After three years of straight-line funding, this funding request includes a base budget of $61,000,000, which represents a zero-real-growth extension of the Institute’s FY 2025 appropriation. In addition, it seeks $4,000,000, split between operational and programmatic costs, to reestablish the Institute’s full functionality following the two-month suspension of its activities in early 2025.

Who We Are

Congress founded USIP in 1984 as an independent, nonprofit, national institution dedicated to promoting peace.

The 1984 United States Institute of Peace Act, codified in the Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1985 (P.L. 90-525) established USIP as:

“…an independent, nonprofit, national institute to serve the people and the Government through the widest possible range of education and training, basic and applied research opportunities, and peace information services on the means to promote international peace and the resolution of conflicts among the nations and peoples of the world without recourse to violence.”

USIP’s independence, by design, is fundamental to its peacebuilding work. USIP’s work in pursuit of peace is distinct from, but consonant with, the work of the U.S. Government. The Institute’s independence makes USIP a neutral interlocutor and trusted intermediary for parties in conflict and communities around the world. It enables USIP to operate in sensitive areas that, for practical or political reasons, are often inaccessible U.S. Government officials. It also enables USIP, consistent with its mission and priorities, to serve as a neutral facilitator and expert peacebuilding resource for U.S. officials, parties in conflict, foreign governments, brokers of peace, and the wider conflict resolution community.

For over 40 years, in accordance with its statutory mandate, the Institute has served as an essential resource on conflict resolution and peacebuilding for Congress, the Executive Branch, peace practitioners, and the American people. As a resource to Congress, the Institute regularly briefs Members and Staff, provides expert testimony and background information for Committee hearings, conducts simulations and peace games, and convenes Congressionally-mandated senior study groups. Since the submission of its FY 2025 Congressional Budget Justification, the Institute has conducted 333 Congressional briefings.

USIP develops peacebuilding tools that are available to complement and strengthen the work of Executive Branch agencies. The Institute leverages its partnerships with non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, international organizations, the private sector, and local organizations to deepen its knowledge and expertise, strengthen its training and education activities, and foster the development of the next generation of peacebuilders.

What We Do

USIP’s core strength is its ability to leverage a broad cross-section of activities, from training to research and peacebuilding programs, in support of all of those working to build peace in countries and regions around the globe. The Institute will accomplish its mission in FY 2026 by continuing to apply these time-tested peacebuilding tools:

1. Training negotiators, mediators, diplomats, and other frontline peacebuilders in effective peacemaking techniques, so that they are better equipped to work together to end destabilizing conflicts.
2. Sending peacebuilding specialists to work with counterparts around the world to reduce conflict and advance peace.
3. Providing field-tested research, briefings, tools, convenings, and strategic gaming exercises to Congress, the military, diplomats, and religious and civil society actors.
4. Serving the American people directly by connecting them with resources on America’s heritage and enduring commitment to peace since our nation’s founding.

Programmatic Priorities

In FY 2025, escalating geopolitical competition and regional tensions have combined with the disruptive impacts of terrorist groups, transnational organized crime, gang violence, and mass migration to increase the intensity and complexity of violent conflicts. These trends endanger peace and put U.S. interests at risk. Based on that context, in FY 2026, USIP will focus on four programmatic priorities:

• Understanding and applying peacebuilding approaches to help address the destabilizing influence of China, Russia, and other strategic rivals in fragile states.
• Directly addressing the factors — such as criminal networks, violent extremism, gang violence, and unresolved grievances — that drive violent conflict, destabilize communities, and contribute to mass migration.
• Assessing and leveraging peacebuilding tools to help address the threat posed by ISIS and other terrorist networks.
• Developing effective de-escalation and deterrence strategies to reduce the risk of local, regional, and international conflict.

Flagship Activities in FY26

In FY 2026, USIP will pursue these four programmatic priorities by undertaking a coordinated series of priority peacebuilding activities:

• USIP will continue to focus on researching and developing strategies regarding China, with a particular focus on the Taiwan Strait. USIP will continue to deepen understanding of how China’s cooperation with Russia, Iran, North Korea and other strategic rivals threatens peace around the world. USIP will leverage its signature peace gaming tools to explore challenges and identify opportunities in the Arctic, amidst growing Russian and Chinese engagement.
• At a time of heightened tension in South Asia, USIP will build on its deep regional expertise and relationships in India and Pakistan to support conflict management and develop peacebuilding capacity.
• Building on its work on transnational crime in Southeast Asia, and China’s key role in it, USIP will be a valuable resource for policymakers in the region and in Washington, researching and developing options for countering destabilizing criminal activity.
• USIP will develop analysis and options for advancing the peace process in the strategically important Bangsamoro region of the southern Philippines, and for strengthening the capacity of local actors to counter China’s aggressive behavior in the region.
• Amidst the rise of multiple nuclear powers, the Institute will deepen its work on strategic stability, including producing a report by a leading panel of experts on enhancing strategic stability between the United States and Russia.
• Building on its cutting-edge work on critical minerals in Africa, USIP will work to identify ways to manage and mitigate conflicts on the Continent and in other regions, where these minerals are mined.
• USIP will continue to leverage its privileged partnerships with regional leaders and actors to help de-escalate tensions in Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa, and the strategic Red Sea region.
• USIP will leverage its decades of experience in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria to help counter the disruptive influence of ISIS and other terrorist organizations. This work will include continued support for the implementation of the Global Fragility Act.
• USIP will research and provide practical recommendations for restoring stability in Haiti, and for dismantling criminal organizations in Latin America, including Chinese money laundering linked to the fentanyl trade.
• USIP will expand opportunities for educators, students, and the public across America to take courses and engage practitioners on peacebuilding globally.

Regional Priorities

In FY 2026, USIP will resume its peacebuilding activities internationally. The funding sought in this request will enable the re-establishment of the Institute’s field presence in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. As it has done for 40 years, USIP’s work around the world will continue to reflect core American values.

Cost-Effectiveness and Accountability

USIP remains committed to the highest standards of good stewardship of U.S. taxpayer dollars in pursuit of its mission. The Institute works directly with leaders and organizations on the ground, eliminating the need for unnecessary layers of bureaucracy. The Institute will continue to utilize independent evaluations, stakeholder validation, and continuous learning to measure its programmatic effectiveness. It will continue to subject its financial management to rigorous, independent, and outside audits. USIP is seizing the opportunity of the challenges it has faced this year to re-evaluate its priorities and approaches, to ensure that it carries out its responsibilities to Congress and the American people with maximum effectiveness.