# EastWest Institute

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Defunct American think tank

Not to be confused with [East–West Center](/source/East%E2%80%93West_Center).

EastWest Institute Institute for EastWest Studies, Inc. 35th Anniversary Logo Formation 1980; 46 years ago (1980) Founder John Edwin Mroz Ira D. Wallach Dissolved January 31, 2021; 5 years ago (2021-01-31) Type Public policy think tank Tax ID no. 13-3091844 Headquarters 10 Grand Central, 155 E. 44th Street, Suite 1105 Location New York, NY President Bruce W. McConnell Website eastwest.ngo

The **EastWest Institute** (**EWI**), originally known as the **Institute for East-West Security Studies** and officially the **Institute for EastWest Studies, Inc.**, was an international not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank focused on international conflict resolution through a variety of means, including [track 2 diplomacy](/source/Track_II_diplomacy) and track 1.5 diplomacy (conducted with the direct involvement of official actors), hosting international conferences, and authoring publications on [international security](/source/International_security) issues. EWI employed networks in political, military, and business establishments in the [United States](/source/United_States), [Europe](/source/Europe), and the former [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union).

EWI was founded by [John Edwin Mroz](/source/John_Edwin_Mroz) and [Ira D. Wallach](/source/Ira_D._Wallach) in 1980 as an independent, global organization that promotes peace by creating trusted settings for candid, global discourse among leaders to tackle intractable security and stability challenges.[1] Mroz served as president and CEO of the institute for 34 years until his death, in 2014.[2]

The organization discontinued operations effective January 31, 2021. This decision was taken at the conclusion of a four-month strategic assessment in light of increasing challenges resulting from the global pandemic and related financial challenges facing many nonprofit organizations.[3]

EWI's initiatives focused on a number of different areas including [cybersecurity](/source/Computer_security),[4] [preventive diplomacy](/source/Preventive_diplomacy), strategic trust-building (which encompasses [Russia-United States relations](/source/Russia-United_States_relations) and [China-United States Relations](/source/China-United_States_Relations)), Economic Security, and Regional Security (focusing on specific areas such as [Southwest Asia](/source/Southwest_Asia)).[5]

## History

The Institute for East-West Security Studies was founded in 1980, when then CEO [John Edwin Mroz](/source/John_Edwin_Mroz) and [Ira D. Wallach](/source/Ira_D._Wallach) set out to study means of addressing areas of political dispute across the [Iron Curtain](/source/Iron_Curtain).[6]

In 1984, EWI hosted the first track 2 military-to-military discussions between the [NATO](/source/NATO) and [Warsaw Pact](/source/Warsaw_Pact) countries. These talks, focusing heavily on the establishment of [confidence-building measures](/source/Confidence_and_security-building_measures) (CBMs) between the two parties, ultimately resulted in an agreement requiring each side to alert the other of troop movements.

After the fall of the [Berlin Wall](/source/Berlin_Wall) and the eruption of conflicts in Southeastern Europe, EWI worked to foster economic stability in the region, encouraging cross-border cooperation and training leaders for democratic states. In the 2000s (decade), EWI's operations expanded geographically to [China](/source/China), Southwest Asia and the [Middle East](/source/Middle_East), focusing on issues like cybersecurity, economic security, and countering [violent extremism](/source/Violent_extremism).

Since 2008, EWI has partnered with the [China Association for International Friendly Contact](/source/China_Association_for_International_Friendly_Contact) to organize forums, termed the U.S.-China Sanya Initiative, between retired [People's Liberation Army](/source/People's_Liberation_Army) officers and retired U.S. military personnel.[7][8] The Sanya Initiative is supported by the [China-United States Exchange Foundation](/source/China%E2%80%93United_States_Exchange_Foundation) (CUSEF), a Hong Kong–based nonprofit established by billionaire [Tung Chee-hwa](/source/Tung_Chee-hwa).[9]

In May 2009, EWI released its Joint Threat Assessment on Iran, produced by senior U.S. and Russian experts convened by the institute. The assessment, which concluded that the planned system would not protect against an Iranian nuclear threat,[10] helped inform the Obama administration's decision to scrap the ballistic missile defense plan proposed by the Bush administration and replace it with a plan of its own.[11]

In 2016, the institute helped set up an information portal which allows operators of [critical infrastructure](/source/Critical_infrastructure) to share security information internationally.[12]

## Publications

- Peter Rutland; EastWest Institute (New York, N.Y.) (1998). *The Challenge of Integration*. M.E. Sharpe. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7656-0359-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7656-0359-3).

- Jonathan P. Stein; EastWest Institute (New York, N.Y.) (2000). *The Politics of National Minority Participation in Post-communist Europe: State-building, Democracy, and Ethnic Mobilization*. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 2–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7656-0528-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7656-0528-3).

- A. M. Lavrov; Alexei G. Makushkin; EastWest Institute (New York, N.Y.) (2001). *The Fiscal Structure of the Russian Federation: Financial Flows Between the Center and the Regions*. M.E. Sharpe. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7656-0713-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7656-0713-3).

- Oleksandr Pavli͡uk; Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze; EastWest Institute (New York, N.Y.) (2004). *The Black Sea Region: Cooperation and Security Building*. M.E. Sharpe. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7656-1225-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7656-1225-0).

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Ira D. Wallach † | EastWest Institute"](https://www.eastwest.ngo/profile/ira-d-wallach-%E2%80%A0). *www.eastwest.ngo*. Retrieved 2021-09-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["EWI mourns the loss today of Founder and CEO John Edwin Mroz | EastWest Institute"](https://www.eastwest.ngo/john). *www.eastwest.ngo*. Retrieved 2023-07-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["The EastWest Institute Transitions for Post-COVID World"](https://www.eastwest.ngo/idea/eastwest-institute-transitions-post-covid-world). *EastWest Institute*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210107150025/https://www.eastwest.ngo/idea/eastwest-institute-transitions-post-covid-world) from the original on 2021-01-07.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Be ‘smart’ online at your peril"](http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/be-smart-online-at-your-peril.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160624015801/http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/be-smart-online-at-your-peril.html) 2016-06-24 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine). *The Pioneer*, 18 December 2015 | Vineeta Pandey | Wuzhen (Shanghai, China)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["EastWest Institute | Building Trust. Delivering Solutions"](https://www.eastwest.ngo/pillars/global-security). *www.eastwest.ngo*. Retrieved 2023-06-12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Quandt2002_6-0)** Richard E. Quandt (20 June 2002). [*The Changing Landscape in Eastern Europe: A Personal Perspective on Philanthropy and Technology Transfer*](https://books.google.com/books?id=I6DDns_7OjwC&pg=PA336). Oxford University Press. pp. 336–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-534912-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-534912-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Cavanaugh, Joshua (June 3, 2020). ["U.S.-China Sanya Initiative Dialogue: Report from the 11th Meeting"](https://www.eastwest.ngo/idea/us-china-sanya-initiative-dialogue-report-11th-meeting). *EastWest Institute*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200905224025/https://www.eastwest.ngo/idea/us-china-sanya-initiative-dialogue-report-11th-meeting) from the original on 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-09-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_8-0)** [Wortzel, Larry M.](/source/Larry_Wortzel) (March 1, 2014). "The Chinese People's Liberation Army and Information Warfare". [Strategic Studies Institute](/source/Strategic_Studies_Institute): 33–34. [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [resrep11757](https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11757). {{[cite journal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_journal)}}: Cite journal requires |journal= ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#missing_periodical))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (November 28, 2017). ["This Beijing-Linked Billionaire Is Funding Policy Research at Washington's Most Influential Institutions"](https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/11/28/this-beijing-linked-billionaire-is-funding-policy-research-at-washingtons-most-influential-institutions-china-dc/). *[Foreign Policy](/source/Foreign_Policy)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190831001044/https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/11/28/this-beijing-linked-billionaire-is-funding-policy-research-at-washingtons-most-influential-institutions-china-dc/) from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Ellen Barry, ["U.S. and Russia Begin Arms Talks With a December Deadline"](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/world/europe/20start.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180615033821/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/world/europe/20start.html) 2018-06-15 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), *The New York Times*, May 19th, 2009

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Peter Spiegel, ["U.S. to Shelve Nuclear-Missile Shield"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125314575889817971) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200206095058/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125314575889817971) 2020-02-06 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), *The Wall Street Journal*, September 17th, 2009

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["New Portal Launched For ICS/SCADA Threat Intelligence-Sharing Among Nations"](http://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/new-portal-launched-for-ics-scada-threat-intelligence-sharing-among-nations/d/d-id/1324931) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160510181141/http://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/new-portal-launched-for-ics-scada-threat-intelligence-sharing-among-nations/d/d-id/1324931) 2016-05-10 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine). *Information Week Dark Reading*, 3/31/2016 Kelly Jackson Higgins

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.eastwest.ngo/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [EastWest Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastWest_Institute) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastWest_Institute?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.