Mission and objectives

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs is a research institute whose mission is to produce high quality, topical information on international relations and the EU. The Institute realizes its aims by conducting research as well as by organizing domestic and international seminars and publishing reports on its research and current international issues. The Institute also publishes a journal, Ulkopolitiikka (Finnish Journal of Foreign Affairs), and maintains a specialized library.

The Institute was established by the Parliament of Finland in its centennial plenum in June 2006 and the Parliament also provides the Institute’s basic funding. The Institute is autonomous in its research activities and is governed by a nine-member board, assisted by an advisory council and a scientific advisory council.

FIIA conducts research on the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) as part of its research programmes on the European Union and on Global Security. The specific aim of its research activities in these areas is:

· To bring discussion on MENA and the Southern Mediterranean to a wider Nordic audience through FIIA publications and events
· To generate Nordic ideas on the region and communicate them to a wider European and international audience
· To produce high quality academic research on contemporary Middle Eastern politics and the full breadth of the European Union’s regional and Mediterranean policies