ABSTRACT
Before gathering information and data for study of think tanks, this chapter provides various definitions within "security studies" that would allow us to code think tanks properly. Using seminal literature as the backbone for definitions developed several categories of security and international affairs (SIA) think tanks. As "security think tanks" are tasked with ensuring the national security of an individual state or nation, the chapter aims to understand the term security as a broad one with two main branches: traditional and non-traditional. Narrowing from the total SIA think tank universe, chose those think tanks whose research not only puts SIA at the center of their mission, but whose work is generally representative of the trends in their region regarding the transition from traditional to non-traditional security research. Research revealed little in the way of SIA think tanks in the Middle East and North Africa that were sufficiently representative of the region's diversity in research.
