About ISDP
ISDP is a Stockholm-based non-profit and non-partisan research and policy organization operating through two permanent programs: the Asia Program and the Silk Road Studies Program. Within these two principal programs, work at ISDP is organized into Centers and Projects. Centers have a long-term scope and focus on larger thematic areas whereas Projects are established to deliver specific outputs with a deeper and narrower focus, within a short-term framework.
The Asia Program conducts research into security and development challenges in the Asian region with a focus on the sub-regions of Northeast, Southeast, and South Asia. Currently, the Asia Program consists of the Stockholm China Center, the Stockholm Korea Center, the Stockholm Center for South Asian and IndoPacific Affairs, and the Stockholm Taiwan Center.
As such, it carries out policy-oriented and practical research, facilitates confidence-building exercises, and organizes conferences and seminars. The main objectives are not only to be a bridge between academia and policy but also to provide strategic insights and policy recommendations to decision makers in governments, international institutions, and the private sector.
The Silk Road Studies Program runs a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center with the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington D.C. The program focuses on the western part of Eurasia, particularly Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey, and Eastern Europe. The main activities and research are focused on state-building and political development, security and conflict, as well as the relationships between the regions and the West.
In 2025, the institute opened the Stockholm Center for Research and Innovation Security (SCRIS), an independent and sustainable thematic center with an international focus on the cooperation between the U.S., EU and like-minded states. It aims to create an environment of awareness over concerned topics such as appropriation of know-how and proprietary information and its impact on the economic development of individual nations. The center’s research and activities focus on issues of securitization within Innovation, Critical Technology, IP protection, Technology transfer, R & D, and Manufacturing.
Vision & Mission
ISDP’s mission is to promote an understanding of the nexus between conflict, security, and development in our regions of focus; inform and influence decision-makers; provide analytical products and tools; and enable inclusive dialogue and debate.
ISDP’s vision is to become a leading, inclusive, and independent platform for analysis, dialogue, and policy advice contributing to sustainable peace and development in its focus regions.
The Institute strongly believes in ethnic diversity, gender equality, and religious and political freedom and firmly stands by these values in all aspects of its work.
Understanding & Engaging
For over a decade, ISDP has worked to expand the understanding of international affairs in its focus areas. Concentrating on the inter relationship between security, conflict, and development, ISDP showcases its research through analyses as well as practical activities aimed at promoting dialogue.
Since 2007, the Institute has provided independent analyses to policymakers and other relevant institutions. ISDP functions as a focal point for academic, policy, and public discussion of its focus areas through applied research, publications, research cooperation, public lectures, seminars, and webinars.
ISDP strives to work closely with governments and independent organizations located in its regions of study and to pursue extensive collaborative projects, such as through exchanges of researchers and the organizing of joint conferences.
The Institute holds firm to the conviction that an understanding of international affairs requires a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the culture and history of the regions and countries under study and continuous interaction with a broad cross-section of these societies. Lastly, ISDP has an Internship Program for students and recent graduates to ensure long term engagement and innovative understanding of regional Eurasian affairs.
Mailing and Visiting Address
Institute for Security and Development Policy
Västra Finnbodavägen 2 (Map)
131 30 Nacka
Sweden
Tel: +46(0)8-410 569 60
No switch-board, when contacting staff members please check the “Our People” page for contact details.