International Peace Research Institute, Oslo

The International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) is a Norway-based, independent peace studies institution.

History and governance

PRIO was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researchers, among these Johan Galtung. The institute was an affiliate of the Institute for Social Research in Oslo in 1959 and became an independent institute in 1966. It was one of the first centres of peace research in the world, and it is Norway’s only peace research institute. The institute's director since 2001 is Stein Tønnesson, and since 2005, the institute has been located in the former gas works building in central Oslo.

PRIO is an independent foundation, governed by a seven-member board. The board includes two PRIO employees, two members appointed by the Research Council of Norway, one member appointed by the Institute for Social Research, one by the University of Oslo, and one by the Nordic International Studies Association respectively. The institute is not affiliated with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, The Nobel Peace Center, or the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights.

Research

The institute's purpose, as formulated in the statutes, is "to engage in research concerning the conditions for peaceful relations between nations, groups and individuals." Researchers come from a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, including political science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography, history, history of religion and philosophy. Output from the research is primarily published as articles in international peer-reviewed journals.

Close to 90 per cent of the institute's budget is funded on a project per project basis. The two largest project funders are the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Other funders include the European Union, the World Bank, and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.

The institute maintains a centre in Nicosia, Cyprus, known as the PRIO Cyprus Centre. Through its network, projects and dialogue forums, the PRIO Cyprus Centre aims to foster cooperation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and strengthen regional cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean at large.
In Oslo, PRIO hosts the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT). This is a joint initiative of PRIO, the Norwegian Red Cross and the Norwegian Church Aid to help block the spread of small arms to areas where they are likely to be used in warfare, armed violence or human rights abuses.

The staff comprises a core group of 40-50 full-time researchers and support staff. In addition, there are researchers with a part-time affiliation with PRIO, visiting scholars, interns and students. PRIO co-operates with the Australian National University and with the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, in offering master programmes in international studies. PRIO owns two international journals, both edited at the institute and published by SAGE Publications: "Journal of Peace Research" and "Security Dialogue".

Centre for the Study of Civil War

Since 2003, PRIO has hosted the Centre for the Study of Civil War (CSCW), one of the original 13 "Centres of Excellence" in Norway, a title awarded by the Research Council of Norway in 2002 after an extensive and competitive selection process led by international experts. Until 2007, CSCW was the only designated Centre of Excellence in Norway within the social sciences. The Director of the Centre is Scott Gates.

External links

* [http://www.prio.no PRIO homepage]
* [http://www.prio.no/cscw CSCW homepage]
* [http://www.prio.no/files/manual-import/Final_PRIO_Strategy_2006-2009.pdf PRIO Strategy Document 2006-2009]
* [http://www.prio.no/cyprus PRIO Cyprus Centre]