Events At Usip

In this discussion, we’ll ask how the United States and the international community can address these national security challenges. How should U.S. assistance be prioritized and allocated? What is the difference between stabilizing a country versus nation building? How can the international community help a country like Syria? What lessons can be learned from efforts in countries, such as Nigeria and Colombia, preventing violence? And ultimately, how can we get ahead of the underlying causes of fragility that lead to and perpetuate violent conflict? Speakers: Joshua Johnson, Moderator Host, NPR’s 1A Nancy Lindborg President, U.S. Institute of Peace Ilan Goldenberg Director, Middle East Security Program, Center for a New American Security Kimberly Kagan Founder and President, The Institute for the Study of War  

President Ghani’s announcement at last week’s Kabul Process Conference of a peace offer to the Taliban was a potential watershed in the Afghan peace process, and arguably the most forward-leaning plan for peace with the Taliban the Afghan government has ever put forward. Ambassador Alice Wells, the Senior Bureau Official in the Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, leads the Afghan peace effort for the U.S. government and has freshly returned from Afghanistan, where she attended the Kabul Process Conference. Listen to Ambassador Wells speak on the significance of these events, the U.S. government’s potential response, and the outlook for Afghan peace going forward.

Every March 8th, International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide as a time to reflect on the achievements and contributions of women. In 2018, USIP will celebrate the day by hosting an event where filmmakers and policy advocates discuss how film has been an innovative tool for translating policy frameworks into social change. Documentaries and movies can take the tenets of policy frameworks and make them tangible. Civil resistance is most successful when women are engaged, and seeing this in live action can catalyze movements into action. This event will bring together the worlds of film and policy to celebrate the progress that has been made in advancing women’s roles in peace and security, and spreading their stories.

Violent conflict today is surging after decades of relative decline. Direct deaths in war, refugee numbers, military spending, and terrorist incidents have all reached historic highs in recent years. Today, the consequences of failing to act together are alarmingly evident, and the call for urgent action has perhaps never been clearer. To answer this call, the United Nations and the World Bank Group are launching their joint study, “Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict” to share how defense, diplomacy, and development should work together to successfully keep conflict from becoming violent.

The U.S. Institute of Peace is honoring Nelson Mandela’s life, work, and passion for peace by establishing the Nelson Mandela Lecture series. His deep commitment to peace continues to inspire our work and imbues us with a spirit of hope that it is possible to overcome all obstacles standing in the way of a better world. As Mandela said, “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Nelson Mandela embodied much of what the USIP teaches and trains about conflict resolution: an understanding of when and how to negotiate and the courage to assume the ultimate responsibility for peace.

USIP’s Religion & Peacebuilding Center held a public event on March 16th featuring Zahra Langhi from the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace. At the event, USIP Senior Program Officer Palwasha Kakar and Ms. Langhi offered an overview of the assessment/mapping of Libyan religious actors’ and institutions’ impact on conflict and peace dynamics in Libya.