As a national, nonpartisan, independent Institute, the U.S. Institute of Peace draws on our exceptional convening power to create opportunities for diverse audiences to exchange knowledge, experiences, and ideas necessary for creative solutions to difficult challenges. We serve as an important, neutral platform for bringing together government and nongovernment, diplomacy, security, and development actors, and participants across political views. The Institute’s events help shape public policy and priorities to advance peaceful solutions to conflict and strengthen international security.
In November 2008, operatives from the Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out 12 coordinated terrorist attacks across Mumbai, killing 164 and wounding over 300. The days following the attacks saw tensions rise between India and Pakistan. War clouds hovered over South Asia for weeks before the crisis abated, in part due to U.S. mediation.
As the loss of ISIS territory drives thousands of “foreign terrorist fighters” to return home, and hundreds of people convicted of terrorism-related offenses are scheduled for release over the next several years, communities worldwide are faced with rehabilitating and reintegrating people disengaging...
The effort to end the war in Afghanistan with a political settlement has moved to the forefront of the policy conversation, with all elements of the U.S. government, including the military, increasingly playing a role. In support of this effort, USIP is partnering with CENTCOM—the U.S. military command responsible for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East—for a panel on the status of the Afghan peace process and the U.S. military’s potential role.
In an all day conference at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Ukrainian religious leaders, scholars and others examined the religious aspect of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on religious freedom in the country. Speakers also delved into the ecclesiastical history of the relationship between the Russian and Ukrainian churches.
The 2018 National Defense Strategy asserts that the United States is emerging from a post-Cold War period of “strategic atrophy.” On October 30, 2018, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a discussion with Secretary Mattis on how the National Defense Strategy seeks to meet the shared challenges of our time through strengthening and evolving America’s strategic alliances and partnerships.
One in five elections worldwide is marred by violence—from burned ballot boxes to violent suppression of peaceful rallies, to assassinations of candidates. A USIP study of programs to prevent violence suggests focusing on improving the administration and policing of elections. The study, of elections in Kenya and Liberia, found no evidence that programs of voter consultation or peace messaging were effective there.
Eminent members of the peacebuilding community, diplomats, scholars, business leaders, military strategists and other specialists gathered from hundreds of organizations across dozens of countries at this first day of PeaceCon2018. Participants broadened their networks and heard new thinking from across the many sectors of conflict resolution work.
Peacebuilding work matters, but we still struggle to show evidence of where interventions have led to positive outcomes, such as a clear reduction in violence or increased cooperation. The Peacebuilding M&E Solutions Forum is an opportunity for practitioners to come together, network and connect with people working in this space, and share best practices, lessons learned, results, and evidence from across the broad spectrum of M&E activities on peacebuilding programming. This event is co-hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Alliance for Peacebuilding.
Why do peacebuilders sometimes succeed and sometimes fail, even within the same country? Why can organizations not guarantee the same results from the same policies? Peacebuilders struggle to answer these questions and create programs with consistently positive results. The U.S. Institute of Peace discussed policy recommendations drawn from new research highlighting unexpected solutions to a long-standing challenge.
A groundbreaking new monograph, “When Civil Resistance Succeeds: Building Democracy After Popular Nonviolent Uprisings,” by Jonathan Pinckney, published by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC), demonstrates that nonviolent movements make democratic transitions more likely and lead to stronger democracies.