The PeaceTech Lab will work at the intersection of technology, media, and data to devise means of reducing violent conflict around the world. It will be a collaborative space where experts in technology work with experts in conflict management and with fellows from the conflict zones themselves to imagine, develop, and deploy new tools for the field.

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Technology has shifted the power of media and mass mobilization from corporate and state-controlled organizations to communities and individuals. At the same time, new insight into human dynamics and sentiment—the DNA of conflict—is being shared on social networking sites and analyzed more rapidly and profoundly than ever before.

The confluence of these factors is producing a transformation in conflict management and peacebuilding. From Kenya to Colombia, Afghanistan to Indonesia, we are seeing media and technology being used in innovative ways to counter age-old drivers of conflict, ranging from election violence and interethnic hatred, to resource shortages and gender violence.

And we can do better. We can accelerate the development of these new tools. We can distribute them faster. And we can engage more people in early warning, early response, and collaborative problem solving.

We believe the answer lies in moving beyond ad hoc innovation towards a more deliberate model, where engineers and scientists from industry and academia work each day alongside experts in peacebuilding from government, NGOs and the conflict zones themselves. The PeaceTech Lab will be an opportunity to do just this – the first facility of its kind, located adjacent to the US Institute of Peace (USIP) on the National Mall, and in close proximity to US and international agencies with the influence and resources needed to scale new solutions. The Lab will be a separate, privately-funded non-profit organization that will work collaboratively with USIP.

The lab will have three main areas of focus:

  • TECHNOLOGY: Developing technology tools that are customized to meet the needs of citizens and organizations working for peace and positive social change in conflict zones around the world. 
  • MEDIA: Producing curriculum-based radio, television, and other multimedia content to inspire changes in attitudes and behavior.
  • DATA: Using new methods of data collection, analysis, and visualization to improve peacebuilders’ decision-making and collaboration capabilities.

Latest Publications

The Nagorno-Karabakh Imperative: Protect Civilians, Revive Diplomacy

The Nagorno-Karabakh Imperative: Protect Civilians, Revive Diplomacy

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Manon Fuchs;  Mary Glantz, Ph.D.;  Katie Ruppert;  Elizabeth Shillings

The long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh this month recaptures global attention the only way it ever has: through new bloodshed. Azerbaijan’s swift seizure of the ethnic Armenian enclave has ignited a humanitarian crisis. Most of the territory’s 120,000 residents are fleeing to Armenia, raising the specter of ethnic cleansing. The international community must urgently secure safety for civilians, long the primary victims of this war.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Is a Saudi-Israel Normalization Agreement on the Horizon?

Is a Saudi-Israel Normalization Agreement on the Horizon?

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen;  Ambassador Hesham Youssef;  Robert Barron;  Adam Gallagher

In recent months, a drumbeat has built around the U.S. effort to negotiate a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The deal would be a tectonic shift in Middle East geopolitics, but also carries major implications for other actors beyond the three negotiating parties. Israel would, of course, benefit from normalized relations with the Saudis — long seen as the “holy grail” of potential normalization agreements for the country. The Saudis, in turn, would see their interests advanced through strengthened U.S partnership in key areas. But this deal could also have serious implications for the future of the Palestinian national movement and, further afield, for the role of China in the Middle East.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Peace Processes

As China Looks to Reform Global Governance, How Does It Approach the U.N.?

As China Looks to Reform Global Governance, How Does It Approach the U.N.?

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D.;  Lyndi Tsering

As China has increasingly positioned itself as a global leader and foremost champion of the Global South, Xi Jinping and other top Communist Party officials have been vociferous in their critiques of the U.S.-led international order. Through a bevy of initiatives and proposals — like Xi’s Global Security Initiative — offered in recent years, Beijing has made clear that it wants to see a wholesale reform of global governance. At the June 2022 BRICS summit, for example, Xi called for a “new type of international relations” that rejects hegemony and zero-sum thinking. What this ultimately amounts to is Beijing’s effort to undermine U.S. global leadership as the U.S.-China rivalry intensifies.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Coordinates for Transformative Reconciliation

Coordinates for Transformative Reconciliation

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Fanie du Toit;  Angelina Mendes

Reconciliation is the long-term process that helps conflict parties build trust, learn to live together cooperatively, and create a stable peace. But what makes reconciliation genuinely transformative? This report draws on a qualitative analysis of 20 prominent reconciliation processes and interviews with experts who guided them to identify the qualities that made the processes successful. The report‘s insights and recommendations can help governments, multilateral organizations, and nongovernmental actors develop more responsive and responsible reconciliation initiatives.

Type: Peaceworks

Reconciliation

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