Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation The Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI) conducts research and analysis to address
cybersecurity threats to U.S. government, private sector, and allied nations while supporting technology innovation. The center analyzes adversaries' strategies and develops technological, governance, and policy responses. CCTI houses
CSC 2.0, the successor organization to the
Cyberspace Solarium Commission.
China Program The FDD's China Program is a research initiative focused on analyzing and responding to the economic, technological, and security-related activities of the
Chinese Communist Party and the potential threat they pose to US national security. The program draws on expertise across economic, military, technological, cyber, and political domains. The China Program is chaired by
Matt Pottinger, who served as the
Deputy National Security Advisor from 2019 to 2021. In June 2023, a delegation from FDD joined by Israeli experts visited
Taiwan and met with President
Tsai Ing-wen. The delegation discussed mutual threats and asymmetric warfare strategies. In 2024, members of the China Program held a tabletop exercise in Taipei to examine China's economic and cyber-coercion against Taiwan.
The Iran Project FDD's
Iran Program is led by CEO
Mark Dubowitz. Dubowitz and the FDD have been sanctioned by Iran for advocating sanctions against Iran and working to end the Iranian nuclear deal. In 2008, FDD founded the Iran Energy Project which "conducts extensive research on ways to deny the Iranian regime the profits of
its energy sector".
The Wall Street Journal credited FDD with bringing "the idea of gasoline sanctions to political attention."
Russia Program The FDD's Russia Program, chaired by Clifford D. May, focuses on the study of Russia's foreign and security policy, including its interactions with governments such as China, Iran and other states of geopolitical interest. Its work addresses a range of Russian state activities across political, economic, military, cyber, and information-related areas; publishing its findings through research papers, analytical commentary, opinion pieces, and policy recommendations intended for the US and its allies. According to analyses by the FDD and its Russia Program, the government under President
Vladimir Putin has pursued activities that increase Russian influence abroad and challenge the US-led international order. The program has also identified strategic cooperation between Russia and countries such as China and Iran as elements of this approach. Analysts also note that Russia continues to employ political, economic, cyber, and information operations in its interactions with the United States and its
NATO and European allies.
The Syria Project For years,
Syria has been a focus of FDD's research because of its alignment with Iran and support for organizations such as
Hezbollah. In that effort, FDD facilitated a Skype call between dissidents and U.S. journalists in 2012.
Turkey Program The FDD's Turkey Program is a research initiative, that conducts research on Turkey's domestic politics, foreign policy, and their implications for US national security – with particular attention to developments under the
Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Long War Journal The
Long War Journal is an FDD project dedicated to reporting the "
war on terrorism" launched by the United States and its allies following the
September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Under the direction of FDD senior fellows
Bill Roggio and Thomas Joscelyn, this website covers stories about countries such as
Afghanistan,
Pakistan,
Somalia,
Syria, and
Iraq and follows the actions of
al Qaeda and its affiliates. According to the
Columbia Journalism Review, "Roggio's greatest service, then, may be the way he picks up where the mainstream press leaves off, giving readers a simultaneously more specific and holistic understanding of the battlefield", but "...there have been times when Roggio has done himself a disservice by aligning with bloggers who are more about pushing a conservative agenda." When it was announced in October 2021 that President Joe Biden's top diplomat for Afghanistan,
Zalmay Khalilzad, was stepping down, Bill Roggio of the FDD said, "It is about time he stopped stealing money from the US government. He shoulders a large amount of the blame for shilling for the Taliban." == Funding ==