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The recent drastic restructuring of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the overtaking of the offices by DOGE, have brought to the forefront the way the current administration actions have undercut peacebuilding efforts locally and globally.
This flash panel, including George A. Lopez, the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies, Lisa Schirch, the Richard G. Starmann, Sr. Professor of the Practice of Peace Studies, Elizabeth (Liz) Hume, executive director, Alliance for Peacebuilding, and Kroc Institute Advisory Board member, Angela Lederach (Ph.D. '19), assistant professor of peace studies at Chapman University, and others will discuss the history and significance of USIP for peacebuilding around the world, including the work of the Kroc Institute. The panel will also consider the consequences these actions have on the broader policies of peacebuilding globally.
Background:
The USIP is an independent, nonprofit, national institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other peace-building measures.
Following years of proposals for a national peace academy, the USIP was established in 1984 by congressional legislation signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame and a national voice for civil and human rights, served as a member of the board of directors of USIP from 1991-2000 and as co-chairman of the USIP Building Campaign. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Hesburgh said, “Amidst all these reliquaries of wars, we are going to commit a temple of peace.” A hall was named in honor of Father Hesburgh to house the Institute's Religion and Peacemaking Center.
The USIP is officially nonpartisan and independent, receiving funding only through a congressional appropriation to prevent outside influence. The Institute is governed by a bipartisan board of directors with 15 members, which must include the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, and the president of the National Defense University. The remaining 12 members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
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Photo: The U.S. Institute of Peace's headquarters. Credit: (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Originally published at kroc.nd.edu.