Chatham House, formally known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading organizations in this area. It takes its name from its premises, a grade I listed 18th century house in St. James's Square designed in part by Henry Flitcroft and thrice occupied by British Prime Ministers including William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.
The current chairman of the Council of Chatham House is Dr. DeAnne Julius and its Director is Dr. Robin Niblett, who succeeded Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas in January 2007. The three Research Directors are Bernice Lee, Dr Paola Subacchi and Alex Vines OBE. Keith Burnet is Director of Communications. Dr Rosemary Hollis, a prominent Middle East expert, is a former Director of Research.
Chatham House was named the top non-US think-tank by Foreign Policy magazine. Chatham House was also listed as one of the top 'scholars' for being among a handful of stars of the think-tank world who are regularly relied upon to set agendas and craft new initiatives [1].
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Role
Chatham House conducts original research into a variety of regional and global issues, and describes itself as follows.
- ... a melting pot that brings together people and organisations with an interest in international affairs. We provide an independent forum in which academia, business, diplomats, the media, NGOs, politicians, policy makers and researchers can interact in an open and impartial environment.
- The widespread recognition of the Chatham House Rule as a byword for free and frank debate is a reflection of our unique and non-aligned perspective.
Chatham House is routinely used as a source of information for media organisations seeking background or experts upon matters involving major international issues.
Although it has been alleged that Chatham House reflects a pro-establishment view of the world [2] (due to donations from large corporations, governments and other organisations), Chatham House is nevertheless membership-based and anyone may join. It has a range of different types of membership including Major Corporate, Corporate, Academic, Individual and Under 35.
Chatham House Rule
Chatham House is the origin of the confidentiality rule known as the Chatham House Rule, which provides that members attending a seminar may discuss the results of the seminar in the outside world, but may not discuss who attended or identify what a specific individual said. The Chatham House Rule evolved to facilitate frank and honest discussion on controversial or unpopular issues by speakers who may not have otherwise had the appropriate forum to speak freely. However, most Chatham House meetings are held 'on the record', and not under the Chatham House Rule.
Research
Research is core to all Chatham House activities. Chatham House undertakes independent and rigorous analysis with the aim of setting the agenda and shaping policy by encouraging new ideas and forward thinking in international affairs.
Chatham House research is structured around three areas: Energy, Environment and Resource Governance; International Economics; and Regional and Security Studies.
In July 2005 Chatham House published a major report on terrorism in the UK. A key problem for the UK in preventing terrorism in Britain is the government's position as 'pillion passenger' to the United States' war on terror. Formulating counter-terrorism policy in this way has left the 'ally in the driving seat' to do the steering. This was one of the key findings of Security, Terrorism and the UK, which received unprecedented media coverage.
In August 2006 Chatham House released a report titled Iran, its Neighbours and the Regional Crises which said that the influence of Iran in Iraq had overtaken that of the US. The report asserted that any threatening action towards Iran could result in mass destabilization across the Middle East.
In December 2006 the departing director of Chatham House – Victor Bulmer-Thomas – produced a briefing paper on UK foreign policy during the Blair era entitled Blair’s Foreign Policy and its Possible Successor(s). The paper generated a media storm as it heavily criticized the Prime Minister for allying the UK too closely to the U.S. at the expense of closer ties with Europe.
In October 2008 Chatham House published a paper, Piracy in Somalia: Threatening Global Trade, Feeding Local Wars, by Roger Middleton. The briefing paper warned of the escalating dangers of piracy in the region and how at the root of the issue was the collapse of the Somali state and over a decade of failed international engagement. The paper featured widely in the UK and international press.
In addition to undertaking wide-ranging research, Chatham House hosts high-profile speakers from around the world. Recent speakers include Ban Ki-moon, Hamid Karzai, Condoleezza Rice, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.
History
The Royal Institute of International Affairs was founded in 1920 as the Institute of International Affairs following a meeting at the previous year's Paris Peace Conference. The first chairman was Robert Cecil, while Lionel Curtis served as honorary secretary. Arnold J. Toynbee later became director. The Council on Foreign Relations, its American sister institute, was established the following year. Chatham House's well-known headquarters at 10 St. James's Square, London, was gifted to the institute in 1923, having previously been the home of three British Prime Ministers - Pitt the Elder, Edward Stanley and William Gladstone - and also of the Earl and Countess of Blessington.
The name of the building grew to be so synonymous with the institute that it was officially rebranded as "Chatham House" in September 2004. However, the "Royal Institute of International Affairs" remains its legal name and is still sometimes used interchangeably with "Chatham House".
The Chatham House building is located just a few metres from the former Libyan embassy building where the 1984 Libyan Embassy Siege took place.
The annual Chatham House Prize was started in 2005 and is awarded to the individual who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year. Previous recipients include Victor Yushchenko and Joaquim Chissano. The 2007 winner was Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned and in 2008 John Kufuor received the prize.
A recent addition to the calendar of events is The BBC Today/Chatham House lecture series developed with the Today programme. The series was designed to promote debate and discussion on key international issues of the day. At the inaugural lecture in 2006, Condoleezza Rice defended the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq.
See also
References
- ^ McGann, James (2009-02-01). "Foreign Policy: The Think Tank Index". Foreign Policy. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4598&page=0. Retrieved on 2009-02-01.
- ^ Tesfamariam, Sophia (2007-02-06). "Scholarly or Sophistry? A take on Chatham House’s “Ethiopia and Eritrea: Allergic to Persuasion”". American Chronicle. http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=20292. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
External links
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