2021

Innovative Ideas. Changing the World.

Asia

Data & Innovation

Predicting the Rise and Fall of the Mighty Mekong

The Mekong Dam Monitor is a groundbreaking tool which uses new technology to shine a light on how dams, especially those in China, are changing the flow of the Mekong River and harming the countries, ecosystems, and people downstream.

This transparency empowers downstream countries and people, increasing accountability and protecting both livelihoods and the environment.


Use the Mekong Dam Monitor

Awards for the Mekong Dam Monitor:

Track II Engagement

Cutting Edge Research

Resources & Climate

Data & Innovation

CORVI: Data-driven Climate Resilience

CORVI is a decision support tool for leaders who need to make smart climate investments to improve the safety and security of coastal cities.

Now operating in eight coastal cities around the world, CORVI organizes data and information across the land and seascape to get a complete risk picture and make concrete recommendations for action. 


The CORVI Project

Data & Innovation

Building Smarter Infrastructure along a Critical River

The Mekong Infrastructure Tracker platform is the premier resource for researchers to track, monitor, and quantify the development of energy, transportation, and water infrastructure assets and the social, economic, and ecological changes they bring to Southeast Asia.

This suite of four interactive GIS-based tools lets users track infrastructure projects, measure their  impact, identify suitable development locations, and measure deforestation. 


Mekong Infrastructure Tracker Dashboard


The Mekong Infrastructure Tracker Platform

REsearch for Action

Nonproliferation

Leading Voices

Live with head of the IAEA

When Director General Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency came to Washington, he sat down for a wide-ranging interview at the Stimson Center.

On the Agenda? Pressing issues like Iran and North Korea, the potential of new technologies, and the challenges posed by a global pandemic. 

https://youtu.be/rdPFEEdew4E

Watch the Interview

REsearch to Action

Identify problems…

Stimson research shows that even though scores of countries and hundreds of programs offer assistance to improve WMD nonproliferation efforts, too often the countries looking for help never connect with an offer.


Read the Paper

… and build solutions

That is why Stimson’s Assistance Support Initiative built a searchable database of 1000+ programs offering nonproliferation assistance, so countries can find support that meets their needs. 



Search the Database

Reaching New Audiences


Spent Fuel: High Above, Far Below

Online interactive presentations can help bring complex topics to new audiences.

This interactive product lets users scroll from high in orbit to far below ground to understand storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and waste.

Stimson research shows that successful public engagement is a critical step for countries building deep geological repositories – the best option we have for safe disposal of this dangerous material.


Explore the Interactive

Established Experts

Get the Big Picture

The geometry of nuclear competition has never been more complex. China’s nuclear force structure is growing rapidly. Russia and the United States have sloughed off treaties to facilitate freedom of action. Traditional arms control seems to be at an impasse.

Stimson co-founder Michael Krepon’s Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace tells the story of how arms control was built from scratch, how it was torn down, and how it can be rebuilt.


Watch the Book Launch

U.S. Foreign Policy

Data & Impact

Child Soldiers Prevention Act Implementation Tracker

The United States is one of few countries in the world that conditions arms sales and military assistance on a government’s record of using child soldiers.

The CSPA Implementation Tracker is the only source of consolidated information on how well the U.S. government is implementing the law and preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers.


Use the Tracker

TRack II

Building Trust and Finding Solutions with Track II Diplomacy

Stimson’s decades of experience in Track II diplomacy continues to grow.

In 2021 we relaunched two U.S. military-to-military dialogues, one focused on Russia and the other on China. The efforts have previously been conducted by the EastWest Institute.

Research to Action

Dear Mr. President

The Stimson Presidential Inbox, now in its fourth iteration, is a set of policy recommendations to the next administration. The series focuses on actionable recommendations that the president could take under existing authorities with little or no action by Congress.


Read the Memos

Data & Innovation

U.S. Global Force Posture & Use of Force Short of War

As part of its study on U.S. military operations and coercive diplomacy in the post-Cold War era,  the Stimson Center’s Defense Strategy and Planning program has released 30 years of data on the permanent U.S. active duty troop presence overseas.

This dataset is part of a larger, innovative, and ongoing effort to analyze  the success of coercive military efforts that fall short of actual war.


Check out the Data

Technology & Trade

Research for Impact

A New Agenda for Drone Policy and the Use of Lethal Force

The U.S. drone program demonstrated and enabled a willingness to use lethal force in counterterrorism operations, and that willingness has come to define U.S. engagements in the world for a generation.

This latest installment of Stimson’s multi-year analysis of the U.S. drone program emphasizes the need for a new approach to the use of lethal force to ensure the U.S. is responsible and accountable in the short, medium, and long term.



Read the Report

Cutting Edge Research

Data & Innovation

Blockchain & International Security

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) offers a novel solution for data verification. Stimson’s first-in-the-field effort is spearheading research into ways DLT can address a host of international security challenges, from chemical transport to dual-use technology.

Our  award-winning SLAFKA Prototype demonstrated DLT’s potential for tracking nuclear material, paving the way for forthcoming work on dual-use chemicals.


DLT for International Security Project

https://youtu.be/B8Sn19Wkauo

Blockchain in Practice Program Director Cindy Vestergaard explains how her award-winning DLT prototype, SLAFKA, works. 

International Order & Conflict

Research for Action

Strengthening NATO’s Ability to Protect Civilians

In 2016, the NATO Policy on the Protection of Civilians (PoC) made protection an explicit goal of future operations. To help NATO succeed, Stimson and partners are assessing doctrine and guidance within NATO nations and partners on protection of civilians. Our emphasis is on solutions-focused research and building bridges across governments, academia, international organizations and NGOs.


Check out the full Project

International Partnership

Strengthening Global Governance

The Global Governance Innovation Network brings world-class scholarship together with international policy-making to address fundamental global governance challenges, threats, and opportunities. Research will focus on the development of institutional, policy, legal, and normative improvements in the international global governance architecture.


Visit the Network website


Human Rights, Conflict, and Cooperation

Track II

Regional Dialogue and Peacebuilding

Stimson’s new Middle East and North Africa program is home to two regional peacebuilding initiatives. These efforts, which Stimson relaunched in 2021, were originally conducted by the EastWest Institute. 

International Security,
Shared Prosperity
& Justice

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