The United States is at the forefront in developing techniques and strategies to prevent, reduce, or resolve conflict, whether among nations, groups, or individuals. Known generally as conflict resolution, these efforts by the U.S. and other U.N. member states have their roots in the United Nations Charter and have gained growing recognition and support since the end of the Cold War.

The U.S. government's wide-ranging initiatives in this field include mediating regional conflicts, promoting democracy and human rights around the world, and strengthening the institutions that provide the basis for global peace and prosperity. A host of nongovernmental organizations assist in these efforts by bringing together conflicting parties, out of public view, to further mutual understanding and develop creative solutions.

This issue of U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda offers American perspectives on many issues related to the study and practice of peacebuilding and explores both official and unofficial U.S. efforts to manage, prevent, and resolve conflicts.

In the focus section, two high-ranking U.S. officials, in separate interviews, give an overview of U.S. policy regarding conflict resolution and preventive diplomacy and discuss the work being done in this field by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; in addition, a prominent scholar defines preventive diplomacy and describes how it works. Another expert assesses the future of U.S. efforts -- governmental and nongovernmental -- to promote peace. Finally, representatives of three well-known organizations involved in conflict resolution -- the United States Institute of Peace, The Carter Center, and the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy -- describe their work, and a fact sheet outlines 20 U.S. groups involved in the field.