Istituto Affari Internazionali

Istituto Affari Internazionali

Abbreviation	IAI
Formation	1965
Type	Foreign policy think tank
Headquarters	Via Angelo Brunetti, 9
Location	Rome, Italy
Honorary President	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
President	Ferdinando Nelli Feroci
Vice Presidents	Gianni Bonvicini (Executive), Vincenzo Camporini, Fabrizio Saccomanni
Director	Ettore Greco
Key people	Nathalie Tocci, Deputy Director
Website	iai.it/en

The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) (English: Institute of International Affairs) is an Italian non-profit organization founded in 1965 by Altiero Spinelli, its first director, thanks to joint contributions from the Fondazione Olivetti, the cultural and political association Il Mulino and the Nord e Sud Research Center, as well as to substantial support from the Ford Foundation. Spinelli took North American and British think tanks as a model: he created a flexible private organization, distinct from university institutes and governmental or ministerial research centers, yet capable of inter-acting and cooperating with the government, the public administration, national economic actors and foreign academic centers. These are still the IAI's outstanding features today.

In 1991 the Institute moved to Palazzo Rondinini, an elegant eighteenth century building in the heart of Rome. Many of the activities organized by the Institute take place in its Baroque ceremonial rooms. The Institute's main objective is to promote an understanding of the problems of international politics through studies, research, meetings and publications, with the aim of increasing the opportunities of all countries to move in the direction of supranational organization, democratic freedom and social justice (IAI Bylaws, Article 1).

Research

Research focuses on the following thematic areas:

• Institutions and policies of the European Union
• Turkey
• Security and defence
• Transatlantic relations
• The Mediterranean and the Middle East
• International political economy
• Energy
• Italian foreign policy

The research staff is made up of nearly 30 researchers, including 10 area or project directors. Most of the research projects are carried out together with other institutes with similar characteristics.

The Institute is an active participant in – and has sometimes even been a promoter of – important transnational research networks:

• Council of Councils
• EuroMeSCo (EuroMediterranean Study Commission)
• EPIN (European Policy Institutes Network)
• International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
• TEPSA (Trans European Policy Studies Association)

Publications

• The International Spectator, a peer reviewed English-language foreign policy quarterly, published since 2007 by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group)
• IAI Research Papers and Quaderni IAI, two series of brief monographs on problems of international affairs in either Italian or English
• IAI Working Papers and Documenti IAI, two series of papers produced within the context of IAI research projects and areas of expertise
• AffarInternazionali, an Italian language webzine on politics, strategy and economics

In addition, the IAI manages four websites:

• iai.it/en: the IAI's official website
• Affarinternazionali.it: the site of the webzine by the same name
• Sharaka: site on the relations between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
• Transworld: site dedicated to the role of the transatlantic relationship in the global governance architecture

See also

• Altiero Spinelli
• Foreign relations of Italy
• International affairs
• Think tank

External links

• The IAI's official website