Preventing Violent Conflict: Principles, Policies, and Practice

About 150 leading policymakers, scholars, diplomats, and NGO leaders participated in an all-day conference entitled "Preventing Violent Conflict: Principles, Policies and Practice," organized by the U.S. Institute of Peace's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention on July 1, 2010.

Recognizing that conflict prevention is widely endorsed in principle—including in the new National Security Strategy—but too rarely put into serious practice, this conference was designed to help narrow the gap between rhetoric and action in preventing violent conflicts. The central focus of the conference was on the unique challenges and opportunities associated with preventing the initial onset of large-scale violence- what is sometimes called primary prevention.

The keynote address was given by Ambassador Mary C. Yates, Senior Adviser for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council. The first panel on regional challenges highlighted the potential conflicts that are at risk of breaking out in various regions. The second panel focused on how preventive strategies should address critical cross-cutting challenges such as governance, weapons proliferation and economic drivers of conflict. The final panel reflected on global conflict prevention initiatives by the UN, U.S., regional and subregional organizations, and civil society.

The conference was followed by a tribute to Dr. David Hamburg, president emeritus of the Carnegie Corporation, which attracted a high-level turnout including Senator Richard Lugar.

Multimedia

Agenda

09:00am Welcome by Dr. Richard H. Solomon, President,USIP

09:15am Keynote Address by Amb. Mary C. Yates, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and Institutional Reform, NationalSecurity Council

10:00am Break

10:15am Panel 1: Regional Challenges

Amb. Marc Grossman - Chair
Vice Chairman, Cohen Group
Amb. William Bellamy
Director, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University
Dr. John Park
Senior ResearchAssociate, USIP
Dr. Nikolas Gvosdev
Professor, U.S. Naval War College
Peter Hakim
President Emeritus, Inter-AmericanDialogue
Dr. Shibley Telhami
Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland

12:15pm Lunch Break (lunch will be provided to participants)

1:15pm Panel 2: Cross-cutting Challenges

Amb. Nancy Soderberg - Chair
President, Connect U.S. Fund
Clare Lockhart
CEO, Institute for State Effectiveness
Dr. Ramesh Thakur
Professor, University of Waterloo
Paul Hughes
Senior Program Officer, USIP

2:45pm Break

3:00pm Panel 3: Global Conflict Prevention Initiatives

Tara Sonenshine - Chair
Executive Vice president, USIP
Dr. Edward C. Luck
Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, United Nations
Heather Conley
Director and Senior Fellow, CSIS
Amb. John E. Herbst
Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, U.S. Department of State
Peter Van Tuijl
Executive Director,ECCP/GPPAC GlobalSecretariat
Lawrence Woocher
Senior Program Officer, USIP

5:15pm Conclusions by Dr. Abiodun Williams, Vice President,Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, USIP

5:30pm Tribute to Dr. David Hamburg,President Emeritus of the Carnegie Corporation

Start Date:

July 1, 2010 - 9:00am

End Date:

July 1, 2010 - 5:30pm

Location

U.S. Institute of Peace
1200 17th Street N.W.
Second Floor
Washington, DC 20036

Inquiries

Please contact Jonas Claes at jclaes@usip.org with any general questions about this event.

Media

Journalists should contact Lauren Sucher (lsucher@usip.org) in the Office of Public Affairs and Communications.

Type

Public Event