DIIS seminar: New US Approaches to Conflict Prevention and Peace Building

TID: Torsdag d. 24. oktober kl. 09.15–11.00

STED: Dansk Institut for Internationale Studier (DIIS), Main Auditorium, Østbanegade 117, ground floor, 2100 København Ø.

New US Approaches to Conflict Prevention and Peace Building

TID: Torsdag d. 24. oktober kl. 09.15–11.00

STED: Dansk Institut for Internationale Studier (DIIS), Main Auditorium, Østbanegade 117, ground floor, 2100 København Ø.

New US Approaches to Conflict Prevention and Peace Building

Conflict prevention and peace building have long been on the international agenda. For several years, however, they have stood in the shadow of questions related to military intervention and state building. In light of the limited success of the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan and the constraints following the financial crisis this may be about to change.

The American appetite for large-scale military interventions has dampened considerably and spurred a growing interest in how to prevent armed conflicts.

Likewise, whereas state building remains a major preoccupation of the donor community, leading actors have increasingly had to realize that there are limits to how fast and how effectively they can contribute to building legitimate state structures in areas where formal state institutions have long been weak or even absent.

This has fuelled an interest in the issue of resilience and the need to build on and strengthen structures and resources that already exists in societies. Perhaps the concept of peace building, after having been largely associated with state building during the 2000s, is once again gaining a life of its own?

The UK government has recently turned “upstream conflict prevention” into a main objective of its foreign policy. Along the same lines, the Danish government recently issued a new “stabilization policy” that emphasised prevention as the main road to stability. But what is going on in this field in the US? How is the nexus between security and development currently being understood and framed in American policy circles?

The seminar will be held in English.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Get more info and sign up here: http://en.diis.dk/home/seminars/2013/new+us+approaches+to+conflict+prevention+and+peace+building no later than Wednesday, 23 October 2013 at 12.00 noon.

Please await confirmation by e-mail from DIIS for participation.