History
The Institute of International Relations (IDIS) is affiliated with the Department of International and European Studies at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences and constitutes Greece’s leading research institute in international affairs.
The vision to create a forum where students, researchers, professors, diplomats, and practitioners of international affairs could engage in a meaningful free exchange of ideas led to the founding of the Institute in 1989 by Professor Dimitri Constas.
30+ years after its establishment, IDIS maintains a vibrant research culture while remaining also committed to its educational mission. Moreover, and despite the proliferation of other institutes with similar activities in Greece, IDIS remains not just the first but also the only University Research Institute in the country in the field of International Relations with organic connection to a University undergraduate and graduate program.
Mission
- To produce high quality research in the field of IR
IDIS is committed to producing high quality research in the fields of:
- Foreign policy analysis
- Strategic analysis
- Global governance
- European integration
- International political theory
- International law
- To advance the academic study of IR in Greece
The advancement of the academic study of IR in Greece is accomplished by
- Producing monographs and edited volumes in Greek, so as to promote the national scholarly exchange.
- Inviting a number of world-leading IR scholars on an annual basis, so as to foster the scholarly exchange between the Greek IR community and the international community.
- Providing research and teaching support to the MA program in “International Relations and Strategic Studies” at Panteion University.
- Providing research and teaching support to the MA program in “Strategic Security Studies” at the Hellenic National Defense College.
- Organizing an annual Symposium, where PhD students can present their work and get feedback from IDIS faculty and peers.
- Running an annual apprenticeship program, where graduate students and junior researchers can spend a nine-month training period in one of IDIS’s research programs.
- To offer national and international training seminars
In addition to its research mission, IDIS is committed to supporting IR education by providing a number of national and international training seminars, such as:
- American Studies Seminar : running annually since 1995 and organized jointly by IDIS, the American College of Greece and the United States Embassy in Greece.
- Chinese Studies Seminar: started in 2020 with the aim of disseminating knowledge about modern China to the Greek public.
- Continuing Education Program : a series of seminars in strategy and international affairs aiming to meet the training needs of young professionals.
- IDIS International Studies Summer Seminar: running annually since 1992.
- Olympia Summer Academy : established in 2002 and co-organized by Navarino Network, the European International Studies Association (EISA), and IDIS.
- To provide a bridge between academia and the world of practice
IDIS aspires to provide a bridge across the world of the academy and practice. To this effect, the Institute is organizing:
- the Annual Conference on Grand Strategy in collaboration with the Hellenic Armed Forces.
- the Ambassador’s Forum, a series of debates with ambassadors in Greece on current world affairs.
- To raise public awareness about international affairs
As a forum of public exchange, IDIS is strongly committed to raising public awareness about international affairs. To this effect, the Institute annually:
- Organizes a number of Roundtable Discussions, Public Lectures and Conferences that are open to the wider public.
- Publishes a series of short monographs, called “Bibliothiki IDIS”, which, apart from their scholarly contribution, are written in a way that is accessible to the non-specialist.
- Contributs to the public discourse through op-eds and media appearances.