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Download an exploration of the relationship between the proposed U.S. Department of Peace and the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that was conducted by volunteers in the Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace.
Many thanks to research team members Cindy Bigbie, Claudia Cohen, Dan Kahn and Theresa McGallicher for their work on this document, which includes data compiled through December 2008.
From the Introduction:
...The Peace Alliance website makes the point that the science of peacebuilding has significantly expanded over the past 30 years. It goes on to point out that “…nowhere in the highest echelons of our government is there a platform from which to launch a focused, strategic approach to reducing and preventing violence.”
This document is the result of an initiative by the volunteer Peace Alliance Research Team (PART) to more closely investigate existing agendas, initiatives and structures within the U.S. federal government that support violence reduction and prevention, both internationally and domestically.
The focus here is on international programs supported or implemented by the U.S. Department of State (State) and/or USAID. (Other relevant organizations include the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), a quasi-governmental agency; the Peace Corps; the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense (DoD); and the Department of Education, among others.)
If it is accurate that there is not an existing single platform for focused, strategic action toward violence prevention in the current government structure, this poses several questions. How do existing government organizations working abroad contribute to violence reduction and prevention, even if they do so independently? In what ways would a Department of Peace contribute to U.S. efforts at peacebuilding abroad? How might a Department of Peace cooperate with and/or supplement existing programs?
The information in this document was collected from State Department and USAID websites, reports, documents and employee interviews. It has been analyzed and interpreted by members of a PART sub-team. Because the scope of the material is so vast and the sources sometimes difficult to interpret, this is - by definition - a work in progress. We acknowledge in advance any inaccuracies in fact or interpretation in this document and welcome comments from reviewers in order to improve its accuracy and utility.
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