Peter Mandaville is a senior advisor for USIP’s religion and inclusive societies team. 

He brings 25 years of academic, think tank and government experience focusing on the intersection of religion, international affairs and the Muslim-majority world. At USIP, he leads an initiative focused on the security and peacebuilding implications of religion in the external relations of great powers — with a particular focus on the Western Balkans, Ukraine, China and India.

From 2011-2012, Mandaville was a member of the U.S. State Department’s policy planning staff, where he was involved in shaping the U.S. response to the Arab Spring. From 2015-2016, he served as a senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary of State, where he helped set up the new Office of Religion and Global Affairs. Previous affiliations have included the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Pew Research Center.

Mandaville is the author of the books “Islam & Politics” and “Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma,” in addition to several co-edited books, numerous journal articles, book chapters, op-eds and commentary pieces in outlets such as Foreign Affairs, the International Herald Tribune, The Guardian, The Atlantic Online and Foreign Policy.

He has testified multiple times before Congress on topics such as political Islam, U.S. counterterrorism policy and human rights in the Middle East. His previous research has been supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Social Science Research Council, the British Council and the Henry Luce Foundation.

In addition to his role at USIP, Mandaville is also a professor of international affairs in the Schar School of Policy and Government and the director of the AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies, both at George Mason University. He is also a senior research fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.
 

Publications By Peter

War and the Church in Ukraine

War and the Church in Ukraine

Thursday, March 14, 2024

By: Peter Mandaville, Ph.D.

Vladimir Putin’s war to reverse Ukraine’s independence includes religion. For centuries, the Russian Orthodox Church bolstered Moscow’s rule by wielding ecclesiastical authority over Ukrainian churches. Since early 2019, Ukraine has had a self-governing Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has sharpened tensions between it and the rival branch historically linked to Moscow. Any conciliation between them could shrink areas for conflict — and the Kremlin’s ability to stir chaos — in a postwar Ukraine. It would bolster Ukraine’s future stability and reinforce a decline in Russia’s historically massive influence across the Orthodox Christian world. But can Ukrainians make that happen?

Type: Analysis

Religion

One Vital Change Can Advance Long-Term Peace in Ukraine

One Vital Change Can Advance Long-Term Peace in Ukraine

Thursday, July 20, 2023

By: Peter Mandaville, Ph.D.

While NATO’s recent summit consolidated the transatlantic consensus that a peaceful Europe requires a democratic and inclusive Ukraine, Ukrainians’ heroic struggle for that democracy must overcome old corruptions, plus new traumas inflicted by Vladimir Putin’s war. A pillar of any democracy is civil society — the constellation of citizens’ groups that, more than government, can understand and heal domestic conflicts. So as international partners support Ukraine’s rebuilding from war, we must urgently engage its vibrant civil society — not as a mere adjunct to government efforts, but as a primary designer and engine of the political and cultural changes that peace will require.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceGlobal Policy

Dislodging Putin’s Foothold in the Balkans

Dislodging Putin’s Foothold in the Balkans

Thursday, June 1, 2023

By: Harun Karčić;  Peter Mandaville, Ph.D.

The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the Balkans can only be understood by considering Moscow’s malign influence in the region from a broader perspective. While Russia has specific objectives related to each individual country in the region, its overall objective is clearly to target the Western Balkans through a divide and rule approach, using multiple tools of influence. While the United States and its European partners focus on the war in Ukraine, Russia is taking the opportunity to nibble away at NATO’s borders and to sow discord in countries hoping to some day present a strong case for joining the European Union.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

The U.S. Strategy for International Religious Engagement: 10 Years On

The U.S. Strategy for International Religious Engagement: 10 Years On

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

By: Peter Mandaville, Ph.D.;  Julia Schiwal

In 2013, the United States adopted its first ever “National Strategy on Integrating Religious Leader and Faith Community Engagement into U.S. Foreign Policy.” This White House strategy acknowledged the significant contributions of religious leaders and faith communities to human rights, global health and development, and conflict mitigation; and provided an interagency blueprint for integrating more robust engagement with religious actors across a broad range of foreign policy and national security issues. A decade later religious engagement remains a vital but underdeveloped capacity in U.S. foreign policy, and the strategy’s 10th anniversary offers a natural opportunity to revitalize strategic thinking and spur new action on this agenda.

Type: Analysis

Religion

The Latest: Three Things to Know About Religious Engagement in U.S. Foreign Policy

The Latest: Three Things to Know About Religious Engagement in U.S. Foreign Policy

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

By: Shaun Casey;  Kirsten Evans;  Capt. Wayne MacRae;  Peter Mandaville, Ph.D.

To ignore religious views and leaders in U.S. foreign policy would be to ignore a major part of what shapes societies, as religious actors often act as an anchor for communities and occupy a position of trust and influence. In recognition of this, the White House released the first-ever national strategy on religious leader and faith community engagement in U.S. foreign policy in 2013. A decade later, USIP gathered some of the key players who contributed to the strategy to reflect on the importance of long-term U.S. religious engagement abroad, lessons learned from the last decade and why relationships with religious actors are not just good for U.S. national security, but for global security more broadly.

Type: Blog

Religion

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