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General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action
Contact Info:
E-mail: pstares@cfr.org
Location:
Washington, DC
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 844K)
One-page bio (PDF, 58K)
Expert on emerging regional and international security challenges. Led the bipartisan Genocide Prevention Task Force's Expert Group on Preventive Diplomacy. Currently focusing on future conflict trends and associated prevention strategies.
Expertise:U.S. national security policy, conflict prevention strategies, U.S. counterterrorism policy, Northeast Asia security
Experience:Vice President, Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, United States Institute of Peace (2002-07); Associate Director and Senior Research Scholar, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University (2000-02); Senior Research Fellow, Japan Institute of International Affairs and Director of Studies, Japan Center for International Exchange (1996-2000); Senior Fellow and Research Associate, Foreign Policy Studies Program, Brookings Institution; NATO Fellow; Scholar-in-Residence, MacArthur Foundation – Moscow Office; Rockefeller International Relations Fellow; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University.
Selected Publications:“Rethinking the ‘War on Terror:’ New Approaches to Conflict Prevention and Management in the Post-9/11 World (USIP Press 2007), Rethinking Energy Security in East Asia (JCIE, 2000), The New Security Agenda: A Global Survey (JCIE, 1998), Global Habit: The Drug Problem in a Borderless World (Brookings, 1996).
Related Links:
"Pyongyang duck" (Op-Ed, Paul Stares, Los Angeles Times, October 16, 2009)
Current Research Projects
Past Research Projects
November 19, 2009
Audio
Listen to CFR's Paul B. Stares discuss how to enhance U.S. preventive action capabilities with students, as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.
See more in Conflict Assessment, Conflict Prevention
October 16, 2009
Op-Ed
Los Angeles Times
Kim Jong Il is still in comlpete control of North Korea, writes Paul Stares, making U.S. goals in that state harder to achieve than ever.
See more in North Korea, Diplomacy, Arms Control and Disarmament
October 2009
Council Special Report No. 48
Council Special Report
The United States can ill afford the burden of additional foreign policy challenges, making it imperative that the U.S. government find ways to identify, delay, and avert international crises that could harm U.S. interests or even lead to military engagement. In this report, the authors provide an actionable road map for how the U.S. government should revamp its existing U.S. prevention architecture to make it more effective in dealing with potential crises abroad.
See more in United States, Conflict Prevention
September 9, 2009
Academic Module
This module features teaching notes by CFR Senior Fellow and Director of CFR's Center for Preventative Action Paul B. Stares, coauthor of Preparing for Sudden Change in North Korea, along with other resources to supplement the text. This Council Special Report addresses the foreign policy challenge of how the United States and its allies can prepare for the possibility of sudden and destabilizing change in North Korea.
See more in North Korea, International Peace and Security
June 3, 2009
Audio
Listen to experts discuss the implications of North Korea’s recent nuclear tests and the available policy options for the Obama administration and the international community.
See more in North Korea, Arms Control and Disarmament
June 3, 2009, Washington D.C.
Transcript
Sheila Smith and Scott Snyder discuss the reasons behind North Korea's provocative actions, and the implications for its neighbors in the region as well as the United States.
See more in North Korea, Proliferation
March 6, 2009
Op-Ed
Newsweek
Paul B. Stares and Alexander Noyes argue that "A conditional suspension of the ICC's warrant for Bashir is the best way to prevent a collapse of the CPA, protect those still in need, and force Khartoum to act toward ending the conflict in Darfur."
See more in Sudan, Human Rights, International Law
February 12, 2009
Transcript
CFR Fellows Paul Stares, Sheila Smith, and Elizabeth Economy discuss Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's upcoming trip to Asia, her first trip in her new role.
See more in China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Public Diplomacy
February 12, 2009
Audio
Listen to CFR experts Elizabeth C. Economy, Sheila A. Smith and Paul B. Stares discuss U.S. foreign policy toward Asia, in advance of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to the region.
February 3, 2009
Op-Ed
Los Angeles Times
Paul Stares argues in the Los Angeles Times that "Kim Jong Il's uncertain health and longevity make it vital for the U.S. to plan ahead with its Asian allies and China."
See more in Northeast Asia, U.S. Strategy and Politics
January 28, 2009
Transcript
This panel discusses a Council on Foreign Relations special report, "Preparing for Sudden Change in North Korea."
See more in North Korea, International Peace and Security
January 2009
Council Special Report No. 42
Council Special Report
North Korea has long been a serious concern to Washington. Now, with President Kim Jong-Il reportedly in bad health and possibly naming a successor, the United States must consider possible outcomes should the situation deteriorate and the current North Korean government collapse. This report examines the challenges that these scenarios would pose—ranging from securing Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal to providing humanitarian assistance—in the context of the interests of the United States and others in its valuable recommendations.
See more in North Korea, International Peace and Security
December 12, 2008
Audio
Listen to CFR experts Laurie Garrett and J. Anthony Holmes discuss the political and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Zimbabwe, including the recent outbreak of cholera.
December 12, 2008
Transcript
See more in Zimbabwe, Democracy and Human Rights, Health, Science, and Technology, Global Health
December 9, 2008
Video
Watch former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright discuss measures the next administration can take to mitigate potential sources of crisis across the world.
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, International Peace and Security
December 9, 2008
Transcript
Session I of a Council on Foreign Relations Center for Preventive Action Symposium.
See more in Conflict Prevention
December 9, 2008
Audio
Listen to former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright discuss measures the next administration can take to mitigate potential sources of crisis across the world.
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, International Peace and Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 13, 2008
Op-Ed
The Boston Globe
In response to the devastating typhoon that has ravaged Burma, Ivo Daalder and Paul Stares argue that the UN must invoke its “responsibility to protect” clause and intervene.
See more in Burma/Myanmar, International Organizations, Humanitarian Intervention
March 28, 2008
Transcript
Concerns are increasing about the consequences of global climate change, rising consumption rates, and population growth on the availability of natural resources, including water, land, forests, oil, gas, and a variety of minerals. In the face of scarcity, are we likely to see a rise in violent conflict over valuable resources? Or is the probability of 'resource wars' much less than feared? Speakers discuss these issues at a meeting cosponsored with the Council’s Center for Preventive Action.
See more in Energy/Environment, Natural Resources Management
February 19, 2008
Transcript
Explore the international finance regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
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