The Interorganizational Global Forum (IGF) conducted in partnership with the Joint Staff J-7 serves as a platform for diverse stakeholders to consider a complex global security challenge of key importance to U.S. national security and global peace and stability. The IGF brings together civilian and military representatives from the U.S. Government, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, academia, think tanks, and the private sector, to explore different approaches to these challenges. Ultimately, the IGF seeks to improve coordination, communication and effectiveness in global responses to prevent, mitigate and resolve violent conflict.

The IGF builds on USIP’s Interorganizational Tabletop Exercise (ITX) project series, hosted in partnership with the Department of Defense’s Joint Staff J-7, which in the past examined complex crises in Somalia, the Philippines, the Lake Chad geographic area, and the Red Sea Region.

IGF 2023: Security Cooperation in the Pacific Islands 

The upcoming IGF 2023 will focus on security cooperation in the Pacific Islands region. Scheduled for September 28-29 in Washington D.C., the IGF will bring together diverse stakeholders for a full agenda on regional security issues, partnerships, and drivers of instability and resilience.

IGF 2023: Disaster Relief in the Indo-Pacific

IGF Spring 2023 considered a disaster relief scenario in the Indo-Pacific that illuminated the threat of strategic conflict. The IGF brought together key stakeholders ranging from regional civil society leaders to U.S. interagency representatives, to consider how the United States and its partners can manage a crisis in the region. It identified potential tension points and made recommendations to mitigate the risks of escalation in strategic competition, as well as offered options to optimize coordination for humanitarian assistance.

IGF 2020: State Fragility in Venezuela

IGF 2020 examined global power competition in the context of state fragility in Venezuela. The event produced concrete recommendations for how the USG and its partners can manage threats to peace and stability emanating from Russian and Chinese activities in Venezuela, while also identifying opportunities for collaboration on issues of shared concern. It also provided a conceptual framework for understanding the intersection of state fragility and global power competition that can be used in other country cases.

2019 ITX

The 2019 ITX focused on cross-regional challenges in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula where ongoing conflict, transitions, peacekeeping operations, and humanitarian operations intersect. The interstate dynamics within the Horn and the Arabian Peninsula, the impact of each region on the other, as well as regional and great power engagement and competition informed the problem set examined in the exercise. Relevant participants from the interagency, IOs, and NGOs convened to discuss the seam issues and the implications of interactions between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

2018 ITX

The 2018 ITX focused on preventing and countering violent extremism in the southern Philippines. The siege of Marawi by ISIS-affiliated extremists in 2017 highlighted the long-standing tensions between the Muslim population and the Philippine government. The reconstruction of Marawi and implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law provided improved prospects for peacebuilding. At the end of the convening, demobilization of insurgents, risk tolerance, and reliable and flexible funding were identified as key issues requiring further work to improve the effectiveness of external assistance in this watershed moment.

2017 ITX

The overarching theme of the 2017 ITX was “Transitioning from Fragility toward Stabilization and Sustainable Human Security in Somalia and the Region.” Representatives from the Department of State, Department of Defense, U.S. Agency for International Development, and a number of NGOs convened over four days to assess the impact of a potential AMISOM drawdown and eventual withdrawal from Somalia and to plan how best to ease the transition to Somali responsibility for security and governance. Recommendations from the exercise centered on how best to support the new Somali government’s priorities.

2016 ITX

The 2016 ITX focused on countering violent extremism (CVE) in the Lake Chad Basin. During the ITX, relevant actors from the across the USG as well as representatives from a number of IOs and NGOs wrestled with the uncertainties and ambiguities of CVE to compare understanding, share initiatives, discuss progress and shortcomings and explore the interplay of different CVE efforts to devise practical strategies to work together more effectively. Issues, challenges, and opportunities identified by participants were briefed to senior leaders in the concluding session of the 2016 ITX. They, in turn, tasked participating organizations and others in the community of interest to delve more deeply into the issues raised and propose concrete recommendations to address problems or shortcomings in a second senior leaders’ meeting in early 2017. Three interorganizational working groups formed to look at challenges surrounding policy synchronization, analytical CVE frameworks, as well as gaps in current learning and knowledge sharing.

2014 ITX

The 2014 ITX brought together participants from over 15 U.S. government agencies, departments, and bureaus as well as a number of NGOs and IOs to grapple with key interorganizational topics using South Sudan and Ethiopia as case studies.

Latest Publications

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

By: Nicolás Devia-Valbuena;  Keith Mines

After weeks of consultations, and amidst a near total breakdown of law and order in Haiti, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-led effort to create a new transitional governing council may be nearing completion. The council’s establishment would allow for the entry of a multinational security force that would then be able to join with the Haitian National Police and restore order. Some have suggested the inclusion of “enablers” for the new security force — air support, drones, intelligence. But to gain the trust of the Haitian people, the new governing council will need its own popular “enablers,” a systematic way to include many more sectors of Haitian society that are currently ignored or deliberately excluded from governance.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Promoting Peace and Stability in the Americas through Religious Freedom

Promoting Peace and Stability in the Americas through Religious Freedom

Thursday, March 28, 2024

By: Knox Thames

The Western Hemisphere is generally known for protecting freedom of religion or belief. With a few notable exceptions, the countries of the region all enshrine religious freedom at the constitutional level and protect it through laws and policies. But in recent years, authoritarian governments in South America have increasingly viewed religious actors as threats to their regime’s survival and tried to control or crush independent religious activity.

Type: Analysis

Religion

Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

By: Mary Glantz, Ph.D.;  Gavin Helf, Ph.D.;  Asfandyar Mir, Ph.D.;  Andrew Watkins

On Friday, terrorists attacked the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow leaving 140 people dead and 80 others critically wounded. Soon after, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist group, which is headquartered in Iraq and Syria, has several branches, including in South and Central Asia. Press reports suggest the U.S. government believes the Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), was behind the attack. The Biden administration has publicly noted that it had warned the Russian government of the terrorism threat in early March in line with the procedure of “Duty to Warn.”

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

What Does the U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution Mean for the Israel-Gaza War?

What Does the U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution Mean for the Israel-Gaza War?

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

By: Robert Barron

On March 25, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed Resolution 2728, calling for an “immediate” cease-fire in Gaza. The motion’s passage came after weeks of back and forth and posturing among the UNSC’s permanent and rotating members. The exact phrasing of the resolution and its relevance to the situation on the ground, as well as bilateral and multilateral relations — particularly U.S.-Israel ties — have been the subject of heavy public and media attention since Monday, raising questions about the resolution’s subtext, intent and limitations. USIP’s Robert Barron looks at these questions.

Type: Question and Answer

Global PolicyPeace Processes

Angela Stent on the Terror Attack in Moscow

Angela Stent on the Terror Attack in Moscow

Monday, March 25, 2024

By: Angela Stent

While ISIS has claimed responsibility for the devastating terror attack in Moscow, Putin has baselessly tried to shift the blame to Ukraine, says USIP’s Angela Stent: “[Putin] wants to use this to increase repression at home … and also to pursue a more aggressive path in Ukraine.”

Type: Podcast

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