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 July 19, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Washington Office on Latin America, the Latin American Working Group, the Colombian Human Rights Committee, the Center for Justice & International Law, and the Inter-American Dialogue hosted a public conversation with three prominent DLP leaders on their vision for this unique civil society platform.
To celebrate National Women’s History Month, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the 2020 One Woman, One Vote Festival will host an intergenerational discussion among women nonviolent activists.
A groundbreaking new monograph, “When Civil Resistance Succeeds: Building Democracy After Popular Nonviolent Uprisings,” by Jonathan Pinckney, published by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC), demonstrates that nonviolent movements make democratic transitions more likely and lead to stronger democracies.
After two five-year terms and multiple delayed elections during the controversial presidency of Joseph Kabila, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has scheduled presidential elections for December 2018. Although hopes are high, and several Congolese contenders have publicly announced their intentions for candidacy, popular frustrations and distrust of President Kabila, whose term expired in December 2016, continue to fuel fears of rigged elections.
Ten years ago, the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary for its powerful depiction of the nonviolent women’s movement that helped bring an end to Liberia’s bloody civil war. Since its release, producers and directors have taken up the challenge to tell the stories of the often-invisible lives of women in conflict – producing stories in countries like Bosnia, Libya, Afghanistan, Colombia, Pakistan and Rwanda. These films have brought forward women’s critical voices to the stories of war and peace, and amplified the global agenda of Women, Peace and Security.
To commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a series of expert panels on Facebook focused on this combination of peacebuilding and nonviolent action.
On October 23, leaders from citizens’ campaigns in Guatemala, Ukraine and Burkina Faso explored how international actors can find synergy—and better curtail corruption—with grassroots movements.
New research highlights how communities use cohesion and social structures to non-violently influence armed groups—a capacity that governments and institutions often fail to recognize. On October 2, USIP convened a discussion on such community self-protection, and how policymaking might better support it in conflict zones such as in Syria or Afghanistan.
After decades in which the fields of nonviolent action and conflict resolution have evolved separately, new reports underscore that they need to collaborate to prevent social conflicts from turning violent and to build more inclusive societies. On July 26, USIP and its partners reviewed this research and discussed how these distinct paths for seeking sustainable peace can be better combined.
The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted former President Motlanthe on May 9 to discuss his views on democracy in South Africa and the national elections in 2019.