Founded in 2010, the Castleberry Peace Institute (CPI) at the University of North Texas (UNT) sponsors cutting-edge research and educational programs on the causes of war and peace, both within and between nations. In today's world, it is increasingly apparent that cultivating democracy, human rights, and economic development is critical to building a sustainable peace, and this notion is supported by decades of research. That is why the Castleberry Peace Institute takes a holistic approach to promoting scholarship on peace, conflict resolution, and reconciliation.

The Castleberry Peace Institute was initially created by Peacemaker's Incorporated, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with a commitment to promoting peace domestically and globally, focusing especially on the role of women in conflict resolution. The Institute is named for journalist and author Vivian Anderson Castleberry, a pioneering woman in journalism and a life-long advocate for peace. In 2010, University of North Texas became the institutional home for the Castleberry Peace Institute in a strategic partnership to advance goals of research and education on topics related to conflict and its resolution. Recognizing that peace is more than the absence of violence, the CPI promotes a comprehensive view of peace which encompasses human well-being & prosperity, democracy, and respect for human rights. The Institute has a special mission to foster programs on the role of women in the peace process.

The CPI hosts conferences and events on and off the UNT campus, invites guest speakers, and promotes peace research and education via the Peace Studies Program. The program is also heavily involved in undergraduate, graduate, and faculty research, and looking to expand as the areas of interest continue to expand. There are countless opportunities for anyone interested in cutting-edge research technologies, statistical methods, and public outreach programs that greatly add to the quality of the research and education on peace and conflict.

The Castleberry Peace Institute is part of the Department of Political Science at UNT, which is top ranked nationally by US News and World Report, the National Research Council and through numerous studies, such as the most recent one, found here.  In fact, our faculty serve as President of the Peace Science Society International and the International Studies Association, the two most prominent and important organizations of scholars, students diplomats, and practitioners in the world. We are one of the most successful programs not just in Texas, but across the United States and around the world because we excel as scholars and teachers. 

Why We Exist

Since the end of World War II, there have been over 200 armed conflicts in the world. The overwhelming majority of them have been civil wars, or wars within nations. Of those nations that have experienced a civil war, about half of them later relapsed into renewed armed conflict. In short, war has become a chronic condition among a not so small subset of nations. Our job is to explore what can be done to bring on-going wars to an earlier and less destructive end - the task of conflict resolution - and what can be done to inoculate nations coming out of war against the risk of a relapse into armed conflict - the task of peacebuilding.

Accordingly, the mission of the Castleberry Peace Institute centers around:

Peace Science Research: CPI researchers apply state-of-the-art analytical and computational methods to provide policymakers with scientifically grounded insights on the causes of conflict, the mechanisms of conflict resolution, and the means of post-conflict peacebuilding.

Peace Education: Building on UNT's internationally recognized graduate and undergraduate programs in Peace Studies, the Institute supports collaborative projects on peace education curriculum development. Graduates of our doctoral program have introduced peace studies courses into the curriculum of colleges and universities across the nation.

Public Outreach: The Institute sponsors a variety of public outreach programs to enhance public awareness of both the role that democracy, development, and conflict resolution play in diminishing the risks of war, revolution, and terrorist violence, and the role of women in building the social, cultural, and institutional infrastructure of a sustainable peace.

Get Involved!

The Castleberry Peace Institute is always looking for interested undergraduates, graduates, and faculty to get involved in peacebuilding and reconciliation research, internships, and study abroad opportunities. Some of the majors and fields of study that overlap with the Institute's research include, but are not limited to: political science, geography, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, history, biology, ecology, and plenty more, and we encourage any and all majors that show an interest in human security and peacebuilding to get involved.

Our current field of study is post-war Colombia and the process of reconciliation and possibilities for peace after a 52 year war. The current projects in Colombia can be found here, and the Institute welcomes anyone interested: The more people the better!