Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) was founded in 2009 as a Washington, D.C.-based neoconservative policy institute specializing in national security and foreign policy, with a primary focus on Iran sanctions, counter-terrorism, and U.S.-Israel military alignment. It emerged from the post-9/11 policy ecosystem, positioning itself as a bridge between academic policy research and operational government enforcement. FDD has become one of the most influential think tanks shaping U.S. sanctions policy, with its alumni and personnel embedded across Treasury, State, and national security institutions.

FDD functions as the policy blueprint generation engine for the network's enforcement and sanctions operations. It generates white-label compliance briefs for OFAC and FinCEN that are adopted as operational guidance by federal agencies, effectively outsourcing regulatory policy to a private think tank. FDD received a $19 million single-year grant from the Bernie Marcus Foundation in FY25, representing one of the largest single grants to any policy think tank. Key personnel include Juan Zarate (Former Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism), Sigal Mandelker (Former Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence), and Chip Poncy (Former Director of OFAC Strategic Policy), creating a revolving door between FDD and the Treasury enforcement apparatus.

FDD operates as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. In 2019, FDD and several of its personnel were sanctioned by the Iranian government under Iran's counter-sanctions regulations. No U.S. regulatory action has been taken against FDD as of 2025.