Mission and objectives

CIDOB is an independent and plural think tank based in Barcelona, dedicated to the study, research and analysis of international affairs. Created in 1973 as an International Documentation Centre of Barcelona, it is a private foundation since 1979.

CIDOB’s objectives are to be:
· An independent research centre, plural, without dominant partisan or ideological agendas, and capable of influencing thinking and global political action from within its local reality.
· A useful international point of reference in Barcelona for people, institutions, and companies that work in the international field or which are interested in it.
· An influential actor in the development of the international action of local governments, the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Government of Spain, and of the European Union and their respective parliamentary structures.
· An organisation connected –both on a European and a global level– with other leading institutions in the field of international relations.
· An instrument of international action at the service of the citizens.

The Euromed/Middle East programme at CIDOB aims at:
· Monitoring old and new regional conflicts and the growing proliferation of new forms of violence, the (re)emergence of sectarian politics, communal strife and the competing strategies by regional and global powers;
· Assessing and mapping transformations of the MENA regional order and the configuration of liquid alliances and rivalries;
· Exploring the potential of regional cooperation and integration and the contribution of the EU through platforms such as the Union for the Mediterranean and the European Neighbourhood Policy;
· Understanding political and social dynamics, particularly in the wake of the Arab uprisings. Particular attention is devoted to the role of young people in the context of demographic transition, persistent high unemployment and new forms of political and social mobilisation.