The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University.
The center conducts policy studies and strategic analyses of defense, geopolitical, economic security, and global development issues throughout the world, with a focus on issues concerning international relations, trade, technology, finance, energy, and geostrategy.
CSIS is officially a bipartisan think tank with scholars that represent varying points of view across the political spectrum. It is known for inviting well-known foreign policy and public service officials from the U.S. Congress and the executive branch, including those affiliated with either the Democratic or the Republican Party, as well as foreign officials of varying political backgrounds. It has been labeled a broadly "centrist" think tank by U.S. News & World Report.
CSIS is regularly called upon by Congress, the executive branch, and the media for analysis of foreign policy and recommendations to improve U.S. strategy. It conveys research through original data and multimedia tools as well as traditional reports, and it is seen as an industry leader in multimedia among other policy organizations. Its analysis has been awarded favorable scores for lack of bias, factual reporting and credibility by independent fact checkers.
History 1960s The center was founded in 1962 by Arleigh Burke and David Manker Abshire. It originally was part of Georgetown University. It officially opened its doors on September 4, shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis. The original office was located one block away from Georgetown's campus in a small brick townhouse located at 1316 36th Street. The first professional staff member hired was Richard V. Allen who later served in the Reagan administration.
At a conference held in the Hall of Nations at Georgetown University in January 1963, the center developed its blueprint for its intellectual agenda. The book that emerged from the conference, National Security: Political, Military and Economic Strategies in the Decade Ahead, was more than one thousand pages long. The book set out a framework for discussing national security and defined areas of agreement and disagreement within the Washington foreign policy community during the Cold War. The book argued for a strategic perspective on global affairs and also defined a school of thought within international relations studies for that period. The practitioners of this school of thought subsequently made their way to the pinnacles of U.S. policymaking, particularly during the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations.
1970s By the mid to late 1970s, many scholars who worked at the center had found their way to senior positions in government in the Department of State or Department of Defense. When Henry Kissinger retired from his position as U.S. Secretary of State in 1977, Harvard University declined to offer him a professorship. He decided to teach part-time at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and to make CSIS the base for his Washington operations, over offers to teach at Yale, Penn, Columbia, and Oxford. Kissinger's decision to become affiliated with the Washington-based institution attracted more public attention for the center than virtually any event in the preceding fifteen years.
Following Kissinger's involvement, other cabinet-level officials, including James Schlesinger, Bill Brock, William J. Crowe, and Harold Brown, joined CSIS in the late 1970s. When Zbigniew Brzezinski joined the center in 1981 after the end of the Carter administration, he worked on issues related to the Soviet Union and Poland's transition to a market economy. The arrangements for these senior government officials allowed them to write, lecture, and consult with media and business firms, and are typical of the way CSIS can incorporate high-level policymakers when they leave government. During the 1970s and 1980s, a myriad of think tanks either expanded operations or emerged in Washington, D.C., representing a range of ideological positions and specialized policy interests.
1980s In 1986, several Georgetown University professors criticized CSIS staff members for giving academically unsupported assessments of foreign policy issues during public interviews.Jordan, Mary. "GU Severs Ties With Think Tank: Center's Academics, Conservatism Cited". The Washington Post. 18 October 1986. p. B1. Donations to Georgetown University decreased because of its association with CSIS. A special committee studied the friction, and its report stated that CSIS was more focused on the media than on scholarly research and recommended that CSIS be formally separated from Georgetown University. On October, 17, 1986, Georgetown University's board of directors voted to sever all ties with CSIS.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies was incorporated in Washington, D.C. on December 29, 1986,"Center for Strategic and International Studies Inc". Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Government of the District of Columbia. Retrieved 29 June 2017. and the formal affiliation between Georgetown and CSIS ended on July 1, 1987.
1990s The center became an incorporated nonprofit organization to raise its endowment and expand its programs to focus on emerging regions of the world. The work of the trustees and counselors with the center after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1980s left CSIS in a unique position to develop the nation's foreign policy with the United States as the world's sole superpower. It signified a degree of institutional maturation and prestige that the founders had not imagined when they founded the center in the early 1960s.
After the end of the Cold War, there emerged a suspicion in Washington that the United States was not as well equipped as it ought to be to compete in the international economy. This outlook drove CSIS to set up a project in early 1990 that, to some, seemed removed from traditional strategic and international concerns. The idea that America should focus on its problems at home to strengthen its role abroad evolved into the Commission on the Strengthening of America, chaired by Senator Sam Nunn and Senator Pete Domenici.
David Abshire saw the commission as a way to examine and improve upon economic policy, coming to the conclusion that the White House should reorganize the Executive Office of the President to include a National Economic Council with a national economic adviser on the model of the National Security Council. This new focus on economic policy led CSIS to increase its research focus on international economics and issues concerning the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank as well as global health and the environmental and societal effects of climate change. These issues merged into CSIS's mission to complement its traditional focus on international security issues.
21st century In 2013, CSIS moved from its K Street headquarters to a new location on Rhode Island Avenue in Washington, D.C. The new building cost $100 million to build and has a studio for media interviews and room to host conferences, events, lectures and discussions. The building is located in Washington, D.C.'s Dupont Circle neighborhood and earned LEED Platinum Certification.
In 2015, H. Andrew Schwartz, a senior vice president at CSIS, was quoted describing the organization's "number one goal" as "hav[ing] impact on policy." Defending the organization from claims that it had inappropriately engaged in lobbying on behalf of U.S. defense contractors, CEO John Hamre was quoted in 2016 as saying, "We strongly believe in our model of seeking solutions to some of our country's most difficult problems.... We gather stakeholders, vet ideas, find areas of agreement and highlight areas of disagreement."
In 2024, the Center was designated as an "undesirable organization" in Russia.
On March 12, 2026, CSIS announced that retired General Joseph Francis Dunford, who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was named the next chief executive officer. He succeeded John Hamre on May 7, 2026.
Funding For fiscal year 2013, CSIS had an operating revenue of US$32.3 million. The sources were 32% corporate, 29% foundation, 19% government, 9% individuals, 5% endowment, and 6% other. CSIS had operating expenses of $32.2 million for 2013—78% for programs, 16% for administration, and 6% for development.
In September 2014, The New York Times reported that the United Arab Emirates had donated a sum greater than $1 million to the organization. Additionally, CSIS has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Japan through the government-funded Japan External Trade Organization, as well as from Norway. After being contacted by the Times, CSIS released a list of foreign state donors, listing 13 governments including those of Germany and China. CSIS lists major funding from defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon Company and General Atomics.
Significant funding has come from the governments of the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates.
Programs and events CSIS comprises numerous programs and projects, each with its own unique missions and interests. Research programs are divided into four departments based on area of study: The Defense and Security Department, led by Dr. Seth G. Jones, researches national defense and security issues, including missile defense, intelligence, nuclear issues, and critical minerals. It includes the Center for Industrial Base, and its programs include the Missile Defense Project and the Aerospace Security Project. The Economic Security and Technology Department, led by Navin Girishankar, researches issues including cybersecurity, trade and global markets, AI, and energy security. The Global Development Department, led by Enoh T. Ebong, covers topics such as global health, food and water security, climate resilience, and human rights issues. The Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department, led by Dr. Victor Cha, focuses on geographic study of regions around the world, including Africa, the Americas, Australia, China, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and more. The department includes the China Power Project, which examines Chinese military, economic, technological, and foreign policy issues.
The Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI), established in 2003, conducts research on deterrence and escalation, risk reduction and arms control, and disarmament. It also operates programs for early-career nuclear professionals, including a conference series and the Nuclear Scholars Initiative.
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab, established in 2011, is CSIS's in-house digital, multimedia and design unit. Its projects include the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), which uses satellite imagery and other open-source information in its coverage of maritime issues in Asia. AMTI's research and imagery have been cited by news organizations including Reuters, Time, and The Guardian.
The Missile Defense Project, launched by CSIS in 2015, examines policy, program, and strategic issues related to missile defense, including homeland and integrated air and missile defense.
The Aerospace Security Project conducts research on policy, operational concepts, technology, and economic issues involving the air and space domains, including space security, civil and commercial space, and air power. It has published a series of Space Threat Assessment reports examining foreign counterspace capabilities and activities.