Programmes

GCIRD organises its research activity into a set of programmes that reflect the major dimensions of global affairs. These programmes are not rigid departments but evolving areas of inquiry that respond to developments in international politics, economic change, and social transformation. They provide the structure through which the Council identifies questions, conducts analysis, and supports collaborative work among researchers.

Each programme brings together contributors from different regions and stages of their careers. This allows GCIRD to examine issues through multiple perspectives and to encourage forms of inquiry that are both comparative and grounded in lived experience. The programmes also act as points of connection between thematic questions and the regional contexts in which they unfold.

Global Development
This programme studies long-term social and economic change. Its work includes the analysis of poverty dynamics, inequality, demographic trends, climate resilience, and the institutions that shape development finance. It examines how global transitions influence local realities and how development strategies adapt to emerging pressures.

Foreign Policy and Geopolitics
This programme examines the behaviour of states and the changing distribution of power. It focuses on diplomacy, strategic competition, regional security environments, and the patterns of alignment that shape international order. The programme pays particular attention to how geopolitical trends interact with domestic political conditions.

Governance, Rights, and Inclusion
This programme investigates the functioning of public institutions and the conditions under which political participation, civic agency, and rights protection either strengthen or weaken. It studies democratic processes, legal systems, civic space, and the forms of exclusion or marginalisation that influence public life.

Digital and Future Policy
This programme addresses the societal implications of technological change. It considers artificial intelligence, digital finance, data governance, emerging security challenges, and the wider political and ethical questions raised by technological innovation. The programme examines how these developments reshape governance and international cooperation.

Regional Perspectives
This programme provides a comparative framework for understanding regional dynamics. It analyses political, economic, and social developments across Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Eurasia, and the Global South. The aim is to integrate regional expertise with broader thematic research and to highlight how global issues take shape in specific contexts.

Together, these programmes form the foundation of GCIRD’s research work. They guide the organisation’s long-term agenda, support collaboration across regions and disciplines, and ensure that GCIRD’s analysis remains responsive to the complexity of international affairs.