The Elcano Royal Institute is a think-tank for international and strategic studies that analyses world events and trends from a Spanish, European and global perspective. It studies Spain’s place in the world and makes all its research available to the Spanish public at large.
The Elcano Royal Institute was established in 2001 as a private foundation under the honorary presidency of the then Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón y Grecia, a position he continues to hold following his proclamation as King of Spain in June 2014. The Institute’s Board of Trustees comprises prominent figures linked to Spanish foreign policy and representatives of both the companies that fund the Institute and the Spanish Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Defence, Education, Culture and Sports, and Economy and Competitiveness.
The Institute has a stable team of highly-qualified analysts along with a wide-ranging network of contributors and associate experts.
The main topics and geographical areas are Spanish Foreign Policy; the global economy; international terrorism; Spain’s image abroad; demography and migrations; energy and climate change; security and defence; development cooperation; and Spanish language and culture; Europe; Latin America; the Mediterranean and the Middle East; the Atlantic World; Asia-Pacific; and sub Saharan Africa.
As a forum for discussion and debate, the Institute frequently organises different types of meetings –with both individual personalities and working groups– as well as seminars, public debates and conferences. The Institute’s work is made available in a wide range of publications, all of which are accessible on its website.
- Elcano Reports and books of different formats and characteristics, some of them published periodically, such as the Elcano Global Presence Index.
- Spain’s Image Barometer (BIE), which analyses the country’s image abroad; and the Elcano Royal Institute Barometer (BRIE), an opinion survey conducted in Spain and focused on the opinions, judgements and attitudes of Spaniards on all aspects of national and international politics.
- Elcano Policy Papers, collaborative papers that focus on specific aspects of Spain’s position in the world and of current international affairs, aimed at providing ideas and recommendations to political leaders.
- Analyses of the Elcano Royal Institute (ARI), analyses of around 3,000 words on aspects of international affairs considered to be of relevance to Spanish politics.
- Working Papers (WP), longer papers of a more academic nature on topics of importance in the medium and longer terms.
- Expert Comments, brief analyses of around 1,000 words on current affairs.
- Elcano Blog, a platform for dialogue that aims to present debates on Spain’s political life, action abroad and external projection, and on international relations, to a more widely-based public.
- Revista Elcano, a bimonthly magazine including a selection of the Institute’s publications, an interview with an expert on international relations and a calendar of activities.
- Newsletter, a monthly publication with 20,000 subscribers that provides information about the main research papers released during the month, along with updates and news on the Institute’s website.Participation in international networks
- The Institute participates in 13 leading European and American international networks, including the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN), the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), Think Global, Act European (TGAE), the Red Iberoamericana de Estudios Internacionales (RIBEI), the International Relations and Security Network (ISN), the International Counter-Terrorism Academic Community (ICTAC), the Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission (EURO-MESCO), the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), the European Information Network on International Relations and Area Studies (EINIRAS) and the European Think Tank Network on China (ETNC).