The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)(Institute of International Affairs) is an Italian international relations think tank, and non-profit organisation founded in 1965 by Altiero Spinelli. It is ranked among the global top-20 think tanks in the "Foreign Policy and International Relations" and "Defense and National Security" categories, according to the 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index.[1]
History
Altiero Spinelli was the institute's 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 September 2020 the Institute moved to Palazzo Cipolla, an elegant Neo-Renaissance building in the heart of Rome. The Institute's main objective is to promote an understanding of the problems of international politics through studies, research, training, 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 Statute, Article 1).[2]
The research staff is made up of nearly 40 researchers, including 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:
Angelini, Stefania (1990). La fondazione, le attività e gli scopi dell'Istituto affari internazionali fino agli inizi degli anni 70. Tesi di laurea (in Italian). Rome: Facoltà di Lettere e filosofia dell'Università La Sapienza.
Diletti, Mattia (2009). I think tank (in Italian). Bologna: Il Mulino. pp. 112–113. ISBN978-88-15-13058-7.
Graglia, Piero S. (2010). "Altiero Spinelli e la genesi dello IAI: il federalismo, il gruppo de 'il Mulino' e la dimensione internazionale del lavoro culturale". In Preda, Daniela (ed.). Altiero Spinelli e i movimenti per l'unità europea (in Italian). Padova: Cedam. pp. 245–278. ISBN978-88-13-29110-5.
Graglia, Piero S. (2008). "Nuovi spazi: l'avventura dello Iai". Altiero Spinelli (in Italian). Bologna: Il Mulino. pp. 445–470. ISBN978-88-15-12162-2.
Merlini, Cesare (1986). "Altiero Spinelli and the founding of the IAI". The International Spectator. 21 (3): 3–5. doi:10.1080/03932728608456590.
Merlini, Cesare, ed. (2016). La politica estera dell'Italia. Cinquant'anni dell'Istituto Affari Internazionali (in Italian). Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN978-88-15-26599-9.
Pasquinucci, Daniele (2000). "Un seminario di intellettuali politici: l'Istituto affari internazionali". Europeismo e democrazia. Altiero Spinelli e la sinistra europea (in Italian). Bologna: Il Mulino. pp. 231–240. ISBN978-88-15-07745-5.
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