About CSIS

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world’s greatest challenges. 

Founded in 1962, CSIS is led by General Joseph F. Dunford, who was appointed chief executive officer in 2026, succeeding John J. Hamre. The CSIS Board of Trustees is chaired by Thomas J. Pritzker, who has held the position since 2015.

CSIS brings together more than 275 full-time staff and a global network of affiliated scholars working across four core areas of public policy: defense and security, geopolitics and foreign policy, economic security and technology, and global development. Our scholars are regularly called upon by Congress, the executive branch, the media, and others to explain the day’s events and offer recommendations to improve U.S. strategy. 

CSIS’s purpose is to define the future of national security. We are guided by a distinct set of values—non-partisanship, independent thought, innovative thinking, cross-disciplinary scholarship, integrity and professionalism, and talent development. CSIS’s values work in concert toward the goal of making real-world impact. 

What sets CSIS apart is not only the quality of its research but how that research is conveyed: through original data and open-source analysis; through multimedia and data visualization; and through connecting relevant analysis with key audiences at the moments that matter most. This combination of rigor, independence, and reach has made CSIS a driving force in the policy debates shaping American security and prosperity. 

History 

In 1962, at the height of the Cold War, Admiral Arleigh Burke and David Abshire founded the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University with the goal of helping the United States survive as a nation and prosper as a people. CSIS became an independent, nonprofit institution in 1987.  

For more than six decades, CSIS has helped shape policy debates—anticipating emerging challenges, convening difficult conversations, and producing actionable, policy-relevant research. 

In 1966, CSIS research triggered House hearings on the Sino-Soviet split, one of the defining geopolitical shifts of the Cold War era. 

In 1978, CSIS convened the first public hearing on Capitol Hill on the Cambodian genocide, sparking major changes in how Congress and the executive branch understood the unfolding tragedy. 

In 1985, a CSIS panel led to the Goldwater-Nichols legislation to reform the Defense Department and Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

In 1998, a CSIS retirement commission report became the bipartisan benchmark for the Social Security reform debate. 

In 2007, the CSIS Smart Power Commission diagnosed America's declining global standing and offered a framework for reengaging the world. 

In 2018, the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America's Health Security developed a global health architecture that proved prescient when Covid-19 struck two years later. 

In 2022 and 2023, CSIS researchers conducted a series of wargames analyzing the implications of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The findings drew global attention and helped redefine policymaker assessments of U.S. readiness for such a conflict. 

More recently, CSIS scholars produced original, data-driven analysis that shaped the public narrative and guided policymaker understanding of the battlefield trajectory and human toll of the war in Ukraine. 

Under John J. Hamre, who served as president and chief executive officer from 2000 to 2026, CSIS grew into one of the most trusted policy research institutions in the world, expanding its research capacity, deepening its global partnerships, and cementing its standing as a resource for policymakers across administrations. 

CSIS remains committed to the work its founders began: rigorous, independent research in the service of a safer, more prosperous world.