ISDP Annual Report 2025
ISDP’s Annual Report for the year 2025.
2025 has been a year defined by accelerating geopolitical competition, deteriorating security environments, and increasing uncertainty across multiple regions. Many of these developments have continued to shape ISDP’s work and remain central to our research and outreach.
Strategic rivalry between the People’s Republic of China and the United States has deepened, with economic coercion, technological competition, and military modernization shaping an increasingly fragile global order. Beijing intensified military and political pressure on Taiwan through record-high incursions and coercive signaling. North Korea expanded its nuclear arsenal, deepened military cooperation with Russia, and remained closely aligned with China, raising concerns over regional stability.
In the Middle East, tensions escalated between Iran and the U.S., including missile and drone attacks on Israel following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and persistent regional rivalries. Syria pursued engagement with the EU, U.S., and Gulf States. The Brussels IX Conference pledged €5.8 billion for reconstruction and humanitarian support. At the same time, Syria maintained ties with Moscow and Beijing. Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine continued to devastate infrastructure, energy networks, and civilian populations, with hybrid threats spreading across Europe. There were spillover effects, for example Georgia’s democratic backsliding, repression of protesting civilians, and distancing from the Euro-Atlantic aspirations. But there were also countervailing developments: Armenia and Azerbaijan moved toward a U.S.-brokered peace agreement, and in Central Asia, regional cooperation intensified, as did the expansion of the Organization of Turkic States into security and defense matters. This highlights the importance of strengthening regional security cooperation, rapid response to emerging threats, and increased NATO activities to bolster stability.
In response to these challenges, ISDP continued, and will continue to provide timely expertise, regional insights, and a platform for dialogue among policymakers, academics, and practitioners.
In 2025, ISDP opened the Stockholm Center for Research and Innovation Security (SCRIS) which focuses on the intersection of emerging technologies and security, including AI, cyber tools, and dual-use innovations. SCRIS helps policymakers anticipate risks, protect intellectual property, and strengthen resilience against hybrid threats, making it a key hub for security strategies in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Over the course of the year, ISDP organized 60 events, an increase of 50 % compared to 2024, and reached audiences across the Nordics, Baltics, Central and Southern Europe, as well as Northeast, East, South, and Central Asia, the United States, and Australia. Many of these events were also made available on the Institute’s YouTube channel as well, reaching even further. A study by ChinaObservers has ranked us third among the top organizers of China-related events in Europe and we intend to further strengthen this broad range of events in 2026.
With a vibrant community across all major social media platforms, strong growth particularly on LinkedIn, and a redesigned website launched in 2025, we are very much looking forward to engaging with sponsors, partners, stakeholders, and curious readers and viewers alike. We are pleased to continue another year of meaningful engagement, high-quality research, and constructive discussions that advance understanding and support informed decision-making.
