In all our activities, we work not only to respond to conflict, we also work to prevent them. EWI's Preventive Diplomacy initiatives help EWI plan for the future and allow us to address crossboundary friction before it devolves into open conflict.

Many indicators can provide early warnings of impending conflicts. But states often lack the political will to respond to these warnings. And in the rare cases where political will does exist, human and financial resources often do not. Preventive Diplomacy initiatives draw on expertise from around the world to eliminate these shortcomings in conflict prevention structures.  

Our Preventive Diplomacy Initiatives grew out of the International Task Force for Preventive Diplomacy and work to establish institutionalized channels to help governments, militaries, businesses, and NGOs identify and defuse conflicts before they erupt. 

The initiatives have four active components:

1. The Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention and Human Security: EWI convened the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention in October 2008, a network that has since grown to include 95 parliamentarians from more than 35 countries. Members of the network work to translate ideas into policy, and advocate for a greater allocation of resources for preventive action.
   Click here to visit the Parliamentarians Network’s web site
2. Global Summit on Peace and Security: Preventive Diplomacy Initiatives work to institutionalize a biennial conference that will bring the traditional security establishment together with development policymakers and the peacebuilding community, including civil society, business and the media. The summit will reframe traditional security and development policy to include preventive approaches. As a first step, the initiative is working to secure an additional day dedicated to conflict prevention at the Munich Conference on Security Policy
3. The International Panel on Conflict Prevention and Human Security. Once established, the Global Summit on Peace and Security is expected to mandate the International Panel on Conflict Prevention and Human Security. The panel will develop new approaches and build global capacity to deal with short-, medium-, and long-term threats to global peace and security. It will make recommendations to meet these threats and identify the institutional and financial resources required to implement these recommendations.
4. New Policies on Key Human Security Issues: In addition to its work to create broader, systemic change, the Preventive Diplomacy Initiative is also working on key human security challenges around the world. One of its current flagship efforts is to realize alternative futures for Afghanistan and the stability of Southwest Asia by improving regional cooperation on water. In the future, Preventive Diplomacy initiatives will also work on such issues as resource security, demographics, and climate change.