Past Events

On September 7, 2011, the U.S. Institute of Peace was pleased to host Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer to discuss the multilateral side of U.S. foreign policy and the Obama administration's efforts at the United Nations, including the administration's priorities for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session.

The Center for Sustainable Economies at the United States Institute of Peace will host a two-day eSeminar in partnership with Economists for Peace and Security on August 3-4, 2011 to consider effective economic reconstruction strategies for countries/regions that have been affected by violent conflict. 

Four Francophone states in West Africa have recently held elections.  In three, new presidents have taken office in processes that followed protracted periods of conflict and disputed rule; in Benin, a reelected incumbent has continued a democratic tradition of 20 years' standing.  Despite the fact that the outcomes of some of these elections have been disputed, they nevertheless represent steps toward strengthening democracy in the region.  This USIP event takes place in the past, please view the Webcast, Audio, or photos.

Major General Elassar of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will sit down with Professor William Quandt to discuss the trajectory of Egypt's transition period; the pace and shape of reform; the ongoing demands of protesters and the role of the military in the country's future.

Webcast: This event will be webcast live beginning at 12:15pm EST on July 25, 2011 at www.usip.org/webcast.

Note: Seating space for this event is limited. Seats are available on a first come, first served basis. We encourage visitors to arrive early.

On July 19, USIP held a full day conference that explored transformations inside North Korea that have significant implications for the regime and the U.S.’s North Korea policy. A group of Seoul-based North Korean defectors spoke at the conference and shared their unique experiences and operational insights from conducting business in the informal markets.

On June 1st, the Colombian Congress passed the ‘Victims and Land Restitution Law’, which constitutes the first piece of legislation enacted to redress the suffering caused to millions of victims and internally displaced persons by the country’s internal conflict. The implementation of the law is likely to face enormous challenges, particularly regarding the safety and protection of victims and human rights defenders. USIP and partners convened a public event to discuss these issues.

As the world seeks to shrink global stockpiles of nuclear weapons, uneasy neighbors India and Pakistan continue to modernize their arsenals. On July 18, USIP hosted a discussion on South Asia's nuclear dangers, and the ways in which the U.S. can support confidence building measures to decrease the threat of nuclear conflict.

For two years, USIP Senior Fellow Robin Wright tracked the tectonic political shifts that culminated in the uprisings across the Middle East. USIP is pleased to host an in-depth discussion with leading Middle East analyst Robin Wright on the publication of her new book, "Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion across the Islamic World."

Webcast: This event will be webcast live beginning at 10:00am EST on July 18, 2011 at www.usip.org/webcast.

The U.S. Institute of Peace is marking South Sudan’s independence with a half-day conference highlighting views from the ground and the U.S. policy community toward the new country.

In light of the national security importance of India-Pakistan relations, USIP supports two Track-II dialogues on normalization between the two nuclear powers. On July 12, USIP convened a discussion with key participants from these dialogues and Congressional experts for a look ahead at outcomes to expect from reemerging official dialogue between India and Pakistan, and what these talks could mean for stability in South Asia.

Former USIP writer-in-residence, renowned journalist and Edward R. Murrow Professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, Marvin Kalb visited for a roundtable discussion of his new book, Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama. Co-authored with his daughter, Deborah Kalb, this timely publication explores the lasting legacy of America’s lost war in Vietnam and how it continues to impact U.S. policymaking and U.S. foreign policy to this day. 

Seven U.S. federal agencies spend billions annually on training and equipping foreign police. On July 8, field experts from USAID, the Justice Department, the Defense Department, and USIP examined innovative new approaches to U.S. foreign police assistance and introduced USAID's new Field Guide.

On June 30, 2011, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted an international conference on Security Sector Transformation in North Africa and the Middle East. 

Upon the publication of "Pandemics and Peace: Public Health Cooperation in Zones of Conflict" (USIP Press, June 2011), panelists Dr. Jose Fernandez, Dr. Allyn Taylor, and author Dr. William J. Long discussed the relationship between pandemics and peace.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made her third visit to USIP on Friday, June 24, 2011 for a speech that addressed key political, economic and social issues affecting her country and the region. Audio, Video and Photos are available on the event page.