The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or
think tank
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-governmenta ...
in the area of
international affairs
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...
. Since 1997, its headquarters have been
Arundel House
Arundel House was a London town-house or palace located between the Strand and the River Thames, near the Church of St Clement Danes.
History
During the Middle Ages it was the town house of the Bishops of Bath and Wells, when it was kno ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
The 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index ranked IISS as the tenth-best think tank worldwide and the second-best Defence and National Security think tank globally, while
Transparify
Transparify is an initiative that provides a global rating of the financial transparency of major think tanks. It rates the extent to which think tanks publicly disclose their sources of funding, the amount of funding they have received, and the s ...
ranked it third-largest UK think tank by expenditure, but gave it its lowest rating, "deceptive", on funding transparency.
Overview
The current director-general and chief executive is
John Chipman.
Sir Michael Howard
Sir Michael Eliot Howard (29 November 1922 – 30 November 2019) was an English military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War, Honorary Fellow of All Souls College, Regius Professor of Modern History at the University ...
, the British military historian, founded the institute together with the British Labour MP
Denis Healey
Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...
(
Defence Secretary
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
, 1964–1970 and
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
, 1974–1979) and
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
academic
Alastair Francis Buchan
Alastair Francis Buchan, (9 September 1918 – 4 February 1976) was a leading writer on defence studies in the 1970s.
Career
The son of John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Alastair Buchan was given the same forename as his father's brother, who h ...
.
Based in London, the IISS is both a
private company limited by guarantee
In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...
in UK law and a
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ch ...
.
Research
The institute has worked with governments, defence ministries and global organisations such as
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
.
Publications
In 2011 the institute published the
FARC files—documents captured from the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...
that shed light on the movement's inner workings.
The 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index ranked the Shangri-La Dialogue as the best Think tank conference worldwide.
History
Raymond L. Garthoff
Raymond Leonard "Ray" Garthoff (born March 26, 1929) is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a specialist on arms control, intelligence, the Cold War, NATO, and the former Soviet Union. He is a former U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, and ...
wrote in 2004:
Controversy
In 2016, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported that IISS "has been accused of jeopardising its independence after leaked documents showed it has secretly received £25m from the
Bahraini royal family
The House of Khalifa ( ar, آل خليفة, translit=Āl Khalīfah) is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Al Khalifas profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe, some members of this tribe joined the Utub alliance which mig ...
", noting that leaked "documents reveal that IISS and Bahrain's rulers specifically agreed to keep the latter's funding for the Manama Dialogues secret". The IISS did not dispute the authenticity of the leaked documents or deny receiving funding from
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
, but issued a response stating that "
l IISS contractual agreements, including those with host governments, contain a clause asserting the institute's absolute intellectual and operational independence as an international organisation that does not participate in any manner of advocacy".
Peter Oborne
Peter Alan Oborne (; born 11 July 1957) is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the former chief political commentator of ''The Daily Telegraph'', from which he resigned in early 2015. He is author of ''The Rise of Political Lying'', ''Th ...
in
Middle East Eye
Middle East Eye (MEE) is a London-based news website covering events in the Middle East and North Africa. MEE describes itself as an "independently funded online news organization that was founded in April 2014." MEE seeks to be the primary porta ...
subsequently reported that IISS may have received nearly half of its total income from Bahraini sources in some years.
Directors
*
Alastair Buchan
Alastair Buchan (born 16 October 1955) is a British neurologist and researcher in stroke medicine. His main research interest is how to make neuroprotection a reality in the clinic. From October 2008 until January 2017, he served as the Dean of ...
(1958–1969)
*
François Duchêne
Louis-François Duchêne (17 February 1927 – 12 July 2005) was a journalist and political analyst of European integration who wrote for ''The Economist'' and was professor emeritus at the University of Sussex. He was influenced by his work with J ...
(1969–1974)
*
Christoph Bertram
Christoph Bertram (born 3 September 1937) is a German journalist who is the director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He was director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies from 1974 to 1982. He worked f ...
(1974–1982)
*
Robert J. O'Neill
Robert J. O'Neill (born 10 April 1976) is a former United States Navy SEAL (1996–2012), TV news contributor, and author. After participating in May 2011's Operation Neptune Spear with SEAL Team Six, O'Neill was the subject of controversy ...
(1982–1987)
*
François Heisbourg
François Heisbourg (born 24 June 1949) is currently Senior Advisor for Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and Special Advisor at the Paris-based ''Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique''. He was director of the ...
(1987–1992)
*
Bo Huldt (1992–1993)
*
John Chipman (1993–present)
[IISS]
Dr John Chipman CMG
/ref>
Council
Council members 2017 are:
* Professor François Heisbourg
François Heisbourg (born 24 June 1949) is currently Senior Advisor for Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and Special Advisor at the Paris-based ''Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique''. He was director of the ...
, Chairman of the IISS and of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation that was established in 1995 under Swiss law to "promote the building and maintenance of peace, security and stability". The GCSP was founded by the Federal Department ...
* Joanne de Asis, founder and chairperson, Asia Pacific Capital Partners
* Fleur de Villiers
Fleur Olive Lourens de Villiers, CMG, (1 December 1937 – 7 February 2023) was a South African journalist and business consultant who served as the chairman of the trustees of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
De Villiers was b ...
, journalist
* Field Marshal Charles Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank
Field Marshal Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, (born 17 November 1938) is a retired senior officer of the British Army who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1994 to 1997 and Chief of the Defence Staff from ...
* Bill Emmott
William John Emmott (born 6 August 1956) is an English journalist, author, and consultant best known as the editor-in-chief of ''The Economist'' newspaper from 1993 to 2006. Emmott has written fourteen books and worked on two documentary feature ...
, journalist
* Michael Fullilove
Michael Fullilove , a public and international policy academic, is the Executive Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an international policy think tank located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Fullilove is the author ...
, academic
* Marillyn A. Hewson, Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin
* Badr Jafar
Badr Jafar (Arabic: بدر حميد جعفر) is an Emirati businessperson and philanthropist.
Overview
He is the Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Enterprises, a conglomerate headquartered in the United Arab Emirates with operations in ...
, President of Crescent Petroleum
* Bilahari Kausikan
Bilahari Kim Hee Papanasam Setlur Kausikan is a Singaporean retired academic, diplomat and civil servant who served as Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations between 1995 and 1998.
Early life and education
Kausikan's father, ...
, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA; ms, Kementerian Ehwal Luar Negeri; zh, 新加坡外交部; ta, வெளியுறவு அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for conducting and managing diplo ...
* Ellen Laipson
Ellen Laipson is a Distinguished Fellow and President Emeritus of The Stimson Center. She is a member of the council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. She was previously Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council (1997–20 ...
, president and CEO, Henry L Stimson Center
* Chung Min Lee, Professor of International Relations, Yonsei University
* Eric X. Li
Eric Xun Li, born Li Shimo (; born 4 May 1968), is a Chinese venture capitalist and nationalist commentator. He founded the Chinese nationalist news site Guancha.cn, and has defended One-party state, single party rule in China versus a multi-par ...
, founder and managing director, Chengwei Capital
* Jean-Claude Mallet
Jean-Claude Mallet (born 25 March 1955) is a Special Adviser to the French Defence Minister and a member of the council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British ...
, Councillor of State (France)
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
* Moeletsi Mbeki
Moeletsi Goduka Mbeki (born 30 November 1945) is a South African political economist and the deputy chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs, an independent think tank based at the University of the Witwatersrand, and is a ...
* Michael D. Rich
* Charles Powell, Baron Powell of Bayswater
Charles David Powell, Baron Powell of Bayswater, (born 6 July 1941) is a British diplomat and businessman who served as a key foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the 1980s.
Early life and education
Son of Air Vic ...
* George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen
George Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, (born 12 April 1946), is a British politician of the Labour Party who was the 10th Secretary General of NATO from 1999 to 2003; he succeeded Javier Solana. He was Secretary of Sta ...
* Ambassador Andrés Rozental Gutman
Ambassador Andrés Rozental (born 1945) was Embassy of Mexico, London, Mexico's ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1995 to 1997. He was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations from 1988 to 1994, Ambassador to Sweden from 1983 to 1988 and the ...
, President, Rozental & Asociados
* Thomas Seaman, Fellow and Bursar, All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
* Grace Reksten Skaugen, chair of Norwegian Institute of Directors and deputy chair of Statoil
Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state owned enterprise, state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with ad ...
* Major-General Amos Yadlin
Aluf (Major General, res.) Amos Yadlin ( he, עמוס ידלין; born 20 November 1951) is a former general in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel Defense Forces military attaché to Washington, D.C. and head of the IDF Military Intelligence Dir ...
, former IAF General
* Igor Yurgens, chairman of the management board of the Institute of Contemporary Development
INSOR (abbreviated russian: Институт современного развития, Institute of Contemporary Development), known until March 2008 as RIO Center (russian: РИО-Центр, Center for Development of an Information Society), in ...
See also
* List of think tanks in the United Kingdom
This is a list of think tanks in the United Kingdom.
A–I
* Adam Smith Institute
* Africa Research Institute
* Bow Group
* Boyd Group
* Brand EU
* Bright Blue
* British American Security Information Council
* British Future
* Bruges Group
* ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Foreign policy and strategy think tanks based in the United Kingdom
Private companies limited by guarantee of the United Kingdom