For you international relations junkies out there, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) recently held its 90th anniversary event here in London. In the United States, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) came into being shortly thereafter in 1922. Both are the product of the same idea. Aside from Chatham House Director Robin Niblett, CFR President Richard Haass was invited to participate. The podcast is available from Chatham House and traces the history of these two notable thinktanks:
In 1919, British and American delegates to the Paris Peace Conference conceived the idea of an Anglo-American Institute of foreign affairs to study international problems with a view to preventing future wars. In the event, the British Institute of International Affairs was founded in London in July 1920 and received its Royal Charter in 1922 to become the Royal Institute of International Affairs. American delegates developed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York as a sister institute and both are now among the world's leading international affairs think-tanks.
This special members event to mark the founding of the Chatham House in 1920 will assess how both Chatham House and the Council on Foreign Relations have evolved over the past 90 years in order to live up to the goals of their founders. Dr Haass and Dr Niblett will also discuss the key themes of international affairs for the future that are driving the two institutes' current research agendas.