The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), global terrorism, and problems emanating from weak and failing states constitute the main threats to global security in our time. No longer bound by the rules of a system of states, new international criminal and terrorist networks flourish in the facilitative environments of weak and failing states, cultural enclaves in strong states, and ungoverned spaces. These networks of criminals and traffickers, terrorists and radicals, and the volatile environments that enable their activities, represent an entirely different threat from that envisioned by the crafters of today’s policies and institutions meant to secure and safeguard weapons of mass destruction. The Fund for Peace’s Threat Convergence program explores the linkages among the three biggest threats to global security: fragile states, the proliferation of WMD, and terrorism.

The Fund for Peace aims to:

• raise the profile of the challenges in vulnerable, fragile and ungoverned regions on the nonproliferation agenda;
• explore how these regions may serve as enabling environments for nuclear terrorism;
• promote more coherent and strategic policy approaches to prevent nuclear terrorism and illicit nuclear trafficking; and
• become a hub for threat convergence-related analysis.

 
To meet these objectives, Fund for Peace staff has conducted field research and workshops throughout the world, including the South Caucasus and Black Sea region, Eastern Europe, the Tri-Border region of Latin America, East and the Horn of Africa, and Southeast Asia. A critical component of the our work centers on engaging local actors in each region to develop action plans for preventing nuclear terrorism using a broad range of holistic and regionally-appropriate tools. Through engaging local civil society groups, we hope to raise awareness of the threats to both the international and human security that weak and failed states and WMD terrorism represent, and also shape U.S. and international policy on the issue.

In addition to working to find solutions to transnational threats posed by the confluence of weak states, WMD proliferation and terrorism, the Fund for Peace also works globally to explore ways in which regional organizations and their member states can better protect local populations caught in conflict zones. Building upon the landmark, UN-endorsed, document, The Responsibility to Protect, the Fund for Peace has brought together hundreds of representatives from regional and subregional organizations, national governments, and civil society in Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe to examine the most critical ongoing and potential conflicts confronting their regions and develop concrete strategies to mitigate these conflicts.

To that end, the Fund for Peace has also worked closely with regional and subregional organizations around the world to develop and improve their capacities for undertaking humanitarian interventions to protect civilians caught in conflict. Our work included research and advocacy on the development and deployment of regional peacekeeping forces and the creation of regional peacekeeping training centers. We have also examined how U.S. military-to-military training initiatives have impacted the capacity and performance of other national militaries in peacekeeping operations, specifically in respecting human rights.