Peace Terms is an extensive glossary with short definitions of a wide range of complex and often confusing terms used in the field of peacebuilding. Authoritative but accessible, Peace Terms has been used by a wide audience, from peacebuilding practitioners and scholars to students in college courses, from participants in USIP Academy courses and trainings to high school students doing research.

Peace Terms is an invaluable contribution to the literature and is comprehensive and concise. The revised edition does an excellent job of expanding and updating the glossary entries in order to make the publication more comprehensive and to reflect changes in the peacebuilding field since the appearance of the first edition.

Matthew Levinger, Research Professor of International Affairs, George Washington University

To help these readers navigate this cross-disciplinary field, the USIP glossary answers such questions as: What exactly is a “conflict entrepreneur”? What do we mean by “refoulement”? And perhaps most importantly, what is the difference between peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peacebuilding?
 
As with the first edition, the editor has consulted a wide range of online and print sources, as well as the senior staff at USIP, in the process of producing the latest version of the glossary.

  • Contains over 350 short definitions, including over 70 new or revised terms.
  • Covers a wide range of complex and often confusing concepts.
  • Used by practitioners, scholars, and students.

Dan Snodderly is an editor and publishing consultant who served as USIP’s director of publications from 1993 to 2004, and previously worked as an editor and writer at Cornell University Press and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Words matter. In the art of peacemaking, where failure can be deadly, words matter even more. With lucid, elegant prose, Dan Snodderly’s Peace Terms delivers a powerful antidote for the buzzwords and fuzzy concepts that sometimes confound even the most insightful discourse about peace and conflict. The glossary is also a wonderful resource for newcomers who want to learn core concepts for the first time and for old hands who strive to keep their thinking fresh, simple, and clear.

John T. Crist, Associate Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University Korea

Latest Publications

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

By: Nicolás Devia-Valbuena;  Keith Mines

After weeks of consultations, and amidst a near total breakdown of law and order in Haiti, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-led effort to create a new transitional governing council may be nearing completion. The council’s establishment would allow for the entry of a multinational security force that would then be able to join with the Haitian National Police and restore order. Some have suggested the inclusion of “enablers” for the new security force — air support, drones, intelligence. But to gain the trust of the Haitian people, the new governing council will need its own popular “enablers,” a systematic way to include many more sectors of Haitian society that are currently ignored or deliberately excluded from governance.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Promoting Peace and Stability in the Americas through Religious Freedom

Promoting Peace and Stability in the Americas through Religious Freedom

Thursday, March 28, 2024

By: Knox Thames

The Western Hemisphere is generally known for protecting freedom of religion or belief. With a few notable exceptions, the countries of the region all enshrine religious freedom at the constitutional level and protect it through laws and policies. But in recent years, authoritarian governments in South America have increasingly viewed religious actors as threats to their regime’s survival and tried to control or crush independent religious activity.

Type: Analysis

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Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

By: Mary Glantz, Ph.D.;  Gavin Helf, Ph.D.;  Asfandyar Mir, Ph.D.;  Andrew Watkins

On Friday, terrorists attacked the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow leaving 140 people dead and 80 others critically wounded. Soon after, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist group, which is headquartered in Iraq and Syria, has several branches, including in South and Central Asia. Press reports suggest the U.S. government believes the Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), was behind the attack. The Biden administration has publicly noted that it had warned the Russian government of the terrorism threat in early March in line with the procedure of “Duty to Warn.”

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

What Does the U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution Mean for the Israel-Gaza War?

What Does the U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution Mean for the Israel-Gaza War?

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

By: Robert Barron

On March 25, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed Resolution 2728, calling for an “immediate” cease-fire in Gaza. The motion’s passage came after weeks of back and forth and posturing among the UNSC’s permanent and rotating members. The exact phrasing of the resolution and its relevance to the situation on the ground, as well as bilateral and multilateral relations — particularly U.S.-Israel ties — have been the subject of heavy public and media attention since Monday, raising questions about the resolution’s subtext, intent and limitations. USIP’s Robert Barron looks at these questions.

Type: Question and Answer

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Angela Stent on the Terror Attack in Moscow

Angela Stent on the Terror Attack in Moscow

Monday, March 25, 2024

By: Angela Stent

While ISIS has claimed responsibility for the devastating terror attack in Moscow, Putin has baselessly tried to shift the blame to Ukraine, says USIP’s Angela Stent: “[Putin] wants to use this to increase repression at home … and also to pursue a more aggressive path in Ukraine.”

Type: Podcast

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