| Institut français des relations internationales | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1979 |
| President | Thierry de Montbrial |
| Location | Paris, France |
| Website | http://www.ifri.org |
L'Institut français des relations internationales (French Institute of International Relations) is the main independent research and debate institution dedicated to international affairs, based in Paris, France.
Since its creation in 1979 by Thierry de Montbrial, inspired by the Anglo-Saxon model of research institutions, Ifri has since affirmed itself as one of the most established French think tanks. An integral part of the international think tank network, Ifri aims at gathering decision-makers and researchers to develop non-partisan and thorough research and debate on major contemporary international issues.
Ifri’s goal is to:
Ifri is independent from all administrative and financial regulatory authorities and has no affiliation with any political party. Their research teams are made up of over thirty-five French and foreign researchers, 50% of whom are under the age of 40. Outside of their research work, each year Ifri organises several international conferences and debates with the participation of key French and international figures. Guests from previous years to these events have included current and former heads of state Hamid Karzai, Vladimir Putin, Jalal Talabani, Mikheil Saakashvili, Abdoulaye Wade, Viktor Yushchenko, Ion Iliescu, Václav Klaus, Ilham Aliyev, Mohammad Khatami, Stjepan Mesić, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Abdullah Gül, Boris Tadić, Tassos Papadopoulos, Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Pervez Musharraf.
Ifri’s areas of research deal with political-strategic developments, notably transatlantic relations in their various components; European construction; international economics, security studies and globalisation analysis; regional approaches (Europe, Asia, the Middle East, CIS); global strategies (global governance, resource management, environmental policy, migrations, etc…)
In 2010, for the third consecutive year, Ifri was the only French based research institution to be ranked among the top 50 most influential think tanks worldwide outside of the United States, placing 3rd in Western Europe and 8th globally. This study entitled "Global Go-To Think Tanks" was undertaken by a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and ranked institutions from more than 6,300 think tanks located in 169 countries.[2] · [3]