Cannons and canons

The year 2003 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael. The Institute was established in early 1983 as the result of a merger among four Dutch organizations dealing with foreign affairs. The aim of the fusion was to pool scarce resources, create critical mass and achieve synergy by promoting cooperation between the research staff and the teaching/training staff. In addition to research and training the dissemination of public information was to be an essential part of Clingendael's mission.

Clingendael's anniversary was taken as a welcome opportunity to publish an overview of the Institute's current research activities. The book is intended to be a grand display card’ of the various areas of expertise that have developed over recent years.

While the book is very much a collective effort, it also testifies to the fact that there is no single authoritative Clingendael opinion stated ex cathedra, but only personal views articulated by individual Clingendael staff