Negotiation and Diplomacy

This Center of Innovation focuses on harnessing the power of the media for peacebuilding, and on developing new strategies for countering the abuse of media during conflict.

Serious and contentious questions surround the issue of how the international community should relate to Somalia. Should major support be given to the Transitional Federal Government? Should the African Union peacekeeping force be expanded?

In a major diplomatic victory for both countries, Kosovo and Macedonia recently concluded the demarcation of their shared border. This process of diplomacy, cooperation, confidence-building and reconciliation was conducted by a Joint Technical Commission (JTC) comprised of the two state parties and the International Civilian Office (ICO). 

Sudan faces challenges on many fronts, among them an ongoing conflict in Darfur, a fragile Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the north and south that ended decades of civil war, and upcoming nationwide elections at every level of government in 2010 (the first elections since 1986).  The US Institute of Peace is engaging all of these issues in an effort to help build a more stable Sudan. 

In the wake of Lebanon forming a new government, USIP assesses how the country can ensure ongoing political progress and stability.

Since 2004, USIP's "Iraq and its Neighbors" initiative has sponsored track II dialogues and ongoing research on relations between Iraq and its six immediate neighbors. As part of this work, the Institute—in partnership with the Stimson Center—sponsored a bipartisan, independent, and unofficial Study Mission to Syria and Saudi Arabia in mid-January 2009. The delegation met with a wide variety of leading political figures, businesspeople, NGOs and foreign policy experts in both countries, including President Bashar Assad of Syria and Prince Turki al-Faysal of Saudi Arabia. The top concern for both Riyadh and Damascus remains blowback from Iraq: the ascendance of ethnic and sectarian identity and the spread of Islamic militancy. The need to contain this threat is the dominant force that shapes their relations with Iraq. Both Syria and Saudi Arabia have a vital interest in ensuring that Iraq's emerging political order is inclusive of Sunni Arab Iraqis, who have not yet been fully incorporated into Iraqi institutions. This working paper represents the initial findings of the Study Mission.

Overall, Syria has marginally benefited from the war in Iraq at both the regional and international levels. After watching the U.S. military unseat the Baathist regime next door in 2003 with unprecedented speed, it looked to many observers—including some in Damascus—as if Syria would be next in line.

USIP's Center of Innovation for Science, Technology and Peacebuilding hosted a full-day multimedia showcase of state-of-the-art simulation and "serious gaming" tools that promise to transform the way that peacebuilding organizations train, plan and collaborate. The "Smart Tools for Smart Power" event featured presentations from such innovators as IBM, the Army War College, EBay, Lockheed Martin, Second Life, and USIP's own Education and Training Center.  U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Beth Noveck presented the keynote address.

Instructor Anthony Wanis-St.John discusses the USIP Academy course "Negotiations from Checkpoints to High Politics". The course provides a thorough conceptual framework to help practitioners structure their efforts in negotiation.