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The Italian Foreign and Strategic Policy (ITAFS) research unit at the Center for International Strategic Studies at Luiss Guido Carli is dedicated to studying and assessing Italy's national interest in a complex global context. This unit focuses on strategic forecasting, studying the latest global trends and providing scenario and political risk analyses for various stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental. The ITAFS team, made up of both senior and junior researchers with diverse institutional affiliations, offers a broad yet in-depth understanding of global politics across various strategic areas. This multidisciplinary approach enables the unit to anticipate and interpret the dynamic interplay between current national and international issues and geopolitical shifts, a crucial factor in promoting a more informed Italian foreign policy.

The unit aims to gather information and insights on the impact of emerging and disruptive technologies, such as military drones, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cloud computing, robotics, and autonomous systems, as well as on trends in military innovation and the defense market. The unit analyzes the potential impact of these technologies and trends on the military and security sectors, including their effects at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels, as well as their broader implications for competition among major powers.

A key focus of ITAFS's work is also the concept of hybrid diplomacy, an approach to diplomacy that systematically involves various stakeholders alongside government bodies in shaping and implementing foreign policy. Through active engagement with the government at both the national and local levels, as well as with stakeholders from the private and third sectors, the unit researches and develops alternative strategies to traditional diplomacy between governments. In addition to its analytical work, the unit regularly organizes events to foster communication and synergy among these foreign policy stakeholders.