International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS)

The ICDS is a non-partisan independent think-tank based in Tallinn, Estonia. Our mission is to: --Strengthen Estonia’s security and defence sector by identifying and analysing national security and defence challenges and proposing policy solutions; --Sharpen strategic thinking in NATO and the EU on security issues that affect the Nordic-Baltic region by offering timely and high-quality analysis and policy recommendations; --Contribute to enhancing Estonia’s intellectual role within NATO and the EU by developing forward-looking and innovative policy ideas and strategic solutions for the common European and transatlantic security and defence agenda; --Raise public awareness and stimulate public debate on security, defence and foreign policy matters. In pursuit of its mission, we: --conduct research on security, defence and foreign policy issues; --hold two annual major security, defence and foreign policy events – the Lennart Meri Conference (LMC) and the Annual Baltic Conference on Defence (ABCD); --organise Estonian National Defence Course; --publish a monthly magazine, Diplomaatia, and conduct various outreach activities to engage relevant audiences in Estonia, among NATO and EU allies and in partner countries. We organise our research into three broad programmes: --Defence Policy and Strategy under which the ICDS aims to advance strategic thought on the key issues of transatlantic, European, regional and national defence (‘hard security’); --Security and Resilience through which ICDS addresses non-military threats to national and international security (‘soft security’ issues) and the ways of building broad-based national resilience; --International Affairs and Foreign Policy which aims to advance strategic thinking about the short, medium and long-term foreign policy and geopolitical issues affecting Estonia, NATO and the EU. This is the remit of our Estonian Foreign Policy Institute (EFPI)--part of ICDS since January 2018.