Núcleo de Pesquisa em Relações Internacionais - NUPRI-USP

What Núcleo de Pesquisa em Relações Internacionais - NUPRI-USP does

Núcleo de Pesquisa em Relações Internacionais (NUPRI-USP) is a non-profit academic research center founded in 1989 within the University of São Paulo (USP), operating as the pioneering institution for international relations teaching and research at USP. It is currently led by academic coordinator Rafael Duarte Villa (since 2004), supported by research coordinators for four thematic areas: Security, Society and Data Networks (SoReDa), Asia Studies, and Latin America, alongside 20+ researchers. The center produces open-access publications — working papers in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, books, a blog, and the legacy Carta Internacional newsletter (transferred to ABRI in 2011) — and runs the CineGRI cultural extension project to engage the general public on geopolitical themes.

Its underlying technology is a multidisciplinary social science research approach combining political science, international relations, information technology, economics, engineering, and communication studies, with no proprietary software or commercial platform. NUPRI's business model is non-commercial: it does not charge for publications, working papers, blog content, or newsletter subscriptions. Operating funds derive from research grants awarded by Brazilian federal agencies — FAPESP, CNPq, CAPES, and FINEP — covering projects on Latin American security, Brazilian foreign policy, US policy toward the Americas, regional armaments, and Internet governance. Its stakeholder base is horizontal, spanning the academic research community (primary), Brazilian decision-makers and diplomats, and the general public reached via CineGRI and public events.

NUPRI is structurally embedded in USP, holds mutual partnerships with IRI-USP, DCP-FFLCH, and PRG-USP, and maintains flagship funding relationships with FAPESP, CNPq, CAPES, and FINEP. The center's only physical location is its headquarters at Rua do Anfiteatro 181, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, Brazil.

Name

Núcleo de Pesquisa em Relações Internacionais - NUPRI-USP

Legal name

Núcleo de Pesquisa em Relações Internacionais da Universidade de São Paulo

Website

https://nupri.prp.usp.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NUPRI-USP is a non-profit academic research center at the University of São Paulo, founded in 1989, that produces open-access scholarship and policy analysis on international relations across four areas — Security, Society and Data Networks, Asia Studies, and Latin America — serving Brazilian academics, diplomats, and the general public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Services — International Relations

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL)

Keywords

• International relations research
• Academic research center
• Political science studies
• Security studies research
• Latin American studies

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Funding: Funding from government agencies for research projects including FAPESP, CNPq, FINEP, and CAPES. Projects cover topics such as Latin American elite visions on democracy, US foreign policy for the Americas, and international security in Latin America.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NUPRI-USP is an academic research center at the University of São Paulo that conducts policy-oriented research on international relations, organized around four research areas: Security, Society and Data Networks (SoReDa), Asia Studies, and Latin America Studies. It produces and disseminates academic outputs including working papers, books, a blog, the newsletter Carta Internacional, and the CineGRI audiovisual-discussion project, supported by funding from Brazilian research agencies FAPESP, CNPq, FINEP, and CAPES.

Product overview

NUPRI-USP is a research center at the University of São Paulo focused on International Relations scholarship. The center offers a portfolio of publications including the NUPRI Working Papers (academic paper series), published books, a blog with analytical articles, and the Newsletter Carta Internacional (now the official journal of ABRI). Extension activities include the CineGRI project which uses cinema as a pedagogical tool for geopolitical discussions. The center operates four main research areas: Security (covering international security in Latin America), Society and Data Networks (examining Internet governance and cybersecurity), Asia Studies, and Latin America studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CineGRI: Cinema, Geopolitics and International Relations project - a culture and extension initiative of NUPRI promoting debate on international relations through cinema.
• Carta Internacional
• SoReDa
• NUPRI Working Papers

Products and services

• Working Papers Academic working papers that present NUPRI-USP researchers' analyses on international relations topics, targeted at the academic and policy-research community.
• Books Books published through NUPRI-USP covering international relations research, intended for academic and policy audiences.
• Newsletter "Carta Internacional" Newsletter titled "Carta Internacional" published by NUPRI-USP, offering international relations analysis and updates to the academic and policy-research community.
• NUPRI-USP Blog Online blog published by NUPRI-USP that disseminates international relations commentary and research findings to a broad academic and public audience.
• CineGRI Project CineGRI is a film-and-discussion project run by NUPRI-USP that uses cinema to engage audiences with international relations themes, aimed at academic, student, and broader public audiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Produced pioneering research on Brazilian foreign policy and regionalism in 1990s that served as national reference
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• DCP-FFLCH (Departamento de Comunicação Social da FFLCH-USP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with the Department of Social Communication at the Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Human Sciences of University of São Paulo. DCP-FFLCH is shown as a key institutional partner collaborating on research and academic activities.
• IRI-USP (Instituto de Relações Internacionais)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Institute of International Relations at University of São Paulo. The IRI is the home department of NUPRI's coordinator Rafael Duarte Villa and serves as the academic host for the research center's activities.
• PRG-USP (Pró-reitoria de Graduação da USP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Dean of Undergraduate Education at University of São Paulo supporting the CineGRI (Cinema, Geopolitics and International Relations) project, which promotes public engagement with international relations through film screenings and discussions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• FLACSO Brasil: Latin American social sciences organization with a Brazilian branch; comparable to NUPRI as a multidisciplinary regional research and graduate-training body focused on Latin American political and social issues.
• Chatham House: World-leading international affairs think tank. Comparable as a high-impact, policy-relevant IR research and publishing institution, though at a vastly larger global scale than NUPRI.
• CLACSO - Conselho Latino-americano de Ciências Sociais: Regional social sciences network spanning Latin America. Comparable as a scholarly-publishing and research-coordination entity serving social science researchers across the region.
• Fundação Getúlio Vargas - FGV EBAP (RIIE): FGV's international relations program is a leading Brazilian competitor. Larger and more commercially oriented than NUPRI, it competes for the same policy-analytics talent pool and graduate students.
• IISS - International Institute for Strategic Studies: Global think tank on international security, defense, and strategic studies. Comparable to NUPRI's Security research area in producing strategic analyses and policy-relevant publications for government decision-makers.
• Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI): Canadian-based think tank producing research on global governance, including internet governance. Comparable to NUPRI's SoReDa in studying the political economy and governance of data networks.

Direct peers

• Associação Brasileira de Relações Internacionais (ABRI): Brazil's national IR scholarly association that absorbed NUPRI's Carta Internacional as its official journal in 2011. Comparable as a convening and publishing entity for Brazilian IR scholarship.
• DiploFoundation: Leading capacity-building and research center on internet governance and digital policy, based in Geneva/Malta. Directly comparable to NUPRI's SoReDa area in scope and Global South orientation.
• BRICS Policy Center: Independent policy research center in Rio de Janeiro focused on international affairs, particularly emerging powers and the Global South. Comparable in mission, scale, and policy-oriented international relations research.
• Instituto de Relações Internacionais (IRI-USP): USP's own IR institute and home department of NUPRI's coordinator Rafael Duarte Villa. Directly comparable as a USP-based IR research and graduate-training body, with overlapping faculty and aligned research agendas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nupri_usp
• Facebookfacebook.com/nupriusp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/n%C3%BAcleo-de-pesquisa-em-rela%C3%A7%C3%B5es-internacionais-nupri-usp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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