PRIF has built up an extensive body of knowledge on key aspects that are critical to the state and future of peace in the world. These topics, which we continuously address, include: arms control and disarmament; international norms, regimes, and organizations; armed conflict and organized violence; military and nonmilitary interventions; peacebuilding and democratization; as well as nonviolent social conflict and societal peace. These topics are investigated in PRIF’s five Research Departments (RD), which are the main research units of the institute. They represent key research fields in peace and conflict studies, dealing with questions of international security (RD I), the role of international institutions (RD II), transnational politics (RD III), peace and conflict at the intrastate level (RD IV), as well as the interaction between political globalization and local lifeworlds (RD V).

The Research Departments also host smaller Research Groups. These groups pool the expertise and coordinate research on a specific topic. Currently, Research Groups deal with emerging technologies as well as biological and chemical weapons (RD I), public international law (RD II), terrorism and radicalization (RD III), regime competition (RD IV) and African intervention politics (RD V). In contrast to the RDs, which are the key administrative research units at PRIF, these groups are smaller and more flexible – they can be established, adjusted and dissolved more easily. While embedded in individual RDs, the groups can also include members from other departments. In addition, Research Groups and individual researchers can join forces in what we call cross-cutting research areas, which address ongoing political developments and academic debates, and facilitate collaboration across the Research Departments as well as with our national and international partners.

PRIF emphasizes the dissemination of practically relevant findings to society at large. As part of our knowledge transfer strategy, we provide background information on current events and analysis for ministries, parties, NGOs, and corporations. We conceive knowledge transfer as a dialogical exchange between science and society, which also engages with ideas and inspiration from society and integrates these into scientific work.