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United States Institute of Peace

About USIP

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The United States Institute of Peace is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical and essential for U.S. and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. To reduce future crises and the need for costly interventions, USIP works with governments and civil societies to build local capacities to manage conflict peacefully. The Institute pursues its mission by linking research, policy, training, analysis and direct action to support those who are working to build a more peaceful, inclusive world.

Why a U.S. Institute of Peace?

What USIP Does

  • Serves as a nonpartisan government partner and trusted intermediary among foreign governments, civil society, and U.S. government officials.
  • Works in conflict zones at the community level and with national and regional governments, with a focus on connecting top-down and bottom-up initiatives.
  • Applies research through training, education, policy recommendations, and application of best practices.
  • Partners with stakeholders around the world to research, support, and advance strategies to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict.
  • Draws on its exceptional convening power to bring together diverse audiences to exchange knowledge and ideas necessary for developing solutions to the most pressing peace and security challenges.

Priorities: Making Peace Possible

Amid escalating disorder and a rapidly evolving strategic landscape, USIP is focusing on the rising complexity of violent upheavals in fragile states, particularly those stemming from the destabilizing roles of competing powers and rising competition for scarce resources. The Institute continues to focus on conflict areas that are of the greatest concern to U.S. national security interests and values, and in which USIP has built expertise and partnerships for more than three decades.

The Institute prioritizes:

  • Continuing its fieldwork to help fragile states and their citizens develop capacities to reduce and resolve violent conflicts.
  • Based on their importance to U.S. national security and implications for regional and international peace and security, current priority countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tunisia.
  • Sharpening its focus on the destabilizing impact of regional and major power competition in fragile states, with a renewed emphasis on Russia and China.
  • Sustaining USIP’s field operations to reduce violence in fragile states while augmenting its unofficial dialogues and analysis work on areas of rising danger.
  • Founded in 1984, USIP is funded by Congress and governed by a 15-member, bipartisan Board of Directors. The Institute’s teams work in many of the world’s most volatile regions. In 2011, USIP moved to its permanent home on the northwest corner of the National Mall.

Founded in 1984, USIP is funded by Congress and governed by 15-member, bipartisan Board of Directors. The Institute’s teams work in many of the world’s most volatile regions. In 2011, USIP moved to its permanent home on the northwest corner of the National Mall.

USIP’s 300-plus staff members work abroad or at the Institute’s headquarters in Washington, an iconic building that faces the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and that symbolizes our nation’s commitment to peace.