Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

Dear Friends,

The Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies was inspired by the vision of Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., and philanthropist Joan B. Kroc: of a world free from the threat of nuclear catastrophe. During his 35 years as president of the University of Notre Dame, Father Hesburgh was a leading national voice for civil and human rights and the abolition of nuclear weapons. Joan Kroc was deeply concerned about the nuclear arms race and committed to world peace.

Founded in 1986, the Institute has become a world leader in research on a wide range of issues relating to peace, justice and the causes of violent conflict. Now a part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, the Kroc Institute offers degrees in peace studies to both undergraduate and graduate students.

The Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) is a unique program at the Kroc Institute – one that would make Father Hesburgh incredibly proud – that represents the intersection of peace research, policy and practice. Established in 2012, PAM is a collection of qualitative and quantitative data related to the implementation of 34 comprehensive peace agreements around the world negotiated since 1989. PAM allows scholars and practitioners to compare 51 different themes among these signed peace agreements, such as women’s rights, demobilization and amnesties.

As an analysis tool, PAM’s database enables the Kroc Institute to support the negotiation and implementation of peace accords globally. PAM has observed implementation successes and failures in multiple countries, and its acquired knowledge is shared with conflict parties and mediators who seek to engage in peace conversations. PAM provides technical support and advice for these stakeholders, partnering with them to draft proposals about how best to end violence.

Given its expertise, the Kroc Institute was the first choice to monitor and verify the implementation of the historic 2016 Colombian Peace Accord, a major turning point to end Colombia’s 52-year-old armed conflict between the country’s government and FARC-EP guerrillas. Through PAM and its Barometer Initiative, the Kroc Institute serves as a credible, independent, impartial and scientifically-based source of information and analysis in Colombia, supporting peace implementation processes on the ground.

The Barometer Initiative marks the first time, worldwide, that a university-based research center has played such a direct role in supporting the application of a peace agreement. It’s also the first time researchers have measured the implementation of a peace accord in real time and through regularly produced quarterly, annual and special interest reports – the most recent being the gender approach implementation report, released late last month.

I encourage you to explore the work being done at the Kroc Institute; I’m convinced that once you have – on PAM and all our many projects underway – you’ll feel as proud as I do about the progress being made, here in South Bend and around the globe.

With warm regards,

Erin B. Corcoran

Acting Director

Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

Keough School of Global Affairs

University of Notre Dame