The IISS Conflict Management Programme provides in-depth, authoritative analysis on conflicts and conflict management themes, particularly within three core themes: conflict prevention, conflict intervention, and post-conflict stabilisation and reconstruction. Whereas the Conflict Programme is focused on active conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan, the Conflict Management Programme concentrates on smaller, lower-intensity, ongoing conflicts that are often limited to the state or regional level. The broad nature of the Conflict Management Programme allows it to focus on specific conflicts and regions as well as broader strategic issues and regional concerns. Current projects include an effort to understand why certain conflict-prone countries and regions relapse into civil war and other forms of conflict. Research projects also examine the strategic impact of natural resources, with particular focus on energy security in areas such as West Africa, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The root causes of particular conflicts and practical approaches to resolving them are at the centre of Programme research and activities.
Beyond its immediate research agenda and the many IISS publications, the Conflict Management Programme provides a para-diplomatic function and a forum for track II diplomacy, bilateral meetings, confidence-building measures, and regional cooperation. Track II conferences convened by this programme have included major meetings held around the world to examine conflicts in South Asia, the North Caucasus, and East Asia.
The Conflict Management Programme benefits from close cooperation with the IISS Armed Conflict Database (ACD), an online source that provides assessments of international, regional, and state conflicts. The ACD is an important tool for anyone who works with or has a strategic interest in conflict and conflict management, including government ministries, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, and the private sector. The database covers over 70 international and internal conflicts as well as terrorist campaigns. Updated on a daily basis, the ACD provides information to assess conflict trends, including the analysis of peace negotiations, the understanding of changes in conflict-intensity, and the calculation of the economic and political costs of conflict. In addition, the ACD provides background information and reviews of political, military and security, and human security developments and trends.
Recent publications related to the Conflict Management Programme include:
Adelphi Paper
Survival
Strategic Comments
