The Center for International Security coordinates the University’s research on topics related to strategy, particularly foreign policy, defense policy, and intelligence. Following the end of the Cold War, the rise of the jihadist threat, the effects of globalization, the emergence of new domains—space and cyberspace—and recent global trade tensions, the world has entered a new era in which the alliances, doctrines, and institutions that have formed the foundation of our national strategies now appear outdated.
The Center was established with the aim of becoming a forum for reflection and discussion on the characteristics of the new international landscape. Understanding the new international environment is the Center’s primary objective. The priorities are to understand how the national strategies of the major world powers are evolving to adapt to new circumstances; to assess the effectiveness of existing international organizations; and to identify new challenges, risks, and threats—whether direct or arising from our international commitments. The second objective is to analyze how these changes affect Spain’s security.
The erosion of cohesion within the Atlantic Alliance, the European Union’s inability to fully develop this dimension—exacerbated by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal—and the growing instability in the Middle East and North Africa once again highlight the importance of the Iberian Peninsula’s strategic position, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. The Center joins the collective effort to understand the new environment and define the best possible strategy to defend national interests, drawing on the collaboration of its own researchers as well as those from other institutions, both national and international.