
The CERI, founded in 1952, within the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (FNSP), is France's foremost center for research on the international political system. As a joint FNSP-CNRS research unit, the CERI is made up of some sixty researchers and about fifteen support staff who handle financial management, documentation, publications and communication.
The CERI's mission is to bring together area studies specialists and international relations experts. It analyzes the contemporary political world, with a strong emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach: its research fellows include not only political scientists but also economists, sociologists, historians and anthropologists.