REFLECTIONS 2025 | A more complex world, a more intense job for AthenaLab
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In 2025, the international landscape was marked by a sustained deterioration of the security environment, with persistent armed conflicts, an intensification of competition among great powers, and an increasing interconnection between military security, critical infrastructure, technology, and the economy. The war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, and tensions in the Indo-Pacific continued to reshape strategic priorities, while Latin America faced a complex intersection of electoral cycles and the advance of organized crime, which has consolidated as one of the main threats to democratic governance and the capacity of the state in the region. In this context, security ceased to be a sectoral issue and became a central axis of political and strategic debate, both globally and regionally.
In Chile, 2025 was a pivotal year, marked by presidential and parliamentary elections that closed one political cycle and opened another in a context of high citizen demand for responses in security, control of organized crime, migration, and institutional strengthening. The discussion on national security, defense, and foreign policy gained centrality, directly linking it to internal governance, fiscal priorities, and the international positioning of the country.
In this context, in 2025 AthenaLab consolidated its position as one of the leading think tanks in security, defense, and international relations in Chile, combining high-level training, sustained academic production, public influence, and active international engagement.
TRAINING AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
In the training area, AthenaLab successfully conducted the sixth and seventh editions of the AthenaLab Academy in Termas de Jahuel, bringing together more than 60 young leaders from various regions, disciplines, and backgrounds related to the public, academic, and defense sectors. Additionally, the most successful call to date for the AthenaLab Academy 2026 was launched. By the end of 2025, and seven years after its founding, AthenaLab has contributed to the training of over 280 young people in security, defense, and international relations.
RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC PRODUCTION
During 2025, AthenaLab produced 42 publications of analysis and research, distributed across 14 research papers, 17 analyses, and 11 commentaries. The agenda focused on Chilean national security, international armed conflicts, foreign policy, defense, maritime security, hybrid threats, and electoral processes, with special emphasis on their implications for Chile and Latin America.
SEMINARS, CONFERENCES, AND TALKS
AthenaLab organized and participated in 45 seminars, conferences, and talks, of which 26 were national and 19 international, consolidating a sustained academic presence both in Chile and in global strategic forums.
POLICY, DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES, AND PUBLIC INFLUENCE
An intense agenda of meetings was maintained with authorities, embassies, and foreign think tanks, strengthening strategic alliances and signing relevant agreements.
AthenaLab researchers recorded over 70 appearances in national and international media, positioning the center as a reference in security, defense, and foreign policy.
Looking ahead to 2026, the main challenge will be to translate widely shared diagnoses into effective public policies, advance towards a more coherent security architecture, and strengthen the state’s capacity to act in a more demanding regional and international environment, where internal stability and Chile’s strategic insertion will be closely interrelated.
