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The Fund for Peace is an independent, nonpartisan research and educational organization that works to prevent war and alleviate the conditions that cause conflict. We promote sustainable security through research, training and education, engagement of civil society, building bridges across diverse sectors, and developing innovative technologies and tools for policy makers.
OUR FOCUS
A leader in the conflict assessment and early warning field, the FfP focuses on the problems of weak and failing states. Our objective is to create practical tools and approaches for conflict mitigation that are useful to decision-makers.
WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE
• The FfP adopts a holistic approach to the issues stemming from weak and failing states. We work at both the grassroots level with civil society actors and at policy levels with key decision makers. • The FfP has worked in over 50 countries with a wide range of partners in all sectors: governments, international organizations, the military , nongovernmental organizations, academics, journalists, civil society networks, and the private sector. • Combining social science techniques with information technology, we have produced the patented Conflict Assessment System Tool (CAST), a content analysis software product that provides a conceptual framework and a data gathering technique for measuring conflict risk. • We produce The Failed States Index, an annual ranking of 177 countries across 12 indicators, that is published by Foreign Policy magazine.
OUR APPROACH The FfP offers a wide range of initiatives focused on our central objective of promoting sustainable security, the ability of a state to solve its own problems peacefully without an external military or administrative prsence. Our activities relate to six interconnected themes: Conflict Assessment; Early warning and State Building; Peace and Stability Operations; Foreign Policy; Civil Society & Human Rights; and Sustainable Development.
FEATURED INITIATIVES The FfP is constantly innovating to diminish the threats stemming from weak and failing states. The Center for the Study of Threat Convergence seeks to explore the linkages between weak and failing states, terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The uniqueness of this project lies in the fact that it is designed to engage specialists systematically across different security fields to focus jointly on the emerging challenges of threat convergence and to conduct field research in vulnerable regions to develop appropriate policy responses. This initiative closes a gap in the state-centric approaches that define most WMD policies. Read More To address at-risk states, the Early Warning and State Building Initiative link early warning with state building policies. In one project we are identifying the main precursors of conflict dominant in vulnerable regions and forecast the likelihood of an outbreak of violence at least six months in advance. This ability to assess and forecast the onset of internal conflict will allow more effective policy responses to prevent and mitigate conflict. In another project, we work with local civil society organizations for early warning on the ground. Read More Working with the private sector, the FfP has long recognized that companies are an essential part of creating sustainable societies. Our Human Rights and Business Roundtable has facilitated confidential dialogues between representatives of the extractive industry, nongovernmental  organizations and representatives of governments and multinational organizations in Washington DC since 1997, and it is being applied as a model of dialogue to other countries. Our newest initiative, Better Business for Better Communities, assists companies in the extractive sector to maximize their potential to make a positive impact in communities in which they operate. Read More
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