Programs

Participants confer on governance issues during 2001 Institute sponsored workshop for Kosovar municipal leaders.

Since 1992, The United States Institute of Peace has been actively engaged in fostering peace and reconciliation in the Balkans. As part of its Congressional mandate, 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.

The Institute's objectives in the Balkans include:

• Promoting peace and reconciliation in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Croatia, where violent conflicts have been ended by internationally supported peace agreements;


• Preventing conflict and instability in other areas, including Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania;


• Building consensus on Balkans policy in Washington, D.C. through discussion among administration, congressional, and non-governmental players; and


• Developing greater understanding among the American people of the U.S. role in preventing conflict and maintaining peace in the Balkans.

Providing Policy-Relevant Analysis

The Institute's Balkans Working Group (BWG) serves as a bridge between governmental and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The BWG meets frequently on unfolding crises and longer term issues arising throughout the region. Participants include congressional staffers, administration officials, and NGO representatives. Government agencies—including the State Department, National Security Council, and Department of Defense—and members of the media (domestic and international) have often drawn on working group conclusions and recommendations. Reports based on the working group's discussions have been translated and distributed throughout the Balkans.

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Facilitating Dialogue

Workshop participants participate in small group discussions during a 2001 Institute workshop on "Meeting the Challenges of Reconstruction in a Multi-Ethnic Society" for area municipal leaders.

The Institute continues to bring together political and civic leaders from across Kosovo in an effort to build and strengthen the peace process. Past workshops and programs include:

• Members of the new Kosovo Assembly met in Airlie, Virginia, in June 2002 for an Institute workshop on developing good governance. [Learn More]


• In Gnjilane in April 2001, the Institute organized a workshop on "Meeting the Challenges of Reconstruction in a Multi-Ethnic Society" for area municipal leaders.


• Municipal leaders from across Kosovo participated in a workshop on developing good governance in Airlie, Virginia, in February and March 2001. [Learn More]


• Albanian and Serb leaders met in Airlie, Virginia, in July 2000 for a facilitated discussion on how to maintain coexistence through a multi-ethnic society. [Learn More]


• At the request of the U.S. Army, the Institute held a workshop on coexistence in a multi-ethnic society for Albanian and Serb leaders in Gnjilane in May 2000. [Learn More]


• Leaders of the Kosovo Serb community met in Sofia, Bulgaria in December 1999 to discuss "Options for Building Multi-Ethnic and Democratic Institutions in Kosovo." [Learn More]


• Kosovar Albanian political and civic leaders participated in a workshop on coalition building in Landsdowne, Virginia, in Sepetember 1999. [Learn More]

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Supporting the Work of Others

The Institute has awarded over $3 million in grants to support Balkans-related efforts since 1992, including:

• Center for Free Election and Democracy (Belgrade and Kragujevac, Serbia and Montenegro). An NGO that has specialized in the promotion of elections and democracy in Serbia. Two grants in 2002 focused on providing training for CESID trainers and activists in negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution skills. The purpose is to build bridges between political opponents and to improve communication among the main actors involved in elections processes. The specific activities include an initial 16-day training workshop for CESID trainers, followed by eight three-day training workshops for CESID activists, and then by 20 one-day training workshops throughout Serbia.


• Management Center (Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro). A 2002 grant to support a training course for judges, prosecutors, police professionals, and policy makers in a newly democratic Serbia on the challenges of, and strategies for, addressing the problem of organized crime.


• Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington, DC). A training and seminar program to introduce conflict resolution skills to, and enhance dialogue among, a diverse group of religious and community leaders in Kosovo. The 2001 project also distributed a set of practical manuals for conflict resolution training and the strengthening of civil society.


• Public International Law and Policy Group (Arlington, Virginia). A simulation project involving three one-day negotiation simulations on complex and politically sensitive Kosovo final status issues.


• European Centre for Minority Issues ( Flensburg, Germany). A research and roundtable discussion program engaging a diverse group of Montenegrin government and party officials, policy specialists, and representatives of leading NGOs to identify, examine, and address key crisis issues in Montenegrin-Serbian relations.


• Protector, Sarajevo Canton (Bosnia and Herzegovina). A project to establish, train, and coordinate a network of youth peace activists representing a diverse group of peace organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and throughout Southeastern Europe.

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Promoting Scholarship

The work of Institute fellows has resulted in numerous publications, including the 2003 book Prime Time Crime: Balkan Media in War and Peace by former fellow and award winning journalist Kemal Kurspahic.

Over the years, the Institute's Jennings Randolph fellowship Program has brought a wide array of distinguished journalists, scholars, diplomats, and other experts on the Balkans to the Institute to conduct research and participate in the Institute's Balkans activities. Fellows over the years have included:

• Albert Cevallos, formerly with the U.S. Agency for International Development. (Senior Fellow, 2003-2004): "Steal This Revolution: Nonviolent Revolution and the Transition to Democracy in Serbia."


• Sonja Biserko, Head of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. (Senior Fellow, 2000-2001): "Serbia versus Yugoslavia: An Inside View of the Yugoslav Crisis."


• Tone Bringa, Associate Professor of Social Anthropology, University of London. (Guest Scholar, 1999-2000): "Post-War Reintegration in the Balkans."


• Stojan Cerovic, Columnist, Vreme, Belgrade. (Senior Fellow, 1999-2000): "Yugoslavia after the Kosovo Conflict."


• Daniel Serwer, State Department Special Envoy for the Bosnian Federation (Senior Fellow, 1998-99): "Balkans Regional Security."


• Ruzica Rosandic, Department of Psychology, University of Belgrade. (Senior Fellow, 1997-98): "The Goodwill Classroom: Conflict Resolution and Human Rights Training in Educational Policy."


• John Menzies, U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Senior Fellow, 1997-98): "Consequences of the Dayton Peace Agreements for Regional Security."


• Dusko Doder, Former Moscow Correspondent, the Washington Post. (Senior Fellow, 1996-97): "Reconstructing the Balkans after Yugoslavia's Dissolution and Civil War."


• Vesna Pesic, Chairwoman of the Civil Alliance of Serbia. (Senior Fellow, 1994-95): "Preparing the Ground for War in Serbia, 1987-1992."


• Ted Robert Gurr, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Government and Politics, Center for International Development and Conflict University of Maryland. (Peace Fellow, 1988-89): "Minorities at Risk: A Global View of Ethnopolitical Conflicts."

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Training for Conflict Management

Through its Professional Training Program, the Institute has helped to facilitate conflict management skills training for both government and nongovernmental personnel. Through group exercises and role-playing simulations, participants are challenged to reexamine their perceptions of good governance, minority rights, and other key questions concerning the role of government and civil society. Some recent examples of Institute efforts include:

• Professional skills training for the Kosovo Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (September 6-11 2004).


• Professional skills training with the Defense Ministry of Serbia and Montenegro (October 13-21 2003). [Learn More]


• Professional skills training with the Foreign Ministry of Serbia and Montenegro (May 4-12, 2003). [Learn More]


• Professional skills building with the OSCE in Kosovo, Vienna, and Macedonia (March 31-April 2, 2003).


• Computer-based role playing simulation for young Serbian and Kosovar political and civic leaders (September 10-12, 2002). [Learn More]


• Professional skills training with the Foreign Ministry of Serbia and Montenegro (July 9-17, 2002). [Learn More]


• Workshop on developing good governance for Kosovo Assembly Members (June 12-16, 2002).


• Conflict management and negotiation training for Kosovar political and civic leaders (June 20-24, 1998).

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Rule of Law and Interreligious Cooperation

The Institute has supported Bosnian initiatives on behalf of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which would give victims a forum to tell their stories, enable documentation of a common history of the war, and strengthen peacebuilding efforts. The Institute has also supported initiatives by top Bosnian religious leaders to establish an Inter-Religious Council (IRC). The IRC, whose mission is "to replace hostility with cooperation and respect," publishes a glossary of religious terminology, and its members appear regularly on radio and TV.

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Communicating Diplomacy

The Virtual Diplomacy Initiative has explored the role of new information and communications technologies in the prevention of further conflict in the Balkans. This effort has also included the establishment of a comprehensive digital collection of peace agreements relating to the conflicts in the Balkans, available on the Institute's web site.

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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. Over the years the Institute has published numerous reports and policy briefs on the Balkans.

• Look at a full list of Institute reports.

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Public Conferences and 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 include:

• Look at a full list of recent Institute events.