The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) has as its mission to conduct high-quality academic research on questions relevant to the promotion of a more peaceful world. We are an independent and international institute with English as our working language. The staff comprises ca 70 people (counted in person-years), of whom more than 80 % are researchers and PhD candidates.

Researchers at PRIO identify new trends in global conflict, formulate and document new understandings of and responses to armed conflict. We seek to understand how people are impacted by and cope with armed conflict, and we study the normative foundations of peace and violence. Key questions on PRIO's research agenda are why wars break out, how they are sustained, and what it takes to build durable peace.

PRIO contributes to theoretical and methodological development both within specific academic disciplines, and through cross-fertilization between disciplines. PRIO also contributes to the development of a new generation of scholars through our Research School in Peace and Conflict (PhD level).

PRIO engages in the promotion of peace through conflict resolution, dialogue and reconciliation, public information and policymaking activities. Our research is primarily disseminated through academic publications, but also through reports and working papers, and via contributions to the media.