The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is an American nonprofit research group and advocacy think tank founded in 2007 by military historian Kimberly Kagan and headquartered in Washington, D.C. ISW provides research and analysis of modern armed conflicts and foreign affairs. It has produced reports on the Syrian civil war, the war in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq, "focusing on military operations, enemy threats, and political trends in diverse conflict zones". ISW currently publishes daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza war. ISW also published daily updates on Mahsa Amini protests in Iran. ISW was founded in response to the stagnation of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and core funding to the group is provided by U.S. military contractors.