Events at USIP

Since taking office in August 2018, Colombia’s government has sought to devise new strategies to advance peace and security in a country long plagued by armed conflict and organized criminal violence. Political consensus around peace, however, has remained elusive.  The United States Institute of Peace, the Inter-American Dialogue, and the Woodrow Wilson Center on Tuesday, December 11th hosted a conversation with three prominent members of the Colombian Senate’s Peace Commission. Speakers:Roy BarrerasSenator, Partido de la Unidad Nacional Michael CamilleriDirector, Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program, The Inter-American Dialogue Iván Cepeda Senator, Polo Democrático Alternativo Paloma ValenciaSenator, Centro Democrático Steve Hege, moderator Senior Expert on Colombia, U.S. Institute of Peace

The world’s most violent conflicts are being fought within its most youthful populations. In the five countries that suffered nearly 80 percent of recent deaths from violent extremism, half of all people were younger than 22. The youth in these countries are also some of their communities’ most effective peacebuilders and best hopes for breaking cycles of violence. On December 12, USIP streamed a forum with thought leader and youth leader participants from USIP’s Youth Leaders’ Exchange with His Holiness the Dalai Lama discussing what it takes to build inner resilience and how to apply it to peacebuliding. Speakers:Wadi Ben-HirkiFounder, Wadi Ben-Hriki Foundation (Nigeria) Jimmie BriggsExecutive Director, Leave Out Violence-U.S., (U.S.) Meron KochoMember of Council, MESPO-Iraq (Iraq) Maya Soetoro-NgAdvisor, Obama Foundation (U.S.) Gregg ZoroyaEditorial Writer, USA Today (U.S)

Trends in global terrorism change every year. From fragile states to urban megacities, data shows how many societies are impacted by violence. But, how does this data help prevent and counter violent extremism?  The findings of the sixth annual edition of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) provide data on the evolving trends of global terrorism that are useful for policy, programming and research.

Over the last two decades, policy frameworks like the Women, Peace and Security agenda, provide a valuable platform for advocacy efforts. Yet such approaches do not tackle the underlying issue of gender inequality. As researchers have documented, where there is less gender equality there is less peace.  The U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted this discussion examining how policies and programs can be shaped to better prevent the use of sexual violence and re-establish secure environments when it does occur. 

Do postwar peacebuilding interventions work to keep peace? How do we measure the effectiveness of such international interventions? Join former USIP Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow Pamina Firchow as she discusses her findings on how to measure the impact of local-level interventions on communities affected by war. 

Global adversaries, especially states like Russia, China and Iran, use sharp power tools of coercion, disinformation and proxy campaigns to achieve their geopolitical goals and weaken Western influence.  Former U.S. ambassadors Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) discussed their views on how soft power tools can and should be used to counter sharp power employed by global adversaries at USIP’s seventh Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue Speakers:Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL)19th Congressional District of Florida, U.S. House of Representatives Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA)8th Congressional District of Virginia, U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Lindborg, moderator President, U.S. Institute of Peace

As the loss of ISIS territory drives thousands of “foreign terrorist fighters” to return home, and hundreds of people convicted of terrorism-related offenses are scheduled for release over the next several years, communities worldwide are faced with rehabilitating and reintegrating people disengaging from violent extremism. USIP hosted this discussion of how policies and programs can address trauma and reduce stigma to foster cross-cutting affiliations and social learning, enable rehabilitation, and ease reintegration for people disengaging from extremist violence. Panelists: Jesse MortonFounder and Co-director, Parallel Networks, and co-author of the forthcoming report, “When Terrorists Come Home: The Need for Rehabilitating and Reintegrating America’s Convicted Jihadists” Dr. James GordonFounder and Executive Director, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine Dr. Sousan AbadianFranklin Fellow, Office of International Religious Freedom, Department of State Stacey SchamberSenior Program Officer, International Civil Society Action Network Colette Rausch, moderatorSenior Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace

The 2018 National Defense Strategy asserts that the United States is emerging from a post-Cold War period of “strategic atrophy.” On October 30, 2018, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a discussion with Secretary Mattis on how the National Defense Strategy seeks to meet the shared challenges of our time through strengthening and evolving America’s strategic alliances and partnerships. 

One in five elections worldwide is marred by violence—from burned ballot boxes to violent suppression of peaceful rallies, to assassinations of candidates. A USIP study of programs to prevent violence suggests focusing on improving the administration and policing of elections. The study, of elections in Kenya and Liberia, found no evidence that programs of voter consultation or peace messaging were effective there.  A series of speakers discussed these findings. Speakers:Pat Merloe Senior Associate and Director for Election Programs, NDI John TomaszewskiAfrica Director, IRI Joshua ChangwonyDeputy Executive Secretary, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO, Kenya) Oscar Bloh Chairman, Elections Coordination Committee (ECC, Liberia) Inken von BorzyskowskiAssistant Professor, Florida State University Jonas Claes, facilitatorSenior Program Officer, Center for Applied Conflict Transformation, USIP Debra Liang-Fenton, facilitatorSenior Program Officer, Center for Applied Conflict Transformation, USIP

Jessica Baumgardner-ZuzikDirector of Learning & Evaluation, Alliance for Peacebuilding Michael FindleyProfessor of Government and Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin Lise Morjé HowardAssociate Professor of Government, Georgetown University Renard SextonPostdoctoral Fellow, Princeton University and International Crisis Group Rebecca WolfeDirector of Evidence & Influence, Mercy Corps  

Maciej BartkowskiPhD, John Hopkins University Sarah MendelsonDistinguished Service Professor of Public Policy and Head of Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University Dmytro PotekhinFounder and CEO, FakesRadar.org Moderator: Charles NorthSenior Advisor, Ukraine, U.S. Institute of Peace

PeaceCon Welcome and Keynote Address:Ambassador Bill TaylorVice President, U.S. Institute of Peace Liz HumeVicePresident, and Acting CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding Robert BurkeChairman, Alliance for Peacebuilding General Anthony ZinniU.S. Marine Corps (Retired) Thomas StaalCounselor, USAID, Keynote   Global Policy Frameworks on Sustaining Peace - A Call for Collaborative and Collective Action: Larry AttreeHead of Policy, Saferworld Rosarie TucciDirector of Inclusive Societies, U.S. Institute of Peace Darynell Rodriguez TorresExecutive Director, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict David StevenAssociate Director, Center on International Cooperation, New York University Katy Thompson Team Leader – Conflict Prevention/Rule of Law, Justice, Security & Human Rights, Bureau for Programme and Policy Support, United Nations Development Programme Moderator: Gary Milante, Director, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Peace and Development Programme  

Peacebuilding work matters, but we still struggle to show evidence of where interventions have led to positive outcomes, such as a clear reduction in violence or increased cooperation. The Peacebuilding M&E Solutions Forum is an opportunity for practitioners to come together, network and connect with people working in this space, and share best practices, lessons learned, results, and evidence from across the broad spectrum of M&E activities on peacebuilding programming. This event is co-hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Alliance for Peacebuilding. Speakers: Amb. William TaylorExecutive Vice President, USIP Keith B. Ives CEO, Causal Design Jon Kurtz Director of Research and Learning, Mercy Corps David Hammond Director of Research, Institute for Economics and Peace Andrew Blum Executive Director, Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Beza Tesfaye Senior Researcher, Mercy Corps

Why do peacebuilders sometimes succeed and sometimes fail, even within the same country? Why can organizations not guarantee the same results from the same policies? In her newly published book, Global Governance and Local Peace: Accountability and Performance in International Peacebuilding, Susanna Campbell dives into why peacebuilding organizations often fail and presents one of the keys to success: local actors that force organizations to stay accountable to local peacebuilding goals. Speakers:Susanna CampbellAssistant Professor, School of International Service, American University Michael BarnettProfessor, International Affairs and Political Science, The George Washington University Mike JobbinsSenior Director of Partnerships and Engagement, Search for Common Ground Kate Somvongsiri Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development Leanne Erdberg, moderatorDirector, Countering Violent Extremism, The U.S. Institute of Peace

A groundbreaking new monograph, “When Civil Resistance Succeeds: Building Democracy After Popular Nonviolent Uprisings,” by Jonathan Pinckney,  demonstrates that nonviolent movements make democratic transitions more likely and lead to stronger democracies. The U.S. Institute of Peace and ICNC hosted a presentation by Dr. Pinckney followed by a panel discussion. The event provided key takeaways for activists and organizers, democratization experts, as well as external actors interested in supporting nonviolent movements, particularly prior to and during democratic transition.