The Washington Institute for Security Education (WISE) is dedicated to the analysis and discussion of international security policy, with an emphasis on the political economy of security affairs. WISE is non-partisan: it supports no candidate or party. Instead, it encourages a range of approaches to the analysis of policy issues, and the dissemination of its findings to the public.

The institute is named for George Washington, who explored the western Pennsylvania region, served here with the British during the French and Indian War, and who is sometimes credited with naming Slippery Rock and its environs. It was while serving with General Braddock in this region that the young Washington came to recognize the need to reexamine doctrinal dogma. It was here that Washington developed many of the ideas that would enable the American colonies to gain their independence from the most powerful empire on earth. In that spirit, the Washington Institute encourages the unconventional, the new, and the critical, as well as more conventional analyses of strategic policy.

There are three classes of membership in the Washington Institute: student, professional, and associate.

• Student membership is open to undergraduates at affiliated schools in western Pennsylvania. 
• Professional membership is open to faculty and policy analysts.
• Associate membership is for alumni and retired professionals.

All members are free to attend seminars and conferences sponsored by the institute. All members are equally welcome to submit work for publication and discussion on this website. There is no fee for membership. All that is required is support for the mission of the institute. To join the WISE, contact the director, Dr. Daniel McIntosh, at Slippery Rock University.