Paul Hughes

Senior Adviser for International Security and Peacebuilding

Paul Hughes is the senior adviser for international security and peacebuilding at USIP. Hughes has previously served as USIP’s chief of staff and director of Nonproliferation and Arms Control Program. He also served as the executive director of the Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel, executive director of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, and as the director of Iraq programs in the Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations.

Prior to joining USIP, he served as an active duty Army colonel and as the Army's senior military fellow to the Institute for National Security Studies of the National Defense University. From January to August 2003, Hughes served as a senior staff officer for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance and later with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. During that time he developed several policy initiatives, such as the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of the Iraqi military. As the director of national security policy on the Army staff from 2000-2002, he developed and provided policy guidance for the Army in numerous areas, such as arms control, weapons of mass destruction, missile defense, emerging nontraditional security issues, and crisis prediction. From 1996 to 2000, he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) as deputy director of the Office for Humanitarian Assistance and Anti-Personnel Landmine Policy, where he led the OSD participation in crafting U.S. landmine policy and the DOD response to Hurricane Mitch, the Turkish earthquakes, and the Mozambique floods.

Hughes holds two master's degrees of military arts and sciences and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Colorado State University. His awards include two Defense Superior Service Medals, three Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, four Army Commendation Medals, and several campaign and service ribbons.

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Publications

Available on usip.org

Multimedia

Publications & Tools

Bringing Peace to a War (Photo courtesy of NY TImes)
March 2013 | News Feature by Colonel Paul Hughes

Colonel Paul Hughes reflects on USIP's presence in Baghdad facilitating inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue, conducting conflict resolution activities, supporting rule of law programs, and training Iraqi leaders in democratic principles.

March 2013 | News Brief by USIP Staff

The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) hosted a panel on March 18 to discuss the findings of “Overcoming Obstacles to Peace: Local Factors in Nation Building,” a new RAND Corporation book that lays out data-based evidence on how international interventions can build more peaceful nations.

February 2013 | News Feature by USIP Staff

The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and the Reserve Officers Association held a joint program on Capitol Hill on February 12 to explore new education and training approaches to help U.S. troops better prepare for complex missions in fragile and conflict states.

Countries: Afghanistan, Iran | Issue Areas: Training
Paul Hughes, the U.S. Institute of Peace’s chief of staff
February 2013 | News Brief by USIP Staff

Paul Hughes, the U.S. Institute of Peace’s chief of staff, recently delivered a major lecture at the 2012 Special Operations Summit in Tampa, Fla., on best practices and new tools for post-conflict peacekeeping and stability operations.

February 2013 | News Feature by USIP Staff

For the first time, the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) has sent a team of its conflict-management specialists to train an entire U.S. military unit preparing to deploy to a war zone—Afghanistan.

May 2012

On May 2, USIP hosted NATO Defense College (NDC) Senior Course 120, which consisted of 74 senior military officers from 31 countries worldwide, as part of the group's Transatlantic Field Study trip to Washington, DC. NDC Dean Dr. Richard Hooker and Brigadier General Patrick Desjardins of France, dean of Academic Operations, led the delegation; Daria Daniels Skodnik coordinated the trip for NDC.

April 2012 | News Feature by Steven Ruder

USIP briefed Air Force Lieutenant General Richard Y. Newton III. The briefing outlined USIP’s efforts to promote dialogue between India and Pakistan and ease tensions in the volatile Kashmir region; to harness the power of technology for crisis mapping, humanitarian response, and interagency coordination; and USIP’s training programs.

March 2012

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.

March 2012 | News Feature by Tara Sonenshine

The Commonwealth of Virginia continues to expand as a center of innovation for peacebuilding activities to strengthen the capabilities of the U.S. military and civilian corps to work together around the world. Across Virginia, from the Pentagon to the peacebuilding academies, from workshops at universities to grants to practitioners, USIP is working closely to build partnerships.

March 2012

USIP hosted a briefing for an American commander deploying to the Horn of Africa.

(Courtesy: Bill Fitz-Patrick, USIP)
March 2012

The United States Institute of Peace proudly recognizes the ongoing work of the State of Texas in growing connections ranging from young people and technology to women in peacebuilding.

March 2012

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.

February 2012

The role of the Navy and Marine Corps is critical to the growing importance of the Asia Pacific region in national security strategy. Recently, conflict management and peacebuilding experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace participated in the Navy’s biggest amphibious exercise in a decade, Bold Alligator, as part of USIP’s expansion of civilian-military cooperation and training.

December 2011

Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) are closely following developments throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In a series of reports and interviews, they cover a wide range of issues.

(NYT PHOTO)
December 2011 | On the Issues by Paul Hughes

We asked USIP leaders, from board members to senior staff and experts to 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. USIP Chief of Staff Retired Col. Paul Hughes served nearly 30 years on active duty with the Army.

October 2011 | News Feature by Gordon Lubold

Adm. James Stavridis, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, spoke with USIP staff about some of USIP’s programs making a difference in conflict zones

(Courtesy: Bill Fitz-Patrick)
October 2011

The Institute’s Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding held the course in nuclear nonproliferation Sept. 26-30. And, for the first time ever, an undersecretary of state, Ellen Tauscher, spoke to an Academy class. Tauscher is the undersecretary of state for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.

September 2011

Ending or preventing conflict almost always means talking to the people who understand it best: the women. It was one of many pieces of sage advice USIP Chief of Staff Paul Hughes gave to a group of Air Force officers visiting USIP in September as part of a tour of Washington. The officers are studying the role of the Air Force officer and his or her role in political-military strategy.

(NYT PHOTO)
August 2011 | News Feature by Gordon Lubold

Of all the issues facing Libya’s new, nominal leadership, one that may be the most pressing, yet less conspicuous, is the growing dissension among Libyan youth. Even as changes from the revolution sweep Libya, many youth have begun to feel the new leadership feels a bit like the old.

(NYT PHOTO)
July 2011 | On the Issues by Paul Hughes

USIP’s Paul Hughes examines the significance of the U.S.’s move to recognize Libyan rebel leaders as the legitimate authority, the potential risks involved and when is the right time to plan for post-conflict operations.

(NYT PHOTO)
May 2011 | News Feature by Gordon Lubold

USIP’s Special Adviser, Muslim World Initiative Steve Heydemann; Senior Program Officer Col. Paul Hughes; Military Fellow Col. John Maraia; and South Asia Adviser Moeed Yusuf react to Osama bin Laden's death.

April 2011 | On the Issues by Paul Hughes

USIP’s Paul Hughes weighs the benefits and pitfalls of greater military action in Libya.

March 2011

USIP experts respond to President Obama's speech on U.S. military intervention in Libya.

Countries: Africa, Libya
March 2011 | On the Issues by Paul Hughes

USIP’s Paul Hughes, senior program officer with the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, discusses the No Fly Zone and NATO mission in Libya.

(NYT PHOTO)
January 2011 | News Feature by Gordon Lubold

The thrust of tonight's State of the Union speech will be on the economy, jobs and civility in political discourse, with members of both parties sitting side-by-side in a display of bipartisanship. Read more of USIP's preview of Obama's State of the Union address.

December 2010 | News Feature by Brian Rose

With the U.S. Senate’s ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the United States and Russia now await the Russian parliament’s likely ratification to make important reductions in their strategic nuclear arsenals.  Throughout debate, senators on both sides of the aisle cited the findings and recommendations of the 2009 Strategic Posture Commission, chaired by former secretaries of defense William Perry and James Schlesinger.

September 2010

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.

Cover of the USIP Prevention Newsletter. (Image: U.S. Institute of Peace)
July 2010

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.

January 2007 | Congressional Testimony by Paul Hughes

Paul Hughes addressed the Capitol Hill-based study group "Security for a New Century" on the current security situation in Iraq and options to foster stability in the country and across the region.

July 2005 | Congressional Testimony by Paul Hughes

Paul Hughes testified on "A Third Way: Alternatives for Iraq’s Future" before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

May 2005 | Peace Brief by Paul Hughes

USIPeace Briefing analyzing the motivation behind the insurgency, how to deal with the insurgency, and the lessons learned.

Countries: Iraq

Events

March 18, 2013

A new book by RAND, “Overcoming Obstacles to Peace,” finds evidence that international interventions can in fact build more peaceful nations.

February 12, 2013

Please join the Reserve Officers Association and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) for a program that will explore new education and training approaches being used to help U.S. troops better prepare for these complex operating environments before their deployment.

Countries: Afghanistan, Iraq | Issue Areas: Training
A frontal view of four B-61 nuclear free-fall bombs on a bomb cart. (Released to Public) Location: BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, LOUISIANA (LA) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA) DoD photo by: SSGT PHIL SCHMITTEN Date Shot: 1 Dec 1986
November 8, 2010

The United States stationed thousands of nuclear weapons in Europe during the Cold War in order to support the common defense of NATO members in Europe. While the environment in which the NATO nuclear mission finds its purpose has changed since the Cold War and the number of U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in Europe has been scaled back significantly, concerns about Russian tactical nuclear forces, the Iranian nuclear program, and the political importance of nuclear weapons to NATO solidarity raise important questions about how NATO should proceed as it outlines its nuclear mission in the 2010 Strategic Concept.

July 26, 2010

USIP held an informative discussion with Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for verification, compliance, and implementation, on the verification provisions of the New START agreement.  Her remarks were followed by an expert panel discussion on the implications of verification for the START ratification process and a lively Q & A session with the audience.

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. 

October 26, 2009

On October 26, 2009, USIP held a panel discussion with Amb. Linton Brooks, Joseph Cirincione, and Thomas Scheber on next steps for the START process and the START Follow-on Treaty.

July 27, 2009

On July 27, 2009, a panel of experts reviewed the destructive potential of a nuclear weapon, and discussed the role of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as keystone agreements to halt the spread of nuclear weapons technology.

Dr. William J. Perry testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on May 6, 2009.  (Credit: USIP Photo/Keith Mellnick)
May 27, 2009

Three senior experts who advised the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States and supported its deliberations will discuss their views on the report's findings and recommendations.

May 12, 2009
Countries: Iraq
November 19, 2007
Countries: Iraq
October 22, 2007
Countries: Iraq
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July 28, 2006
Countries: Iraq | Issue Areas: Security Sector Reform/Governance