Institute for Regional and International Studies

Program areas

Completed projects

Balkan Security and Development

Civic Self-Assessment of the NATO Membership Potential

IRIS International Security and Democratization Program implemented the project entitled Civic Self-assessment of the NATO Membership Potential started on February 1, 2002. The project was a joint initiative of the Institute for Regional and International Studies - Sofia, Bulgaria, the Latvian Institute of International Affairs - Riga, Latvia and the Slovak Foreign Policy Association - Bratislava, Slovakia. It aimed at initiating expert debate on major issues concerning NATO enlargement; assessing and recommending policies in comparative perspective as well as informing target audience about readiness and challenges ahead of applicant countries in joining NATO.

The project addressed the following issues: National NATO Accession Strategies and Armed Forces Reforms, Security Priorities of Prospective Members, and NATO Transformation and Strategic Environment.

The project was supported by Freedom House - Regional Networking Project, with funding provided by USAID.

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The Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) is an independent, non-government think tank. IRIS was established on June 11, 1997 by leading Bulgarian public and political figures, NGO leaders and prominent Bulgarian scholars in international relations, Balkan studies, history, social and political science, anthropology and economics.

The Institute for Regional and International Studies initiates, develops and implements civic strategies for democratic politics on national, regional and international level. The Institute promotes the values of democracy, civil society, freedom and respect of law, assists the process of Bulgarian integration in NATO and the EU and provides public policy analyses on current domestic and international issues. IRIS represents a strategic combination of advocacy-oriented and education-oriented think tank.