Institute securely occupies a leading place among research institutes, having become a «think-tank», a community of renowned specialists pursuing studies on the USA and Canada . ISKRAN is a main center providing recommendations for high-ranking state bodies in the matters of home, foreign and military policy and the problems of restructuring the Russian national economy.

Institute's Departments

Military-strategic research bears an interdisciplinary character and is closely linked with the practical tasks of defining Russia 's strategic interests in the world. Scholars of the Institute contributed to the military and strategic research in close cooperation with professional military. This area of research includes American approaches to use of military force, policy in the field of disarmament and limitations of arms — both conventional and nuclear.

Military and political studies play a unique role in the work of ISKRAN. It is an interdisciplinary area of research and is directly connected to Russian stand on issues of military and political developments in the world. Specialists in this field study political role of the military, military doctrines and concepts, international aspects of different military actions, NATO expansions problems, and the means to promote stability.   Special attention at the Institute is given to the analysis of US foreign policy and its role on the world arena. ISKRAN scholars study American political course in different regions of the world, political aspects of Russian-American relations, American foreign policy concepts and doctrines.

Research in the area of domestic politics includes analysis of a broad set of issues. Special attention is paid to the study of American political system, social basis of the political process, interior domestic policy of the US , public consciousness and American political culture.

Economic research of the US economic system includes analysis of its mechanism; trends and perspectives in the development of scientific and technical progress in the US ; prospects of the American economy. Researchers study the system of global economic relations, the role of American economy in this system. Special focus is made on the Russian-American trade and economic relations.

Department of Canada conducts a complex research of Canadian domestic and foreign policy, Russian-Canadian relations in different fields, Canada 's economic development and place in the world division of labor.

School of World Politics was founded under the ISKRAN's auspices in 1999.