Institute for Policy Studies

Institute for Policy Studies
Name	Institute for Policy Studies
Established	1963
Founder	Marcus Raskin, Richard Barnet
Type	Progressive think tank
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.

Institute for Policy Studies.

The Institute for Policy Studies is a progressive American think tank based in Washington, D.C., founded in 1963 by Marcus Raskin and Richard Barnet. It has engaged in research, advocacy, and coalition-building across issues such as nuclear disarmament, civil rights, economic justice, environmental justice, and foreign policy, working alongside organizations and movements including American Civil Liberties Union, Greenpeace, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Black Lives Matter, and United Farm Workers. IPS alumni and associates have included scholars, activists, and public figures connected to Vietnam War protests, the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, and policy debates around the Cold War and War on Terror.

History

Founded in 1963, the institute emerged during debates over the Cuban Missile Crisis, Cold War strategy, and domestic reform. Founders Marcus Raskin and Richard Barnet—formerly staffers in the Kennedy administration—established the organization amid the rise of Students for a Democratic Society, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and dissent around Vietnam War policy. In the 1970s and 1980s IPS staff engaged with the Nuclear Freeze movement, criticized Strategic Defense Initiative proposals, and worked with figures associated with the Pentagon Papers era. During the 1990s and 2000s the institute addressed issues arising from the end of the Cold War, debates over NAFTA, and the aftermath of September 11 attacks, while collaborating with actors from the World Social Forum and campaigns opposing the Iraq War. In the 2010s and 2020s IPS contributed to discussions around the Great Recession (2007–2009), climate activism linked to Extinction Rebellion, and migration issues connected to events such as the Syrian civil war.

Mission and Programs

IPS states aims centered on advancing progressive policies and building social movements, connecting research to grassroots campaigns and public interest litigation. Program areas have included nuclear disarmament and arms control work intersecting with International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons networks; economic justice initiatives that engaged with labor organizations such as the AFL–CIO and campaigns like Fight for $15; racial equity projects partnering with NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund affiliates and activists from SNCC lineage; and environmental justice efforts collaborating with Sierra Club and 350.org. Other programs focused on foreign policy alternatives involving analysts from circles associated with Council on Foreign Relations debates, asylum and refugee policy involving groups like Amnesty International, and health equity linked to Doctors Without Borders-adjacent advocacy.

Research and Publications

IPS has produced books, reports, policy briefs, and opinion pieces examining topics ranging from nuclear strategy to tax policy and corporate accountability. Early publications critiqued U.S. Mutual Assured Destruction doctrine and analyzed détente-era diplomacy with ties to scholarship on the Salt I negotiations. Later research encompassed critiques of neoliberal trade arrangements such as North American Free Trade Agreement and analyses of corporate influence referencing entities like ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs, and Walmart. IPS-affiliated authors have published in outlets allied with progressive commentary and academic presses, contributing to debates alongside scholars connected to Harvard University, Columbia University, Georgetown University, and University of California, Berkeley. The institute also issued newsletters and journals that circulated among activists involved in campaigns like Occupy Wall Street and policy forums at the Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation.

Advocacy and Policy Impact

Through coalition work, litigation support, and public campaigning, IPS has influenced debates on disarmament, civil liberties, and economic policy. Its staff and fellows collaborated with groups that shaped legislative moments such as hearings before the United States Congress on arms control and human rights, and filings in cases argued before United States Supreme Court-adjacent advocacy coalitions. IPS advocacy intersected with campaigns that pressured agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Defense and contributed to policy shifts linked to progressive lawmakers in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Partnerships with movements such as Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo-style human rights networks and solidarity ties with Anti-Apartheid Movement activists amplified its international work.

Organization and Funding

IPS operates with a board of directors, resident fellows, and affiliated scholars drawn from academia, nonprofit sectors, and activist networks. Funding historically combined foundation grants, individual donations, and earned income through publications and speaking engagements; foundations that have supported progressive policy research include entities similar to the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York in philanthropic ecosystems. The institute’s organizational model paralleled other research nonprofits such as Human Rights Watch and Center for American Progress, while maintaining independent relationships with labor unions, faith-based organizations like American Friends Service Committee, and international NGOs.

Criticism and Controversies

IPS has attracted criticism from conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute for its policy positions and activist orientation, and from centrist commentators during debates over strategic choices around the Iraq War and U.S. counterterrorism policy. Critics have contested IPS analyses on national security, alleging bias comparable to critiques leveled at institutions like Progressive Policy Institute or Cato Institute in partisan discourse. Internal debates and external scrutiny have arisen over funding transparency, partnerships with activist groups connected to Black Lives Matter and labor movements, and lines between scholarship and advocacy—issues that mirror controversies confronting many advocacy research centers.

Category:Think tanks based in Washington, D.C.