War Prevention Initiative

Our vision is a world beyond war where humanity is united and a global system of peace with justice prevails for current and future generations. Our mission is to transform the global peace and security paradigm to one that is built around viable alternatives to war and all forms of political violence. To achieve this we research, advocate for and advance knowledge on practices that demonstrate the effectiveness of nonviolence and challenge militarism. Our areas of focus are: Demilitarizing security Underlying assumptions and norms in traditional security discourse emphasize militarized approaches to political conflict to achieve security. By rethinking what makes us secure, we seek to identify opportunities to challenge militarism in the U.S. and on a global level. The end result is a radically transformed concept of security that prioritizes a global, shared security paradigm that is cognizant of the lived experience(s) of individuals and communities, particularly those made more vulnerable by security threats or whose voices are often overlooked by traditional security discourse. Managing political conflict without violence Violence is often considered an undesirable yet inevitable characteristic of political conflict. By demonstrating the effectiveness of nonviolent responses to political conflict, we advocate for the rejection of political violence and instead promote the many viable alternatives. The end result is a global expectation/standard that political conflicts are managed without violence.