The partnership marks a significant step toward embedding evidence-based peace economics into African policy dialogue ahead of a landmark 2026 seminar in Addis Ababa.
In a development that carries significant implications for how Africa approaches the intersection of peace and development, the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) and Peace First Ethiopia have formalized a strategic partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement commits both organizations to advance peace economics and IEP’s Positive Peace framework across the African continent — bringing rigorous, data-driven analysis to bear on one of the region’s most pressing challenges.
The partnership is also directly tied to a milestone convening on the horizon: the International Day of Peace Seminar 2026, to be held in Addis Ababa under the theme “Uniting for Peace and Development – Advancing Peace in Africa.”
Why This Partnership Matters Now
The timing of this alliance could not be more consequential. The 2025 Global Peace Index, released by IEP, reveals a continuing decline in global peacefulness, with many key indicators that precede major conflicts higher than at any time since World War II. PR Newswire Africa sits at the center of this troubling trend. The report identifies Ethiopia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan among the world’s top conflict escalation hotspots, each experiencing severe violence, humanitarian crises, and political instability. Addis Standard
The economic consequences are staggering. Violence cost the global economy $19.97 trillion in 2024, with developing nations in sub-Saharan Africa among the hardest hit. Addis Standard Yet IEP’s research also offers a clear counter-argument to pessimism: peace is not merely the absence of war, but an active economic advantage. If global violence were reduced by just 10%, around $1.75 trillion could be redirected every year into more productive economic activities, social development, and investment. Vision of Humanity
This is precisely the intellectual terrain that the IEP–Peace First Ethiopia partnership seeks to cultivate — transforming these numbers from statistics into actionable policy.
Understanding the Positive Peace Framework
Central to the partnership is IEP’s flagship conceptual model: Positive Peace. Rather than measuring peace only by the absence of conflict, Positive Peace is defined as the attitudes, institutions, and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. Losservatorio It is a forward-looking framework — one that enables policymakers, researchers, and civil society actors to identify the structural conditions that allow societies to thrive.
IEP’s Positive Peace deficit model shows that 90 percent of the countries predicted to fall substantially in peace did so, while countries with a surplus of Positive Peace generally recorded substantial improvements in peace in the subsequent decade. Vision of Humanity This predictive power makes the framework especially valuable in a policy context, offering governments and institutions a roadmap not just to manage conflict, but to prevent it.
Peace First Ethiopia’s work on the ground — embedded in Ethiopia’s complex social and institutional landscape — provides exactly the kind of local expertise and implementation capacity that makes global frameworks meaningful at the community and national levels.
A Partnership Built Around Evidence and Dialogue
The MOU between IEP and Peace First Ethiopia establishes a structured commitment to three core areas: evidence-based policy dialogue, research collaboration, and knowledge exchange. These are not abstract commitments. In practice, they mean creating shared platforms for African policymakers and researchers to engage seriously with the data and conceptual tools that IEP has refined over nearly two decades of global work.
IEP is an independent, non-partisan, and non-profit think tank dedicated to promoting peace as a measurable and achievable aspect of human well-being and societal progress. Commonwealth Its research is relied upon by governments, academic institutions, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, and intergovernmental institutions such as the OECD, the World Bank, and the United Nations. Institute for Economics & Peace Bringing that depth of institutional knowledge into dialogue with African practitioners and policymakers — through a locally anchored partner like Peace First Ethiopia — represents a meaningful step toward making peace economics a practical tool for the continent.
The partnership also reflects a broader pattern in IEP’s approach to Africa. IEP has been delivering Positive Peace training initiatives in collaboration with organizations across the continent, aimed at equipping leaders with practical frameworks to strengthen community engagement and social cohesion. Institute for Economics & Peace
Addis Ababa 2026: A Convening with Continental Ambitions
The International Day of Peace Seminar 2026 in Addis Ababa will serve as both a launching pad and a demonstration of what this partnership can achieve. Under the leadership of Mistru Tesfaye and the Peace First Ethiopia team, the seminar is designed to convene policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and civil society leaders from across the continent and beyond.
The theme — “Uniting for Peace and Development – Advancing Peace in Africa” — is deliberately integrative. It positions peace not as a standalone humanitarian goal, but as a foundational precondition for economic growth, institutional stability, and long-term development. This framing aligns directly with the intellectual core of peace economics: the recognition that investment in peaceful societies yields measurable returns across every development indicator.
Addis Ababa is a fitting location for such a convening. As the seat of the African Union and one of the continent’s most important diplomatic capitals, the city carries both symbolic weight and practical convening power. Hosting this dialogue there sends a clear message: peace is an African policy priority, and Africa’s institutions and thinkers are central to its advancement.
A Model for the Continent
What makes this partnership particularly significant is its potential as a replicable model. By combining IEP’s global research infrastructure with Peace First Ethiopia’s contextual expertise and convening relationships, the collaboration demonstrates how international frameworks can be meaningfully localized — and how African institutions can lead that process.
IEP stresses the importance of building Positive Peace through the institutions, attitudes, and structures that underpin a peaceful society. Addis Standard The IEP–Peace First Ethiopia MOU is, in its own right, an expression of that philosophy — a structured commitment to the long-term institutional work that durable peace requires.
As the International Day of Peace Seminar 2026 approaches, all eyes will be on Addis Ababa — not only as a gathering place, but as a signal of Africa’s growing capacity to shape the global conversation on peace, development, and the economics of stability.
The International Day of Peace Seminar 2026 will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme “Uniting for Peace and Development – Advancing Peace in Africa.”
