The Program on Conflict and Development is hoping to help reduce armed conflict sustain families and assist in conflict recovery.
In 2010, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation Chair on Conflict and Development was established at Texas A&M University to support teaching, research, and service for the advancement of the welfare of communities enduring conflict or emerging from conflict. In November 2011, Texas A&M University was selected as a member of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Higher Education Solutions Network.
Based upon an agreement with USAID and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, research is focused largely on mitigating conflict related to Food Security, Natural Resources, Youth Populations, and Local Institutions.
Which interventions are required to build upon local conflict coping strategies to incentivize food security and promote resilience?
What investments are required to engage conflict-vulnerable youth populations through workforce development linked to jobs?
How can natural resource management be used as a peace-building approach?
How do legitimate local institutions redirect elite competition and promote coorporation dynamics in conflict-prone regions?