Center for International Security and Cooperation

Research. Education. Policy. The Center for International Security and Cooperation tackles the most critical security issues in the world today. Founded in 1983, CISAC has built on its research strengths to better understand an increasingly complex international environment. It is part of Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Though scholarly research, fellowships, and teaching, CISAC is educating the next generation of leaders in international security and creating policy impact on a wide variety of issues. Seminars, events, discussions, research and other collaboration contribute to dialogue on important topics. Since the beginning, one of CISAC’s key goal has been to reduce nuclear risk and promote a world at peace. And so, our scholars are involved in issues like nuclear nonproliferation research, the study of international norms and ethics, and Track II talks with China, North Korea, Pakistan and Russia. While our legacy is marked by this continuity in vision, CISAC has also evolved to focus on emerging challenges. When the terrorist attacks on 9/11 shook the U.S. and other nations, CISAC expanded its mission to include the study of terrorism, insurgency and homeland security. In biosecurity and global health, our scholars are studying ways to anticipate and prevent the misuse of rapidly evolving capabilities in the life sciences, as well as the emergence of infectious diseases in a dynamic world. Also, the proliferation of risks associated with our highly interconnected digital age has led CISAC to focus on cybersecurity.