Washington, D.C.— In “Preventing the Next Wave of Conflict” the Wilson Center’s Conflict Prevention Project releases the product of more than one year of research and deliberation by more than 50 experts. This analysis of non-traditional threats to national security reaches some important conclusions regarding the ways in which national security and global stability are compromised by economic and social disparities, failures in political and economic governance, demographic trends, environmental degradation and natural resource shortages, and health crises. While the reasons for conflict portrayed by media and governments tend to emphasize militaristic threats or ideological and cultural differences, this new report brings to light the underlying factors that lead some nations and people to resort to violence.

The release of the report coincides with the announcement of a new partnership between the Wilson Center and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to explore the connections between conflict prevention and development assistance. On October 15, USAID administrator Andrew Natsios spoke at a Wilson Center Director’s Forum on this complex issue. A summary of this meeting will be available here soon.


The Conflict Prevention Project, building on the work begun by the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, attempts to develop more effective strategies for conflict prevention. With an emphasis on prevention, the Project broadens the understanding of how hard-edged policy analysis of conflict prevention may be infused into decision-making and planning at the highest levels of this government and others.

The goals of the Project are to create a forum for dialogue and exchange between policymakers, scholars and practitioners; to contribute knowledge, experience, and suggestions for implementing conflict prevention strategies; and to encourage policy focus and coordination efforts in the conflict prevention communities.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living, national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds, engaged in the study of national and world affairs. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue.