American peacebuilding stands at a crossroads. To chart the way forward, we must recall and reclaim the core ideas, adaptations, and innovations that shaped earlier federal investments in the study and promotion of peace—particularly those surrounding the creation and evolution of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) over the past four decades. Retracing this journey illuminates the lessons and institutional foundations needed to renew support for the strategic investments the United States must make to navigate today’s conflicts and forge a more peaceful future.
The American peacebuilding tradition traces its roots to the founding generation. At its center stood George Washington, whose vision of lasting peace rested on three interlocking principles: peace through strength, national unity, and peace and harmony with all. Washington believed a capable military was indispensable to deter aggression. Yet he also understood that enduring peace required cohesion at home and building relations abroad grounded on “good faith” and “exalted justice and benevolence.”
At the close of his presidency, Washington advanced a radical proposal: the institutionalization of peace through education. To prepare future generations to manage conflict wisely, he urged Congress to establish two national academies. One would be devoted to the military arts and training an officer corps disciplined in restraint and committed to preserving peace. The other, a civil academy, would focus on government and the study of how to prevent the use of those military arts. The first became reality in 1802 with the founding of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The second would take nearly two centuries to emerge.
In 1975, Congress introduced the George Washington Peace Academy Act to fulfill the first president’s final request. Although the legislation failed to pass, it generated grassroots and legislative momentum for a bipartisan commission that ultimately recommended creating a federal peace institution as an independent nonprofit corporation. Led largely by congressional veterans of World War II and supported by an energetic civil society campaign, the movement culminated in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan signed legislation establishing the USIP.
At the time of USIP’s founding, peace studies and conflict resolution were nascent academic disciplines. Only a few universities and nongovernmental organizations were focused on the causes of peace and the techniques for resolving violent conflict without force. When USIP began operations, it concentrated on building the intellectual and professional infrastructure of the emerging field. Through grants, fellowships, and research initiatives, the Institute supported foundational scholarship and cultivated networks of scholars and practitioners.
The end of the Cold War generated optimism that democratic governance and multilateral institutions might reduce interstate war. At the same time, intrastate conflicts and civil wars proliferated. After decades focused on superpower competition, the U.S. government lacked the tools and expertise required to address conflicts within fragile states. Peacebuilding scholarship and practice filled this gap. Concepts such as transitional justice, rule of law, inclusive governance, and interfaith dialogue entered mainstream policy discourse.
The next turning point followed the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. American national security strategy shifted toward counterterrorism, stabilization operations, and fragile states. Peacebuilding became intertwined with counterinsurgency and ambitious state-building missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The field gained operational experience as civilian and military planning became increasingly integrated. These engagements also produced sobering lessons about local legitimacy, institutional fragility, corruption, and the limits of external intervention.
As public support for prolonged wars ebbed, retrenchment followed. Interest in Iraq and Afghanistan waned, the unifying frame of the “global war on terror” dissipated, and political appetite for large-scale stabilization campaigns narrowed. Support for peacebuilding persisted, but shifted toward a focus on conflict prevention, peace process support, and reducing fragility. The resources devoted to these endeavors paled next to the structural drivers of conflict and global instability trends. As such, USIP, together with other peace organizations, tried to adapt to these changing realities with innovations like the Global Fragility Act.
Today marks another crossroads. Conflict levels have reached historic highs. Military expenditures are rising globally. Great-power competition has intensified, while nuclear modernization and AI-enabled systems are reshaping deterrence. And the peacebuilding ecosystem – universities, NGOs, research institutes, government offices, and individual peace practitioners – now confronts shifting priorities and constrained resources.
The refrain of “peace through strength” has returned. Yet George Washington’s insight remains instructive: Military preparedness is necessary but insufficient for lasting peace. Military strength must be complemented by civic education, diplomatic skill, and sustained investment in institutions and networks of peace practitioners dedicated to preventing and resolving conflicts.
The question at this crossroads is not whether peacebuilding remains relevant. The question is whether or not the United States will continue the tradition Washington envisioned of preserving peace not only through “military preparedness,” but also through the patient investment in institutions, knowledge, and policies that “cultivate peace and harmony with all nations.” The American peacebuilding field can begin to rebuild support by reclaiming and reconnecting with that journey stretching back 250 years.
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About the Author
Michael Yaffe is an affiliated scholar with the Keough School and a non-resident fellow at the Institute on Middle East Options. Yaffe previously held several senior positions at the United States Institute of Peace.
Recommended Citation
Yaffe, Michael. “Past as Prologue: Reclaiming the Journey of American Peacebuilding.” Peace Policy: Solutions to Violent Conflict, No. 63, (March 2026). https://doi.org/10.7274/31843000
