|
|
The breakup of the former Yugoslavia has led to a decade of costly conflicts. Unrest, ethnic strife, economic failure, crime and corruption, autocracy, and war have ravaged much of the Balkans. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions of people displaced from their homes, and many billions of dollars in property destroyed. As a result, the United States has deployed tens of thousands of troops and spent tens of billions of dollars.
The Institute's goals in the Balkans are to:
- Promote peace and reconciliation in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Croatia, where violent conflicts have been ended by internationally supported peace agreements;
- Prevent conflict and instability in other areas, including Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania;
- Build consensus on Balkans policy in Washington, D.C. through discussion among administration, congressional, and non-governmental players; and
- Develop greater understanding among the American people of the U.S. role in preventing conflict and maintaining peace in the Balkans.
|
|
Programs
|
 Since 1992, The United States Institute of Peace has been actively engaged in fostering peace and reconciliation in the Balkans. The Institute, through its Balkans Initiative, has been instrumental in creating and disseminating new techniques and research in the field of conflict management, training current and emerging political and civil society leaders in negotiation and conflict resolution skills, providing numerous grants to international and local organizations to develop a democratic civil society, and providing a unique forum both in Washington and in the region for open dialogue.
|
|
Publications
|
Following its mandate to promote the prevention, management, and peaceful resolution of international conflicts, the United States Institute of Peace is committed to publishing significant works that offer new insights and information to practitioners, scholars, diplomats, and students, among others.
|
|
Events
|
As part of the Institute's efforts to develop a greater understanding on the challenges of preventing conflict and maintaining peace in the Balkans, the Balkans Initiative has sponsored a wide assortment of public briefings since its founding. Speakers featured in Institute public meetings on the Balkans over the years have included: Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zlatko Lagumdzija, Veton Surroi of the KOHA Media Group, Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi of the Kosovo Government President Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro, and Slobodan Casule, Foreign Minister of Macedonia.
|
|
Library Resources
|
 The Institute develops digital resources in support of the research, study, and teaching of international conflict management. Our digital library project includes numerous resources related to the Balkans including regional annotated web links, topical web links, and several full-text peace agreements. Maintained by the Jeannette Rankin Library Program, these resources are designed to support the research needs of the Institute's programs, outside practitioners, researchers, libraries, and a worldwide virtual audience, in the field of international conflict management.
|
|
|