board also includes the current President and former Presidents of the advisory board as well as two Academic representatives from respectively Oxford and Cambridge Universities. RIESS is privately funded and free of any political affiliation.

RIESS holds periodic seminars on various facets of East West strategic relations using Track II diplomacy and applying Chatham House Rules. [4]

RIESS is supported by an advisory board constituted of fifty former Minister level Thought Leaders. Hon. Robert Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia, was President of the advisory board from 2005 to 2019. He was succeeded by former French Defence Minister Michele Aliot-Marie. Dame Jessica Rawson, then Master of Merton College, Oxford, was Academic Adviser from Oxford University for the period between 2010 and 2015. She was succeeded by Prof. Denise Lievesley, Principal of Green Templeton College, Oxford completing her own tenure in 2022. Prof. John Coates from Emmanuel College, Cambridge was the Academic Adviser from Cambridge University during the period between 2015 and 2022. New academic advisers from both universities were appointed starting May 2023 namely Lt.Gen. Douglas Chalmers, Master of Emmanuel College, Cantab; and, Sir Michael Dixon, Principal of Green Templeton College, Oxon.

Influence on Iran nuclear disarmament negotiations

Since early 2013 RIESS held several confidential meetings involving top military commanders from Israel and Iran as well as a selection of military representatives from P5 nations and contributed to changing the Iranian position ahead of the official Nuclear Deal. [5] [6] [7] [8] RIESS hosted a breakthrough meeting at Chateau de Selore on 3 November 2013 where two generals from Israel and Iran met for the first time to discuss the issue along with senior officials from P5 nations. The French and Chinese press reported that the success of the Nuclear Interim Deal achieved in Geneva on 11 November 2013 can be credited to this meeting held in France earlier that month. [9] [10] After the Grand Deal achieved in Vienna in July 2015, the US press also reported that "The nuclear deal would not have been possible without the active involvement of Iran sole trusted friend - China" and that Chinese officials were involved in "a series of back-channel meetings in the run-up to July's grand deal" hosted by former Ambassador Prof. Jean Christophe Iseux von Pfetten, Chairman of RIESS. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merton College, Oxford</span> College of the University of Oxford

Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it. An important feature of de Merton's foundation was that this "college" was to be self-governing and the endowments were directly vested in the Warden and Fellows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert McFarlane (American government official)</span> American Marine Corps officer and National Security Advisor (1937–2022)

Robert Carl "Bud" McFarlane was an American Marine Corps officer who served as National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1983 to 1985. Within the Reagan administration, McFarlane was a leading architect of the Strategic Defense Initiative, a project intended to defend the US from Soviet ballistic missile attacks. He resigned as National Security Adviser in late 1985 because of disagreements with other administration figures but remained involved in negotiations with Iran and with Hezbollah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David King (chemist)</span> South African-born British chemist

Sir David Anthony King is a South African-born British chemist, academic, and head of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group.

<i>Antiquity</i> (journal) Academic journal

Antiquity is an academic journal dedicated to the subject of archaeology. It publishes six issues a year, covering topics worldwide from all periods. Its current editor is Robert Witcher, Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Durham. Since 2015, the journal has been published by Cambridge University Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammad Javad Zarif</span> Iranian foreign minister (born 1960)

Mohammad Javad Zarif Khansari is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in the government of Hassan Rouhani. During his tenure as foreign minister, he led the Iranian negotiation with P5+1 countries which produced the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on 14 July 2015, lifting the economic sanctions against Iran on 16 January 2016. On 25 February 2019, Zarif resigned from his post as foreign minister. His resignation was rejected by Ali Khamenei and he continued as foreign minister.

Sir Rex Edward Richards was a British scientist and academic. He served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and as a director of the Leverhulme Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Davies (economist)</span> British economist and author

Sir Howard John Davies is a British historian and author, who is the chairman of NatWest Group and the former director of the London School of Economics.

Oxford Research Group (ORG) was a London-based charity and think tank at 244–254 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9DA, working on peace, security and justice issues. Its research and dialogue activities were mainly focused on the Middle East, North and West Africa, as well as influencing UK and international security policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Templeton College, Oxford</span> College of the University of Oxford

Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college is located on the former Green College site on Woodstock Road next to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford and is centred on the architecturally important Radcliffe Observatory, an 18th-century building, modelled on the ancient Tower of the Winds at Athens. It is the university's second newest graduate college, after Reuben College, having been founded by the historic merger of Green College and Templeton College in 2008.

George Yip is Emeritus Professor of Marketing and Strategy at Imperial College Business School, London. Former professor and co-director of the Centre on China Innovation at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). Other academic positions at Harvard, Georgetown, UCLA, Cambridge, London Business School. Now living in Boston and Maine, USA, and London. Former Dean of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. His book, Total Global Strategy: Managing for Worldwide Competitive Advantage was selected as one of the 30 best business books of 1992 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries. Also, author or co-author of Pioneers, Hidden Champions, Change Makers, and Underdogs: Lessons from China's Innovators (2019), China's Next Strategic Advantage: From Imitation to Innovation (2016), Strategic Transformation (2013), Asian Advantage: Key Strategies for Winning in the Asia-Pacific Region (1998), and Total Global Strategy. Over 10,000 citations on Google Scholar. He serves on the editorial advisory boards of California Management Review, LRP and MIT Sloan Management Review. Boards of Hewnoaks Artist Colony (Maine) and MassOpera and Board of Advisors of Boston Lyric Opera. Chair of Research Advisory Committee, SKEMA Business School, France. Former board member of IDM, Glunz AG, Arlington Capital Management and Data Instruments, Inc., former advisory board member of Sonae SGPS and American University of Cairo Business School

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P5+1</span> Group formed in 2006 to engage diplomatically with Iran over its nuclear program

The P5+1 refers to the UN Security Council's five permanent members ; namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany. The P5+1 is often referred to as the E3+3 by European countries. It is a group of six world powers which, in 2006, joined together in diplomatic efforts with Iran with regard to its nuclear program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

European Union–Iran relations are the bilateral relations between Iran and the European Union (EU). The EU is Iran's largest trading partner, along with China and the United Arab Emirates. Trade with Iran is subject to the general EU import regime and the EU supports the goal of Iranian accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The EU has accused and criticized Iran for human rights violations, which led to diplomatic tensions, but both sides aim at improving and normalizing relations. Should Turkey's accession to the EU take place, Iran will border the European Union.

Sir Alistair George James MacFarlane was a Scottish electrical engineer and leading academic who served as Principal and Vice Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and Rector, University of the Highlands and Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooke D. Anderson</span> American diplomat (born 1964)

Brooke D. Anderson is an American diplomat who served as a U.S. ambassador at the United Nations, as Chief of Staff and Counselor for the White House National Security Council, and as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs on the Iran Nuclear Negotiations. She has served as a trusted advisor to U.S. presidents, Cabinet Secretaries, members of Congress, presidential candidates, philanthropists and business leaders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Moniz</span> 13th United States Secretary of Energy

Ernest Jeffrey Moniz, GCIH is an American nuclear physicist and former government official. From May 2013 to January 2017, he served as the 13th United States secretary of energy in the Obama administration. Prior to this, Moniz served as associate director for science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President of the United States from 1995 to 1997 and undersecretary of energy from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton administration. He is currently the co-chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), as well as president and CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI), a nonprofit organization working on climate and energy technology issues, which he co-founded in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Briggs</span> British material scientist (born 1950)

(George) Andrew Davidson Briggs is a British scientist. He is Professor of Nanomaterials in the Department of Materials at the University of Oxford. He is best known for his early work in acoustic microscopy and his current work in materials for quantum technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Sullivan</span> US national security advisor (born 1976)

Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan is an American attorney who currently serves as the United States National Security Advisor, reporting directly to President Joe Biden. He previously served as Director of Policy to President Barack Obama, National Security Advisor to then Vice President Biden and Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary Hillary Clinton at the U.S. Department of State. Sullivan also served as senior advisor to the U.S. federal government at the Iran nuclear negotiations and senior policy advisor to Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, as well as visiting professor at Yale Law School.

Jean Christophe Iseux von Pfetten zu St. Mariakirchen, is a diplomat, academic and landowner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negotiations leading to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action</span>

This article discusses the negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran that led to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The United States announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the "Iran nuclear deal" or the "Iran deal", on May 8, 2018. The JCPOA is an agreement on Iran's nuclear program reached in July 2015 by Iran and the P5+1 also called E3/EU+3.

References

  1. "Registered charities in England and Wales". Charity Commission. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  2. http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/06/china-the-middle-easts-new-power-brocker/%5B%5D
  3. Zachary Keck, The Diplomat. "China May Lead Nuclear Inspections in Iran". The Diplomat.
  4. "Archived copy". Newsweek . Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Beijing Poised Play Crucial Role Nuclear Talks Iran Enter Final Stretch". 5 July 2015.
  6. http://blog.ft.com/the-world/2013/11/nuclear-issues-mulled-over-banquets-in-french-chateau/%5B%5D
  7. "Archived copy". Newsweek . Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2016-04-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Former MK meets with Iranian expat general over nuclear issue". The Times of Israel.
  9. "Charolais - Nucléaire iranien.. Iran : l'Influence de Saint-Yan".
  10. "Calls for China to head Iran inspections offer opportunities". 26 November 2013.
  11. "With new agreements on oil, energy and the Mediterranean, China is Iran's new best friend". Newsweek . February 2016.