Think Tanks

Think Tanks (A cite with links to a number of think tanks is found by clicking here)

American Enterprise Institute (AEI): leans conservative, but is not too ideological

Arms Control Association (ACA): Non-profit organization that watches over world military trends; it has a decidedly pro-arms control attitude

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (BSCIA): The Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University) does some of the best analyses of international affairs and national security and publishes the best journal on international affairs, International Security, which can be accessed online through the VCU online journal systems.

Brookings Institution: Non-profit organization that watches over world political trends and also includes many former government officials

Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs: Focuses on Human Rights issues.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: One of the biggest and best. It is a non-profit organization, which studies international affairs and has a huge number of programs. It sponsors scholarly research on everything form non-proliferation to building civil society. See the list of "Programs" on the home page.

Carter Center: Former President Carter established this Center to examine international issues, host conferences, and mediate international conflicts.

Cato Institute: Right of center think tank that conducts research on foreign policy, national security, and economic policy, as well as domestic political issues.

Center for American Progress (think tank with links to the Democratic Party)

Center for National Policy (non-partisan center which does some national security work)

Center for Non-proliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies, which is one of the best sources on information on the spread of weapons of mass destruction

Center for Strategic and International Affairs (CSIS): attached to Georgetown University. It produces reports on national security, and is filled with ex-government officials

Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Danger: A center-left organization that focuses on US and international nuclear weapons policy.

Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO): Columbia University’s compilation of papers, journals, web sites, and other resources on international affairs. It’s no a think tank itself, but collects information from think tanks, government, and other academic circles on international affairs and national security. You may need to use your VCU password and login to get into this system. It has a specific link to Working Papers from various think tanks and scholarly institutes.

Council for a Livable World: Center-left in its ideology and focuses on ways to reduce the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reign in US defense expenditures and deployments.

Council on Foreign Relations: The most prestigious non-profit organization that examines foreign affairs and national security. It publishes the journal Foreign Affairs

Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Non-profit organization that watches over world military trends

Global Security.Org (excellent resources for international diplomatic, military, and political issues)

Heritage Foundation: Right of center think tank that conducts research on foreign policy, national security, and economic policy, as well as domestic political issues.

Hudson Institute: Center-right think tank that conducts research on foreign policy, national security, and economic policy, as well as domestic political issues.

Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA): Non-profit think tank that does a lot of work for the US government on national security issues. Much of its research is available online.

Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis (IDSA): A think tank that looks at many international security issues, particularly east and South Asia. It is an Indian institute based in New Delhi.

International Republican Institute (Republican Party-affiliated organization that analyzes world affairs and supports programs that help nations make the transition to democracy)

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (Democratic Party-affiliated organization that analyzes world affairs and supports programs that help nations make the transition to democracy)

National Endowment for Democracy: A private, non-profit organization that is funded by the US Congress. Its goal is to foster democracy around the world through programs and research

National Security Archive: This is a non-profit organization that gets the US government to declassify documents relating to US foreign affairs (through Freedom of Information Act requests) then makes those documents available to the public. Some are available on line. All are available at the Archive itself (In George Washington University’s library. You can contact the Archive and make an appointment to go there.) Some are also available to purchase in sets.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Non-profit organization that watches over world military trends

Nixon Center: Non-Profit organization that studies foreign and national security policy, leans toward republican ideas

Nuclear Threat Initiative (non-profit, non-partisan group that analyzes and lobbies on nuclear proliferation issues)

Project for a New American Century: New think tank that espouses and develops neoconservative views.

Rand Corporation: US government funded think-tank, but its reports are designed to analyze government policy, not justify it. (In other words, it is honest analytically)

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI): Non-profit organization that watches over world military trends

Henry L. Stimson Center: Non-profit organization that watches over world political and military trends, in particular United nations peace operations

Western States Legal Foundation: A pro-arms control group watching over US defense expenditures and deployments and their impact on the public among other things.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars: Supports scholarly research on a number of international topics. In particular, its Cold War International History Project provides support for scholars using declassified documents to understand what was really going on in Washington and Moscow during the Cold War.

Union of Concerned Scientists: Center-left in its ideology and focuses on ways to reduce the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reign in US defense expenditures and deployments.

United States Institute for Peace (USIP); Funded by the US Congress, it is a non-partisan organization that sponsors and publishesd research concerning conflict prevention and conflict resolution

Within the US government, as part of the Department of Defense, are:

Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) of the National Defense University. (I've given you links to their publications and links pages. The Strategic Studies Institute has the most comprehensive set of links on security and foreign affairs I've ever seen.)

Naval War College: The Navy’s college on military studies.

Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the US Army War College