The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute or CACI was founded in 1996[1] by S. Frederick Starr, a research professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.
He has advised three U.S. presidents on Russian/Eurasian affairs and chaired an external advisory panel on U.S. government-sponsored research on the region, organized and co-authored the first strategic assessment of Central Asia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1999, and was involved in the drafting of recent U.S. legislation affecting the region.
CACI was affiliated with the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University for 19 years, until February 2017.
[4] The institute is currently based at the American Foreign Policy Council's (AFPC) offices on Capitol Hill.
[7][8] The goal of the program is to foster better understanding and build stronger relations between the United States and countries of the region.