An Ifri’s initiative

Founded in 1979 by Thierry de Montbrial on the model of Anglo-Saxon think tanks, Ifri is the principal institution for independent research and debate in France and is dedicated to the analysis of international issues and global governance.

In 2020, Ifri is ranked 3rd most influential think tanks in the world behind Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (USA) and Bruegel (Belgium), according to the University of Pennsylvania’s “Global Think Tank Report 2019”* which reviewed more than 8,000 think tanks from 190 countries.

Ranked for the past three years in the top three most influential think tanks in the world by the University of Pennsylvania’s “Global Go To Think Tank Index Report”*, Ifri is also ranked 3rd in the 2019 global index.

Ifri enlightens and puts into perspective the most important international events. It serves economic and political decision-makers, academicians, opinion leaders and representatives of civil society.

Ifri is chaired by its founder, Thierry de Montbrial. Its director is Thomas Gomart. The institute gathers an international team of fifty associates. The permanent researchers span 10 research programs focused on regional issues: Europe, Russia/NIS, Asia, North America (United States and Canada), Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey/Middle East and cross-cutting issues: Security and Strategic Affairs, Energy, Space, Migration and Citizenship.

Ifri’s research and debate are covered in the institute’s various digital collections as well as in top publications such as the quarterly journal Politique étrangère and the annual report RAMSES. Ifri’s research is available in French, English, German and Russian.

The website www.ifri.org is the first platform through which Ifri’s debates, work and studies are disseminated. The website had more than 1M visits in 2019. Ifri is very prominent in the media: Ifri has been featured and mentionned in more than 100 articles and interviews, 400 television and radio shows and about 3,500 quotes in French and foreign press.

Ifri is on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn through the group “Friends of Ifri”. More than 150 videos are available on youtube. The Ifri’s digital publications are available on Pearltrees, Scribd and Calaméo.

Each year, Ifri organizes more than 130 conferences and debates in Paris and abroad, about 10 international events, as well as numerous workshops and seminars. Ifri welcomes each year more than 120 high-level guests, among them heads of state and government officials.

In 2019, Ifri celebrated its 40th anniversary in the presence of several French and foreign well-know figures.

In 2019, Ifri also participated, for the second consecutive year, as a founding member, in the Paris Peace Forum, under the patronage of the President of the French Republic.

 

*“Global Go To Think Tank Index Report 2019”James G. McGann, Ph.D., Director, The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, Foreign Policy Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania, USA.