Center for conflict analysis, planning, and prevention

(a) In general There shall be in the Department a Center for Conflict Analysis, Planning, and Prevention (in this section referred to as the Center) which shall be headed by a director who shall report directly to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. The Center shall conduct data analysis and strategic planning on issues related to conflict prevention, mitigation, and negotiations to develop policy options and provide expertise for the Under Secretary of Political Affairs and the Assistant Secretaries of each regional bureau. (b) Responsibilities In addition to the responsibilities described under subsection (a), the Center may carry out the following, as appropriate: (1) Developing advanced analytic methodologies, data, and tools to understand global conflict dynamics, produce conflict trend assessments, and inform the Department’s efforts to prevent and mitigate conflict and crises of top priority to the United States. (2) Forecasting potential hotspots of violent conflict in foreign countries to best identify risks to United States national security interests or opportunities for advancing United States foreign policy priorities. (3) Conducting in-depth analyses of conflict dynamics in foreign countries to— (A) advise regional bureaus on program goals and approaches to burden-sharing with foreign partners; and (B) provide quantifiable metrics to inform effective use of the Department’s resources. (4) Supporting peace processes by providing expertise to the Under Secretary of Political Affairs, regional bureaus, and Chiefs of Mission, to enable and inform peace negotiation and mediation strategies, implementation, and monitoring. (5) At the direction of the Under Secretary, coordinating with regional and relevant functional bureaus on the implementation of the Global Fragility Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.). (6) Providing strategic gaming, red team, and table-top exercises to rigorously test foreign policy options and strategies. (7) Supporting the development of training for Foreign Service Officers on conflict prevention and mediation skills, including the trainings required under the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018. (8) Such other functions as the Under Secretary for Political Affairs may from time to time designate. (c) Dissemination of analytic products The Under Secretary shall ensure that the Center’s analytic products are disseminated to relevant stakeholders within the Department, as well as other elements of the United States Government, as appropriate. (d) Membership The Center shall be comprised of no more than 20 full-time Department employees, to include, a contingent capable of temporary deployments to support embassies in conflict-affected regions or those the Under Secretary for Political Affairs determines to be at risk of conflict or civil strife. (e) Definition In this section, the term red team means the use of contrarian structured analytic techniques, employed by subject matter experts, to challenge assumptions and test vulnerabilities in a strategy or policy.