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| Royal Institute for Strategic Studies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Royal Institute for Strategic Studies |
| Type | Think tank |
Royal Institute for Strategic Studies is an independent strategic studies institute focused on geopolitics, security, and regional stability. Its analysts engage with topics ranging from defense policy to energy security through reports, conferences, and advisory roles. The institute collaborates with universities, ministries, and international organizations to translate research into policy options.
The institute emerged amid dialogues that involved figures associated with United Nations missions, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, European Union, African Union, and League of Arab States initiatives, drawing on expertise from veterans of Cold War crises and post-Cold War transitions such as the Gulf War and the Iraq War. Founders included diplomats with experience at United Nations Security Council negotiations, scholars from Harvard University, Oxford University, and Sorbonne University, and retired officers from forces like the British Army, French Armed Forces, United States Army, and Russian Ground Forces. Early donors and partners listed connections to institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and think tanks like Chatham House, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, RAND Corporation, and Heritage Foundation. Landmark events in its timeline referenced agreements such as the Treaty of Maastricht, the Treaty of Lisbon, the Camp David Accords, and responses to crises including the Syrian civil war and the Libyan Civil War.
The institute's mission statements echo commitments made by entities including United Nations Development Programme, NATO Secretary General, European Commission President, and signatories to the Geneva Conventions to promote regional security, conflict prevention, and policy innovation. Objectives include producing analyses comparable to outputs from International Crisis Group, fostering dialogue akin to Bretton Woods Conference legacies, and supporting capacity-building reminiscent of programs by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. Strategic goals align with frameworks championed by policymakers involved in the Yalta Conference-era order, contemporary initiatives led by personalities like Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Ban Ki-moon, and institutional approaches adopted by World Economic Forum stakeholders.
Governance structures borrow practices used by institutions such as Council on Foreign Relations, Royal United Services Institute, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, and International Institute for Strategic Studies. The board has included former ambassadors accredited to United States Department of State, ex-ministers who served in cabinets of United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and executives with prior roles at United Nations Development Programme, African Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank. Senior researchers have backgrounds at universities such as Stanford University, Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, and research fellows seconded from institutions like Centre for European Policy Studies and Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.
Research streams parallel programs at International Crisis Group, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, European Council on Foreign Relations, and Center for Strategic and International Studies, covering topics resonant with analyses by scholars who publish in Foreign Affairs, International Security, Journal of Strategic Studies, and Survival (journal). Publications include policy briefs reminiscent of NATO Defence College outputs, monographs referencing cases such as the Suez Crisis, the Arab Spring, the Kosovo War, and data-driven reports using methodologies aligned with those from Pew Research Center and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The institute has produced white papers cited in parliamentary hearings in bodies like the House of Commons (United Kingdom), the Bundestag, the European Parliament, and committees within the French National Assembly.
The institute engages with diplomatic networks that include delegations to United Nations General Assembly sessions, briefings for envoys to European Union External Action Service, and consultations with officials from ministries modeled after Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France), and counterparts in United States Department of Defense. It has convened conferences featuring speakers from Pentagon, Elysee Palace advisors, former negotiators from the Iran nuclear deal talks, specialists tied to the Abraham Accords, and practitioners associated with mediation efforts such as those by Kofi Annan in Kenya and Sierra Leone. Bilateral and multilateral workshops have included participants from G7, G20, ASEAN, MERCOSUR, and observer delegations from Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Funding sources have mirrored mixes seen at Center for Strategic and International Studies and Chatham House, combining grants from foundations similar to Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Open Society Foundations, contracts with development banks such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and project support from corporations comparable to BP, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and technology firms with ties to Microsoft, Google, and IBM. Academic partnerships have included exchange programs with King's College London, European University Institute, National University of Singapore, University of Tokyo, and regional collaborations with entities like African Union Commission research arms and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization.
Critiques invoked debates similar to controversies around WikiLeaks disclosures, allegations of bias comparable to disputes involving Heritage Foundation reports, and scrutiny akin to controversies faced by RAND Corporation when research intersected with procurement. Critics ranged from journalists at outlets such as The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, Al Jazeera, and Der Spiegel to scholars affiliated with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch who challenged particular policy recommendations tied to interventions like those in Iraq War or sanctions regimes resembling those against Iran. Accusations also touched on transparency issues paralleling debates involving European Council on Foreign Relations funding disclosures and lobbying concerns that echoed hearings in the United States Congress and inquiries by the European Ombudsman.
Category:Think tanks