PrintAbiodun Williams
Acting Senior Vice President
Contact
Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.
For all other inquiries, please call 202.457.1700.
Multimedia
Abiodun Williams is acting senior vice president of the Center for Conflict Management (CCM). Williams leads USIP’s work in major conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, the Middle East and North Africa. Previously, Williams served as vice president of CCM, and had primary responsibility for USIP’s work on conflict prevention, Iran, and Northeast Asia.
Prior to joining USIP, he served as associate dean of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. From 2001 to 2007, he served as director of strategic planning in the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General. In that capacity, he advised Secretaries-General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon on a full range of strategic issues including U.N. reform, conflict prevention, peacebuilding and international migration. He held political and humanitarian affairs positions in U.N. peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti, and Macedonia from 1994 to 2000.
Williams began his career as an academic and taught international relations at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, University of Rochester, and Tufts University. In 1990 he was awarded the Constantine E. Maguire Medal for outstanding service to the School of Foreign Service and its students, and in 1992, he won the School’s teaching award. He was the recipient of a Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs in 1990.
Williams is chair of the Academic Council on the U.N. System (ACUNS), and a Board Member of the American Bar Association Africa Council of the Rule of Law Initiative. He was a Trustee of the United World Colleges, Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, and served on the Board of QSI International School of Skopje. He holds an M.A. (Hons) from Edinburgh University, and M.A.L.D. and Ph.D. degrees from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He has published widely on conflict prevention, international peacekeeping and multilateral negotiations.
Publications:
- Keynote Address to the Annual Conference of the Association of International Education Administrators [Prepared Remarks, PDF]
February 20, 2012 - "Leadership and the Responsibility to Protect". By Abiodun Williams and Jonas Claes. In The Responsibility to Protect, edited by W. Andy Knight and Frazer Egerton (Routledge, Forthcoming).
- "The Responsibility to Protect and Peacemaking," with Jonas Claes, in Peacemaking (Praeger: 2012) edited by Andrea Bartoli, Susan Allen, and Zachariah Mampilly.
- "The Responsibility to Protect and Peacemaking," E-International Relations (August 4, 2011).
- "Preventing Electoral Violence: An International Priority," ACUNS Informational Memorandum, No. 3, 2011.
- "The Responsibility to Protect: Leadership Required," New World (Spring 2011).
- "Strategic Planning in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General," Global Governance 16 (2010), 435-449.
- “The U.S. Military and Public Diplomacy,” Toward A New Public Diplomacy: Redirecting U.S. Foreign Policy, edited by Philip Seib (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).
- "The United Nations and International Crisis Management," Global Forces 2007: Proceedings of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI, 2007).
- "The United Nations and Peace Operations," Dean Rusk Center Occasional Papers No. 2 (University of Georgia School of Law, 2003).
- "The United Nations and Preventive Deployment in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," Adapting the United Nations to a Postmodern Era: Lessons Learned, edited by W. Andy Knight (Palgrave, 2001).
- Preventing War: The United Nations and Macedonia (Rowman and Littlefield, 2000).
- "In Search of Peace: Negotiations to end the Angolan Civil War," Institute for the Study of Diplomacy Case Study (1995).
- "Sierra Leone and the United Nations System," State Society, and the United Nations System: Changing Perspectives on Multilateralism, edited by Keith Krause and W. Andy Knight (United Nations University Press, 1995).
- "Article 2 (7) of the U.N. Charter," Academic Council on the UN System Report #5 (1994).
- "Negotiations and the end of the Angolan Civil War," Making War and Waging Peace: Foreign Intervention in Africa, edited by David R. Smock (USIP Press, 1993).
- Many Voices: Multilateral Negotiations in the World Arena (editor). (Westview Press, 1992).
- "Regional Peacemaking: ECOWAS and the Liberian Civil War," The Diplomatic Record 1990-1991, edited by David Newsom (Westview Press, 1991).
Multimedia:
- “The Role of the United Nations” NPR, September 3, 2009.
Publications & Tools
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Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at the prevention of conflict in North Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and our special project on atrocity prevention. Countries: Iran, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Human Rights
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USIP leaders explain the effect that events around the world and here at home will have on the U.S., and the contributions the Institute can and does make during a time of tremendous challenge – and opportunity. Countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Korean Peninsula, Liberia, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, The Two Sudans, United States, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Education, Political Reform, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Security Sector Reform/Governance, Training
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On March 12, the U.S. Institute of Peace’s (USIP) Center for Conflict Management and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs co-convened a closed briefing on the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit for senior diplomats of countries whose head of state will be participating in the summit. Ambassadors, Deputy Chiefs of Mission, and Heads of Political Section from over 30 embassies participated in the briefing. Countries: Korean Peninsula, South Korea
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Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at helping prevent conflict in North Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and the special project on genocide prevention. Countries: Egypt, Iran, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Human Rights
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The Arab League this month called for the U.N. Security Council to approve a joint Arab-U.N. peacekeeping mission in Syria, where more than 5,400 people have died as the regime of Bashar al-Assad presses a brutal military crackdown on a popular uprising in Homs and other cities. Russia and China vetoed an earlier Security Council resolution on Syria, and it is not clear how seriously the recent Arab League proposal will be considered. The Arab League has scrapped its monitoring mission in Syria amid the intensifying violence. Countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia, Libya, Nigeria, Syria, The Two Sudans
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Training
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Abiodun Williams discusses the U.N. Security Council's rejection of a resolution on the violence in Syria and its implications for "Responsibility to Protect." Williams is acting senior vice president of USIP’s Center for Conflict Management (CCM), where he leads its work in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, the Middle East and North Africa. Countries: Syria
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities
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Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at helping prevent conflict in the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia. Countries: Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, North Korea, Pakistan, Tunisia, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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USIP leaders explain the effect that events around the world and here at home will have on the U.S., and the contributions the Institute can and does make during a time of tremendous challenge – and opportunity. |
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Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at helping prevent conflict in the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia. Countries: Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, Syria, Tunisia
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at helping prevent conflict in Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia. Countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Iran, Kenya, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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USIP’s annual “Preventing Violent Conflict” conference is designed to spotlight the importance of the subject, address specific challenges facing prevention efforts and identify priority areas for USIP’s future work on conflict prevention. This brief summarizes the highlights of that conference. Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at helping prevent conflict in Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia. Countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Iran, Kenya, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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The bimonthly Prevention Newsletter provides highlights of the Institute's conceptual and region specific work aimed at helping to prevent conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and the special project on genocide prevention. It also provides Over the Horizon thinking on trends in different regions, as well as information about events, working groups and publications. Countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Iran, Kenya, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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USIP’s Abiodun Williams discusses the United Nations’ role in Libya. |
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The bimonthly Prevention Newsletter provides highlights of the Institute's conceptual and region specific work aimed at helping to prevent conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and the special project on genocide prevention. It also provides Over the Horizon thinking on trends in different regions, as well as information about events, working groups and publications. Countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Iran, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tunisia
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Human Rights, Political Reform
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USIP's Abiodun Williams reflects on Hosni Mubarak's departure and the remarkable events in Egypt. Countries: Egypt
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Political Reform, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities
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The bimonthly Prevention Newsletter provides highlights of the Institute's conceptual and region specific work aimed at helping to prevent conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and the special project on genocide prevention. It also provides Over the Horizon thinking on trends in different regions, as well as information about events, working groups and publications. Countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Iran, Israel, Kenya, Lebanon, North Korea, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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In New York, some 8,500 delegates from 192 countries are meeting at the United Nations this week for the summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the U.N. General Assembly. The big issues on the U.N.’s agenda this year include development, peace and security, conflict prevention, human rights, the environment and climate change, and U.N. reform, among others, said Abiodun Williams, vice president of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention at the United States Institute of Peace. Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Human Rights
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The bimonthly Prevention Newsletter provides highlights of CAP's conceptual work, its region specific work aimed at helping to prevent conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and the special projects on genocide prevention and nonproliferation. It also provides Over the Horizon thinking on trends in different regions, as well as CAP events, working groups and publications. Countries: Africa, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Iran, Kenya, Korean Peninsula, Pakistan, Turkey
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Political Reform, WMD, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control
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On July 1, 2010, the U.S. Institute of Peace organized an all-day conference entitled "Preventing Violent Conflict: Principles, Policies, and Practice." The goals of this conference were to spotlight the importance of conflict prevention, to foster productive discussions between leading scholars and distinguished practitioners, and to identify priority areas for future work on conflict prevention by the Institute and the field at large. This Peace Brief provides an overview of that day's discussions. |
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The bimonthly Prevention Newsletter provides highlights of CAP's conceptual work, its region specific work aimed at helping to prevent conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and the special projects on genocide prevention and non-proliferation. It also provides Over the Horizon thinking on trends in different regions, as well as CAP events, working groups and publications. Countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Iran, Israel, Kenya, Korean Peninsula, Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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This Working Paper is the culmination of the work of the Study Group on Reform and Security. Countries: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Security Sector Reform/Governance
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The bimonthly Prevention Newsletter provides highlights of the Institute's conceptual and region specific work aimed at helping to prevent conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and the special project on genocide prevention. It also provides Over the Horizon thinking on trends in different regions, as well as information about events, working groups and publications. Countries: Chad, Iran, Israel, Kenya, Korean Peninsula, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World highlights the challenges that escalating identity conflicts within Muslim-majority states pose for both the Muslim world and for the West, an issue that has received scant attention in policy and academic circles. Issue Areas: Political Reform
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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. Countries: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Negotiation and Diplomacy
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Events
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February 27, 2012
On February 27 USIP hosted Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro for a public event. Mr. Shapiro discussed U.S. programs to build global peacekeeping capacity, and the way these efforts help advance U.S. national security. |
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December 15, 2011
On December 15th, USIP hosted a panel of current and former officials from the U.S., Japan and South Korea that examined the post-2012 political, economic and security landscape in Northeast Asia following leadership changes – both democratically facilitated and planned. Against this background, the panel assessed challenges and opportunities for the U.S., Japan and South Korea.
Countries: China, Japan, Korean Peninsula, North Korea, South Korea, United States
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Negotiation and Diplomacy, WMD, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control
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December 6, 2011
On December 6, the U.S. Institute of Peace facilitated a discussion featuring two women NGO leaders from Iraq whose USIP-supported projects enable them to promote positive participatory roles for women as peacebuilders and provide mechanisms and strategies to combat discrimination and violence against women in Iraq. Countries: Iraq
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Gender and Peacebuilding, Political Reform
| Programs: Grant Program
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September 23, 2011
After 42 years, Libya is free from Muammar al-Qaddafi’s rule, and while fighting drags on in parts of the country, the Libyan people have begun the difficult work of building a new society and a new future. Minister of Infrastructure and Reconstruction, Dr. Ahmed Jehani, discussed the view from the ground in Libya, the process of post-conflict institution and peacebuilding in his country, and the role of the US and broader international community in supporting Libya, and the Libyan people during this transition. |
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September 8, 2011
Please join us for a special event featuring Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who will discuss her August 2011 trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan. As a member of both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Shaheen will offer a unique congressional perspective on diplomatic and security conditions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as insights on the policy challenges facing the United States. Webcast: This event will be webcast live beginning at 9:00am EDT on September 8, 2011 at www.usip.org/webcast. Countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Security Sector Reform/Governance
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September 7, 2011
On September 7, 2011, the U.S. Institute of Peace was pleased to host Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer to discuss the multilateral side of U.S. foreign policy and the Obama administration's efforts at the United Nations, including the administration's priorities for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session.
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June 1, 2011
For this second annual conference on conflict prevention, USIP brought together experts and policymakers to discuss challenges and opportunities for conflict prevention around the world. The goals of this conference were to spotlight the importance of prevention, discuss specific challenges facing prevention efforts, and identify priority areas for USIP's future work on conflict prevention. Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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May 20, 2011
On May 20, 2011, USIP hosted a panel discussion with the Asia Society to launch the Pakistan 2020 Study Group Report, "Pakistan 2020: A Vision for Building a Better Future."
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October 15, 2010
Pakistan is in the midst of the worst natural disaster of its history. On October 15, USIP hosted the event "Relief Efforts in the Wake of the Pakistani Floods," in which experts assessed the relief efforts thus far and analyzed the challenges ahead, the next steps for donors, and implications of relief assistance for the future of the Pakistan-U.S. relationship.
Countries: Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Health and Peacebuilding, Human Rights
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October 4, 2010
The U.S. Institute of Peace is pleased to host His Excellency Ambassador Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Haqqani discussed the recent floods in Pakistan, detailing the scale of the disaster, the relief and reconstruction efforts made thus far by the Government of Pakistan, and the mechanisms established to ensure an efficient and transparent use of resources dedicated to flood response. He was joined by representatives from two leading relief organizations currently on the ground in Pakistan.
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September 14, 2010
In the first round of this seminar series, co-organized by the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Brookings Institution, some 45 participants from the United Nations, international humanitarian and development organizations, non-governmental human rights and humanitarian organizations, different agencies of the U.S. government and the U.S. military, academic institutions and the diplomatic community came together to discuss current challenges in protecting civilians. Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Human Rights, Rule of Law
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July 1, 2010
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. |
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June 28, 2010
This event is being organized by USIP in coordination with the State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS) and USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation (CMM), as a forum of experts, policy and program shapers to engage in broader discussions about evolving dynamics in Kyrgyzstan, and possible areas for the international community to constructively engage to prevent further violence and safeguard a peaceful transition. |
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April 28, 2010
USIP, CSID, George Mason and ISESCO co-hosted this day-long conference examining America's relations with the Muslim world one year after President Obama's Cairo speech. Countries: Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Negotiation and Diplomacy, Political Reform
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February 2, 2010
This public symposium explored how the U.S., South Korea, and Japan can cooperate on common challenges and opportunities in the international community. Countries: Japan, North Korea, South Korea, United States
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, WMD, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control
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February 1, 2010
USIP invited an expert panel to participate in a frank discussion of the conflict between the Iranian regime and the opposition and its implications for the Obama administration. Countries: Iran
| Issue Areas: Negotiation and Diplomacy, Religion and Peacemaking, Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding, Youth and Peacebuilding
| Programs: Jennings Randolph Senior Fellowship Program
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January 22, 2010
This USIP event examined the complex nexus between democratic change and U.S. security interests, with a principal focus on Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Yemen. Countries: Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Negotiation and Diplomacy
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January 15, 2010
The enormous human and financial costs of current conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, and elsewhere have prompted renewed attention to our ability to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. USIP brought together leading thinkers on the concepts, tools and strategies for preventing wars instead of fighting them. |
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November 19, 2009
Join us for the launch and panel discussion of a new USIP-funded SIPRI report by Bates Gill and Chin-hao Huang entitled, China's Expanding Role in Peacekeeping: Prospects and Policy Implication. |
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October 15, 2009
USIP's Daniel Brumberg joined a panel of guest speakers, including Congressman Keith Ellison, for a lively discussion of USIP's new volume "Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World." Countries: Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, The Two Sudans, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
| Issue Areas: Economics and Conflict, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Political Reform, Religion and Peacemaking
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February 10, 2009
A public event co-sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' North Korea International Documentation Project: This event has already taken place. |
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December 11, 2008
A public event co-sponsored with the American Academy of Diplomacy and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |
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September 26, 2008
Countries: Russian Federation
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Security Sector Reform/Governance
| Programs: Grants & Fellowships
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September 10, 2008
A public event co-sponsored with the Center for Strategic and International Studies Countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan
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August 21, 2008
Issue Areas: Economics and Conflict
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June 24, 2008
Countries: United States
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May 15, 2008
Countries: Lebanon
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
| Programs: Grants & Fellowships, Jennings Randolph Senior Fellowship Program
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