The Institute promotes an interdisciplinary approach to research designed to produce policy-relevant scholarly work in its areas of interest. Research activity revolves around the major global issues of our times with special emphasis on the strategic issues regarding the areas of the southeastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Middle East and Greece's foreign and defense policies. The Institute applies and is granted research projects by the European Commission and affiliate bodies of the EU. It has particapated in EU projects such as PHARE, TEMPUS, and the Royaumont Process,as well as in research projects awarded by institutions in Greece.

An indicative sample of the I.I.R.'s major research studies (in Greek) is presented below:

	Minorities in Modern-day Turkey. Problems, tendencies and new possibilities.
	Turkey and the EU: Impact on the Greek national defense policy from the EU-Turkey custom’s union until Turkey’s final accession with no definitive resolution of Greek-Turkish disputes or removal of the latter’s territorial claims against Greece.
	The European Rapid Reaction Force and the Role of Turkey within the EU Framework. NATO’s Rapid Response Force. Responsibilities and Overlapping Issues.
	The Greek-Turkish dispute in the Aegean Sea: Prospects for Resolution after Recent Developments in the Cyprus Issue. The Turkish Policy.
	Security issues and regional cooperation schemes in the Mediterranean region.
	Recent developments in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf security environment.
	Demographics as a National Problem.
	The emerging New International Law in the current International Security System.
	Developments in the Middle East under the Greek Presidency of the EU.
	The goals of America’s High Strategy in the wider Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean region.
	The US vis à vis existing or potential great powers: the EU, China, Russia and Japan.
	Humanitarian Law and Military Operations.
	Developments in the status of the Jewish diaspora in the United States and Europe in relation to the situation in the Middle East.
	Iran’s position after the Iraq war. US - Israeli priorities and regional balance.
	Germany’s international policy strategy. Continuity and Prospects for the Future.
	Russia: current situation, future prospects and consequences for Greece.
	China: current situation, future prospects and consequences for Greece.
	Christian populations in the Middle East.
	Greek-Turkish territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea.
	The Future of the Turkish-Israeli Axis.
	The vision of Great Albania: a case of delayed nationalism in the Balkans.
	NATO’s Enlargement: Problems and Prospects.
	Sources of friction in Transatlantic Relations.
	EuroDefense: Problems and Prospects.
	Caucasus: Threats and Challenges in Russia’s soft underbelly.
	The impact of Saudi fundamentalism on world economy.
	The role of the EU in reorganizing the security system and establishing the rule of law in the Palestinian Authority.
	The role of the EU, particularly its Mediterranean members, in reorganizing the security system and establishing the rule of law in the Palestinian Authority.
	Turkey’s Kurdish issue in the light of recent developments.
	Energy Security: International and National Repercussions of a Potential Military Intervention against Iran.
	NATO and Cyprus.