The IGF builds on USIP’s Interorganizational Tabletop Exercise (ITX) project series, hosted in partnership with the Department of Defense’s Joint Staff J-7, which in the past examined complex crises in Somalia, the Philippines, the Lake Chad geographic area, and the Red Sea Region.

IGF 2024: Sino-Indian Maritime Competition

IGF 2024 aims to support the U.S. government and its partners in assessing threats, de-escalating potential crises, and strengthening strategic collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region. The Tabletop Exercise (TTX) will simulate a maritime crisis, providing participants with a deep understanding of the complexities involved in an India-China militarized conflict. The TTX will explore the intricate dynamics of managing alliance and partnership dilemmas, challenging attendees to address crisis management, political strategy, and cooperation amidst conflicting interests. Participants will also navigate potential pitfalls, such as entrapment, escalation, and bureaucratic hurdles, to refine their approaches to regional stability.

IGF 2023: Security Cooperation in the Pacific Islands 

IGF Fall 2023 focused on security cooperation in the Pacific Islands region. The IGF brought together diverse stakeholders, from regional civil society actors to U.S. interagency representatives, for a full agenda on regional security issues, partnerships, and drivers of instability and resilience in the Pacific Islands.

IGF 2023: Disaster Relief in the Indo-Pacific

IGF Spring 2023 considered a disaster relief scenario in the Indo-Pacific that illuminated the threat of strategic conflict. The IGF brought together key stakeholders ranging from regional civil society leaders to U.S. interagency representatives, to consider how the United States and its partners can manage a crisis in the region. It identified potential tension points and made recommendations to mitigate the risks of escalation in strategic competition, as well as offered options to optimize coordination for humanitarian assistance.

IGF 2020: State Fragility in Venezuela

IGF 2020 examined global power competition in the context of state fragility in Venezuela. The event produced concrete recommendations for how the USG and its partners can manage threats to peace and stability emanating from Russian and Chinese activities in Venezuela, while also identifying opportunities for collaboration on issues of shared concern. It also provided a conceptual framework for understanding the intersection of state fragility and global power competition that can be used in other country cases.

2019 ITX

The 2019 ITX focused on cross-regional challenges in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula where ongoing conflict, transitions, peacekeeping operations, and humanitarian operations intersect. The interstate dynamics within the Horn and the Arabian Peninsula, the impact of each region on the other, as well as regional and great power engagement and competition informed the problem set examined in the exercise. Relevant participants from the interagency, IOs, and NGOs convened to discuss the seam issues and the implications of interactions between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

2018 ITX

The 2018 ITX focused on preventing and countering violent extremism in the southern Philippines. The siege of Marawi by ISIS-affiliated extremists in 2017 highlighted the long-standing tensions between the Muslim population and the Philippine government. The reconstruction of Marawi and implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law provided improved prospects for peacebuilding. At the end of the convening, demobilization of insurgents, risk tolerance, and reliable and flexible funding were identified as key issues requiring further work to improve the effectiveness of external assistance in this watershed moment.

2017 ITX

The overarching theme of the 2017 ITX was “Transitioning from Fragility toward Stabilization and Sustainable Human Security in Somalia and the Region.” Representatives from the Department of State, Department of Defense, U.S. Agency for International Development, and a number of NGOs convened over four days to assess the impact of a potential AMISOM drawdown and eventual withdrawal from Somalia and to plan how best to ease the transition to Somali responsibility for security and governance. Recommendations from the exercise centered on how best to support the new Somali government’s priorities.

2016 ITX

The 2016 ITX focused on countering violent extremism (CVE) in the Lake Chad Basin. During the ITX, relevant actors from the across the USG as well as representatives from a number of IOs and NGOs wrestled with the uncertainties and ambiguities of CVE to compare understanding, share initiatives, discuss progress and shortcomings and explore the interplay of different CVE efforts to devise practical strategies to work together more effectively. Issues, challenges, and opportunities identified by participants were briefed to senior leaders in the concluding session of the 2016 ITX. They, in turn, tasked participating organizations and others in the community of interest to delve more deeply into the issues raised and propose concrete recommendations to address problems or shortcomings in a second senior leaders’ meeting in early 2017. Three interorganizational working groups formed to look at challenges surrounding policy synchronization, analytical CVE frameworks, as well as gaps in current learning and knowledge sharing.

2014 ITX

The 2014 ITX brought together participants from over 15 U.S. government agencies, departments, and bureaus as well as a number of NGOs and IOs to grapple with key interorganizational topics using South Sudan and Ethiopia as case studies.