About Us

Overview

Established in 2011, the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) represents an evolution in the development of U.S. capabilities to prevent and manage conflict, to stabilize transitions from conflict, and to maintain the foundations for lasting peace in post-conflict situations. It followed the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS, started in 2004), which was envisioned as a “whole-of-government czar” for reconstruction and stabilization. S/CRS then – and CSO now – embraced the notion that stabilization requires extensive planning and methods of conflict analysis designed to promote a collaborative approach to mitigating conflicts.

CSO’s mission is to anticipate, prevent, and respond to conflict that undermines U.S. national interests. Our three lines of effort (LOEs) support this mission by focusing on different aspects of the conflict cycle: 1) strategic prevention; 2) conflict resolution; and 3) security sector stabilization. We implement our LOEs through three key functions; 1) deploying Stabilization Advisors; 2) harnessing data analytics; and 3) leading, informing, and implementing policy and programs on conflict prevention and stabilization.

Offices

CSO Front Office

Regional Offices

• Office of African Affairs (CSO/AF)
• Office of Asian Affairs (CSO/EAP-SCA)
• Office of Near Eastern Affairs (CSO/NEA)
• Office of Western Hemisphere and European/Eurasian Affairs (CSO/WHA-EUR)

Functional Offices

• Office of Advanced Analytics (CSO/AA)
• Office of Communications, Policy, and Partnerships (CSO/CPP)
• Office of Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation (CSO/DME)
• Executive Office (CSO/EX)

For press and outreach inquiries, please contact CSOPublicAffairs1@state.gov and follow @StateCSO on Twitter and Facebook.