Since 2010, PRIF’s basic academic research is guided by an over­arching topic, which is defined by a research program. These research programs are developed by PRIF’ Research Council and are adopted by the Board of Trustees upon recommen­dation of the Scientific Advisory Board.

From January 2024, PRIF will be breaking new ground with a new research program as a “living document”. The new research program presents itself as a framework that connects the fundamental mission of PRIF as a peace and conflict research institute, the current research agenda of the institute, as well as its core units and cross-cutting research areas. Unlike the temporally limited and thematically focused research programs of the past, the new research program is thematically broader and more flexible. It responds to the institute’s growth and the continuous expansion of the research agenda through new research topics, formats, and collaborations.

Between 2000 and 2011 and within the frame­work of the research program “Antinomies of Democratic Peace”, PRIF examined the ambivalent relation­ship between democracy and peace. Between 2011 and 2017 the research program “Just Peace Governance” focused on conflicts over diverging con­ceptions and demands of justice and examined the question, how peace and justice can be achieved at the same time. On­going projects on “Just Peace Governance” were completed by end of 2018.

In January 2018, PRIF started its work on the research program “Coercion and Peace“. In this context, the institute examined the role that the threat or app­lication of coercion plays in the estab­lish­ment, main­tenance and under­mining of peace.