English

ATHENA, the Hellenic Arms Control Center, is a non-profit, scientific organization dedicated to promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies. It is the only non-profit scientific research institute in Greece which conducts basic research in the field of military science focusing in particular on the technical aspects of homeland and international security. One of its main objectives is to strengthen the defenses and security of Greece avoiding irresponsible defense spending and unnecessary arms purchases.

Through its homepage and its frequent appearances in the mass media ATHENA provides policy-makers, the press, and the interested public with authoritative information, analysis and commentary on technical aspects of weapons science, arms proposals, negotiations and agreements, and all relevant homeland and international security issues including counter-terrorism and counter-espionage.

ATHENA holds frequent press briefings in Greece on major arms control developments, providing commentary and analysis on a broad spectrum of issues for journalists and scholars both in Greece and abroad.

ATHENA covers numerous peace and security issues affected by proliferation of weapons of mass destruction including European and international nonproliferation programs, missile defenses, failed and post-conflict states and irresponsible defense spending.

The non-commercial academic nature of ATHENA ensures that all the proceeds from donations and subsidies will be used to support the scientific research of the center (in the form of fellowships and scientific equipment) as well as the education of young scientists (in the form of internships) who wish to specialize in scientific aspects of military science, arms control and international security subjects.

ATHENA‘s homepage can also be considered a library which provides information on various arms control topics. Most of that information has been adopted from some hot documents (which are readily downloadable from ATHENA’s homepage) and from many other internet scientific references.

ATHENA’s main objectives are:

  • to conduct research in the field of military science, international security, arms control and non-proliferation
  • to provide the international arms control and international security community with a means of communicating their views online
  • to improve the capabilities of the international intelligence community to respond to new and emerging threats, reducing the need to resort to the use of force, while enhancing the effectiveness of European military forces when needed.
  • to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the risk of their use both by states who possess them and those ones seeking to acquire them.
  • to redirect the Greek military forces towards new capabilities aligned with the post-Cold War security environment, and to reduce the worldwide incidence of deadly conflict.
  • to provide citizens, decision-makers, scholars, and the press with accurate and timely information on nuclear, chemical, biological, and conventional weapons in order to reduce the dangers they pose.
  • to provide the entire world with a source of information on military science, arms control and international security issues.

Please visit our English Website