As a national, nonpartisan, independent Institute, the U.S. Institute of Peace draws on our exceptional convening power to create opportunities for diverse audiences to exchange knowledge, experiences, and ideas necessary for creative solutions to difficult challenges. We serve as an important, neutral platform for bringing together government and nongovernment, diplomacy, security, and development actors, and participants across political views. The Institute’s events help shape public policy and priorities to advance peaceful solutions to conflict and strengthen international security.
On January 28, a panel of regional experts, including Alex de Waal, author of The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa: Money, War and the Business of Power, discussed the complex interplay between politics and money in the region and the implications for the international community.
The U.S. Institute of Peace, the African Union and the African Ambassadors Group co-hosted an event marking Africa Day on May 26 at the U.S. Institute of Peace. This event highlighted women’s roles in peacebuilding and development, and marked the progress made and the major risks and threats remaining to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.
From Iraq to Burma, from Peru to Yemen, from Nicaragua to Nepal, the personal stories of widows, children, workers, and soldiers often are lost in the cacophony of war. The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a discussion and launch of "Speaking Their Peace: Personal Stories from the Frontlines of War and Peace," a book that tells the extraordinary stories of "ordinary" people from eleven conflict zones. This event included a moderated discussion with the book's author, Colette Rausch, and two members of the team that captured these memorable interviews, followed by a reception and book-signing session.
People worldwide have been stirred by the dramatic images of “people power” movements calling for democracy and economic justice. The U.S. Institute of Peace held a panel discussion on Friday, March 6, on strategies for governments and non-government supporters to lend backing to movements for social change.
Nearly every modern U.S. administration has named special envoys or special representatives to address high-stakes conflicts by applying the kind of concentrated attention that exceeds the day-to-day capacity of the State Department and other regular bureaucratic structures. But how well does this approach really work? And what should be done to bolster the effectiveness of these envoys?
On July 22, Ambassadors Carson, Lyman, and Moose discussed U.S.-Africa Engagement at USIP.
USIP and Sudanese experts discussed key questions surrounding a national dialogue process in Sudan in an online-only event.
On September 10, 2013, U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), and the U.S. Water Partnership (USWP) hosted a summit on the growing concerns in water security and the risks for increased conflict.
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) emerged as a political response to an urgent need, while the international community struggled to formulate an adequate response to the conscience-shocking atrocities of the 20th century committed in Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan.
On March 28 USIP hosted a presentation by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman who recently concluded visits to five key African states. Wendy Sherman shared her observations about the importance of a holistic approach to sustained political and social development, as well as economic growth.