ISODARCO is an NGO founded in 1966 by two Italian physics professors, Edoardo Amaldi and Carlo Schaerf, that offers a unique international forum on security problems throughout the world. ISODARCO's purpose is to bring together those with a great variety of experiences and approaches relating to security problems. Their discussions focus on commissioned expert papers.

While it has always been associated with the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, ISODARCO never issues exhortations or proclamations. It does not campaign, nor it is even associated with any particular world view. The organization's characteristics are illustrated by the following:

As is shown in Appendix 1, participants in meetings held in the last decade have come from almost sixty countries. In ISODARCO informal atmosphere, with Chatham House and Pugwash rules applying, traditional adversaries have been encouraged to debate with each other with a minimum of acrimony. For example, recent meetings have seen an Israeli coming in contact with a Syrian; Taiwanese sitting together with Chinese; Pakistanis and Indians equally encouraged to present their opinions.

Those attending come from a great variety of professions and backgrounds: military men and peace campaigners; diplomats and professors; nuclear scientists and historians. The common requirement ISODARCO sets for them all, however, is that they should be willing to engage in intellectually rigorous debate.

ISODARCO places great emphasis on the importance of young people being invited to attend meetings. Typically half of those attending will be in their twenties. And at the meetings chairmen of sessions are asked to give priority to allowing younger participants to offer their views and ask questions even though most of the formal presentations are given by more senior people. This emphasis on youth flows from one of ISODARCO's missions, to act as a teaching instrument. The young people must, however, demonstrate before being invited that they have a serious interest and commitment to security studies. Typically they are graduate students in a relevant discipline.

ISODARCO takes an unusually broad view of world security and did so even during the cold war. For example, it held sessions and published books relating to terrorism during the 1970s long before this subject became fashionable with mainstream security analysts. And it has likewise taken a long-standing interest in world security issues connected with energy, refugees, the environment, natural resources, and ethnic tensions.

The various ISODARCO meetings traditionally have been held in Italy. But recently there has been some internationalization in this respect, with conferences being held in Germany, Taipei, and, on six occasions, in China. As a result, ISODARCO has over two hundred alumni from mainland China  and nearly that many from the island of Taiwan. The fact that it has been found possible for ISODARCO to co-host meetings both in Beijing and Taipei demonstrates the extent of its credibility in East Asia. Probably no other security-related NGO has, or could have, achieved this. The next meeting in China is scheduled for 2008. The first meeting on Middle East security, with a broad cast of participants, took place in Amman in March 1997.

The ISODARCO meetings have resulted in the publication of 22 books by such London and New York houses as Macmillan, John Wiley, St. Martin's Press and Dartmouth-Ashgate. The majority of volumes have been edited by David Carlton, who is a British historian based at the University of Warwick, and Carlo Schaerf, ISODARCO's President and Director, who is Professor of Physics at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata". The books reflect ISODARCO's approach over the last three decades: the range of topics has been wide and the variety of viewpoints has been extensive. (For details see the chapter on publications).
 
 

Lecturers at ISODARCO have included:

J. Acton (Great Britain), R. Adams (U.S.A.), Y. Alexander (U.S.A.), E. Amaldi (Italy), A. Arbatov (Russia), G. Arbatov (Russia), N. Arbatova (Russia), G. Arya (Thailand), F. Barnaby (Great Britain), W. Graf von Baudissin (Germany), N. Behar (Bulgaria), J. B. Bell (U.S.A.), R. Bjornerstedt (Sweden), A. Boserup (Denmark), G. Bunn (U.S.A.), F. Calogero (Italy), D. Carlton (Great Britain), G. Chapman (U.S.A.), A. Cohen (U.S.A.),V. Emelyanov (Russia), W. Epstein (Canada), M. De Andreis(Italy), P. Dombrowski (U.S.A.), L. Eden (U.S.A.), B. T. Feld (U.S.A.), L. Freedman (Great Britain), J.F. Freymond (Switzerland), R. Garwin (U.S.A.), Bates Gill (Sweden), K. Gottstein (Germany), S. Goudman (U.S.A.), E. W. Hamburger (Brazil), P. Hillyard (Ireland), F. von Hippel (U.S.A.), D. Holloway  (U.S.A.), E. Jacchia (Italy), B. Jasani (India), V. Journé (France), S. Kapitza (Russia), M. Kaplan (U.S.A.), C. Kaysen (U.S.A.), C. McArdle Kelleher (U.S.A.), R. I. Khasbulatov (Russia), P. Lellouche (France), J. Lewis  (U.S.A.), S. Lodgaard (Norway), E. Mendelsohn (U.S.A.), J. K. Miettinen (Finland), M. A. Milstein (Russia), J. Moch (France), H. Morgenthau (U.S.A.), H. Muller (Germany), R. Neild (Great Britain), G. Neuneck (Germany), J. M. Parillo (U.S.A.), I. M. Pascu (Romania), A. Rapoport (U.S.A.), G. Rathjens (U.S.A.), J. Reppy (U.S.A), O. A. Reutov (Russia), R. S. Roggers (U.S.A), B. Roling (The Netherlands), J. Rotblat (Great Britain - Nobel Prize for Peace), J. Ruina (U.S.A.), T. Schelling (U.S.A.), H. Scoville (U.S.A.), E.Solingen (U.S.A.), R. Somerville (U.S.A.), J. Steinberger (U.S.A.- Nobel Prize for Physics), M. Sturmer (Germany), K. Subrahmanyam (India), O. Sukovic (Yugoslavia), P. Sylos Labini (Italy), N. Tannenwald (U.S.A), H. Tromp (The Netherlands), K. Tsipis (U.S.A.), D. Ch.Webb (Great Britain), S. Wright (UK), H. F. York (U.S.A), D. Zinberg (U.S.A.).

ISODARCO has received financial support at various time since 1966 from a number of quarters: the Italian National Research Council, the Universities of Rome "La Sapienza" and "Tor Vergata", the University of Trento, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Ford Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation and, most recently, the MacArthur Foundation. The annual budget has been modest, allowing for the employment of only an organizing secretary.
ISODARCO's future plans include the continuation of its educational activity with the residential advanced courses and in addition attention will be given to two areas, in particular:
 

Research projects leading to publications. (One such project, funded by the Italian National Research Council (CNR), concerning Italian terrorism, has been published in Italian).

To build upon the experience gained from the China/Taiwan model described above. This could involve holding meetings in opposed countries in the Middle East, in the Balkans, in South Asia or elsewhere. And it hopefully will mean further meetings in both China and Taiwan.
 

I Summer Course
FRASCATI, 13-25 June, 1966
"Disarmament and Arms Control"

II Summer Course
PAVIA, 15-26 July, 1968
"Disarmament and Arms Control"

III Summer Course
DUINO, 17 September, 1970
"Disarmament and Arms Control"

IV  Summer Course
PADUA 1972
"The Dynamics of the Arms Race"

V Summer Course
URBINO.12-24 August, 1974
"International Terrorism and World Security"

VI Summer Course
NEMI, 21 June - 5 July, 1976
"Arms Control and Technological Innovation"

VII Summer Course
ARICCIA, 18-27 August, 1978
"Contemporary Terror: Studies in Sub-State Violence"
"The Hazards of the International Energy Crisis: Studies of the Coming Struggle for Energy and Strategic Raw Materials"

VIII Summer Course
VENICE, 26 August - 5 September, 1980
"The Arms Race in the 1980s"
"South-Eastern Europe after Tito"

IX Summer Course
VERONA, 19-29 July, 1982
"Reassessing Arms Control"

X Summer Course
VENICE, 17 - 27 July, 1984
"The Arms Race in the Era of Star Wars"

XI  Summer Course
SAN MINIATO, 20 - 30 August, 1986
"Perspectives on the Arms Race"

I Winter Course
VANEZZE DI BONDONE  (TRENTO), 6 - 13 February, 1988
"The Arms Race in an Era of Negotiations"

I Isodarco Beijing Seminar
BEIJING, 4 - 7 April, 1988
"Nuclear Disarmament and Strategy"

XII Summer Course
VENICE, 18 - 28 July, 1988
"The Prospects for disarmament and arms control and the quest for natural resources and relevant conflicts"

II Winter Course
FOLGARIA  (TRENTO), 4 - 11 February, 1989
"The Arms Race in an Era of Negotiations"

III Winter Course
FOLGARIA  (TRENTO), 28 January - 4 February, 1990
"Arms Control and Disarmament"

II Isodarco Beijing Seminar
BEIJING, 3 - 10 April, 1990
"Disarmament and arms control today"

XIII Summer Course
L'AQUILA, 27 July - 5 August, 1990
"Space and Nuclear Weaponry in the 1990s"

BOLOGNA, 16 - 26 July, 1990
"Global security, Arms Control and Disarmament: General problems, European and Mediterranean Issues"

IV Winter Course
FOLGARIA  (TRENTO), 3 - 10 February, 1991
"Security Problems in the 'New' Europe"

V Winter Course
FOLGARIA  (TRENTO), 26 January - 1 February, 1992
"New Problems of European Security"

III Isodarco Beijing Seminar
BEIJING, 21 - 26 October, 1992
"Arms Control"

XIV Summer Course
TUTZING, 20-30 July, 1992
"Aspects of Security Policy in a New Europe"

VI Winter Course
FOLGARIA , 31 January - 7 February, 1993
"Controlling the International Transfer of Weaponry and Related Technology"

XV Summer Course
L'AQUILA, 19-29 July, 1993
"Collective Security and Peacekeeping in the 1990's status of the discussions on arms control security problems of the East European Countries"

VII Winter Course
FOLGARIA, 23-30 January, 1994
"Rising Tension in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe"

IV  Isodarco Beijing Seminar
SHANGHAI, 25-30 April, 1994
"Arms Control"

XVI Summer Course
URBINO (PESARO), 10-18 July, 1994
"The Collective Management of World Stability: Focus on the United Nations

VIII Winter Course
BRESSANONE, 21-28 January, 1995
"Rising Tension in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe"

XVII Summer Course
PONTIGNANO (SIENA), 10-20 August, 1995
"Racism, Xenophobia and Ethnic Conflicts"

I Taipei Seminar
TAIPEI, 12-14 April, 1995
"The Asia-Pacific Collective Security in the Post-Cold War Era"

IX Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 28 January -4 February, 1996
"Tension in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe"

V Isodarco Beijing Seminar
CHENG-DU, 11-16 November, 1996

XVIII Summer Course
PONTIGNANO (SIENA), 29 July - 8 August, 1996
"The Weapons Legacy of the Cold War"

X Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 26 January - 2 February, 1997
"Spine of Crises: Moscow to New Delhi"

I Amman Seminar
AMMAN (JORDAN), 16-20 March, 1997
"Security Concerns and Security Proposals in the Middle East"

XI Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 25 January - 1 February, 1998
"Russia and its Western Neighbours"

VI  Isodarco Beijing Seminar
SHANGHAI, 28 October - 1 November, 1998

XIX Summer Course
CANDRIAI (TRENTO), 25 August - 3 September, 1998
"Technology Transfers"

XII Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 24 - 31 January, 1999
"The Future Security Architecture of Greater Europe"

XX Summer Course
ROVERETO (TRENTO), 7-17 August, 1999
"Computers, Networks and the Prospects for European and World Security"

I Venice Seminar
VENICE, 13-14 December, 1999
"The Balkans and Greater Europe: Military Security and Stability"

XIII Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 23-30 January, 2000
"Security in Greater Europe after Kosovo: Economic and Political Dimensions"

VII  Isodarco Beijing Seminar
XIAN, 8 - 12 October, 2000
"Arms Control"

XXI Summer Course
ROVERETO, 9-18 August, 2000
"Nuclear Weapons in a Vulnerable World"

XIV Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 21-28 January, 2001
"From the Caucasus to the Atlas Mountains: Tensions on the Southern Flank of Europe"

XXII Summer Course
CANDRIAI (TRENTO), 20-29 June, 2001
"Global Climate Changes and Impact on Natural Resources"

XV Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 20-27 January, 2002
"South-Eastern Europe: Internal Dynamics and External Intervention"

XXIII Summer Course
TRENTO, 3-13 August, 2002
"Cyberwar, Netwar and the Revolution in Military Affairs: Real Threats and Virtual Myths"

VIII Isodarco Beijing Seminar
BEIJING, 14-18 October, 2002
"Arms Control"

XVI Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 9-16 February, 2003
"The Surge in NonState Violence: Roots, Impacts and Countermeasures"

II Taipei Seminar at Taipei, Taiwan 3 - 8 April, 2003
"Asia-Pacific Cooperative Security in the 21st Century"

XXIV Summer Course
CANDRIAI (TRENTO), 16-26 June, 2003
"Nuclear Weapons in the New International Context: Hopes of Reductions, Risks of Proliferation"

XVII Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 11-18 January, 2004
"Violence by Armed Non-State Groups and International Security"

IX Isodarco Beijing Seminar
BEIJING, 12-15 October, 2004
"International Security"

XVIII Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 9 - 16 January, 2005
"Constructing Security in Europe after Madrid"

XIX Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 8 - 15 January, 2006
"The War on Terror: Results and Costs from Europe to Central Asia"

X Isodarco Beijing Seminar
BEIJING, 25 - 28 September, 2006
"International Security", Harmony Makes the World Stable and Secure

XX Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 14 - 21 January, 2007
"Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Human Rights"

XXI Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 6 - 13 January, 2008
"Fighting Terrorism, Protecting Human Rights"

XI PIIC Beijing Seminar
QINGDAO, Shangdong Province, 26 - 30 October 2008
"International Security" Building a Harmonious World of Stability and Win-Win

XXII Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 11 - 18 January, 2009
"Nuclear Futures: What Would Nuclear Disarmament Look Like?"

XXIII Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 10 - 17 January, 2010
"The Road to nuclear zero and arms control"

XII PIIC Beijing Seminar on International Security at Beijing
5 - 9 September 2010
"International Security" Building A World of Sustainable Peace and Stability

XXIV Winter Course
ANDALO (TRENTO), 9 - 16 January, 2011
"Eliminating nuclear weapons and safeguarding nuclear technologies"