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 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.
U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a public discussion with Afghan Minister of Counter-Narcotics, Minister Zarar Ahamad Muqbel Osmani, on the state of counternarcotics issues and policies in Afghanistan. A panel discussion followed with Governor Wesa of Kandahar, Governor Naeem of Helmand, Governor Kupalwak of Farah, and Deputy Minister of the Interior Ahmadi.
The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a panel discussion on May 30, 2013 from 10:00 am until 11:30 am on USIP’s new PeaceWorks, “Understanding Pakistan’s Water-Security Nexus”, and the opportunities and pitfalls of peacebuilding through environmental policy in South Asia.
Afghanistan's current transition - involving drawdown of international combat troops and hand-over of security responsibilities to Afghan security forces as well as reductions in international aid - is now well into its second year. Along with the security and political dimensions (including the next cycle of presidential and parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2015, respectively), the economic transition is an important factor influencing the success of the overall transition process.
In the aftermath of the summit meeting between presidents Obama and Karzai on January 11th, many questions still remain regarding the upcoming security, political and economic transitions in Afghanistan, and the impact these various transitions will have on future peace and stability in Afghanistan. On January 25th, USIP hosted a two-panel event with leading experts on Afghanistan and Pakistan to discuss some of the major challenges and opportunities for peace and political stability in Afgha...
Even though the private sector accounts for more than three-quarters of capital inflows to the developing world, relatively little work as been done to fully understand the role that businesses could play in promoting peace and economic progress. On December 7th USIP convened two panels to explore how entrepreneurship and the private sector can stabilize societies. Read the event coverage, Chevron in Angola, Entrepreneur in Haiti Help Make Business Case for Sustained Peace
Creating a sound economic policy and a stable macroeconomic framework is essential to societies recovering from violent conflict, yet few practitioners have the background needed to apply economic concepts effectively.
In May 2012, Education Above All, a Doha-based education group, commissioned papers from practitioners and thematic experts that map and analyze the most widely used of different curricula, collectively designated as “education for global citizenship,” and the policies that have accompanied their implementation. To explore the findings of this research, the project director, technical adviser and expert on conflict and education, Margaret Sinclair, discuss these research findings with experts...
In recent decades, civil wars have caused more deaths than any other form of organized mass violence. Between 2000 and 2010, an extraordinary 90 percent of civil wars were recurrences of earlier wars, according to the World Bank’s 2011 World Development Report. This event will bring together experts on civil war, the success of post-war peace agreements, and deeply divided societies to discuss the key elements that contribute to the success or failure of post-civil war peace.
USIP’s Center for Gender and Peacebuilding, in collaboration with Kate Spade New York and Women for Women International, convened experts to explore the impact of private business and civil society partnerships on women's empowerment in the post-conflict contexts of Afghanistan, Bosnia and Rwanda.