Why five centres?
Peace is not made in general: it is made in particular places, between particular people, over particular questions. Our five centres let us study those places closely, follow events over time, and build real expertise. Each centre reflects GPIL's three ideas: preventive peace, people and peace and peace hospitality.
You chose a centre when you applied. You may write about any country or question within it. If your idea crosses two centres, for example China's role in the Gulf, choose the angle that matters most and tell us in Task 1.
Centre 1
South Asia and Indian Ocean
South Asia is home to around a quarter of the world's people, many of them young. It is a region of fast-growing economies and deep poverty, of vibrant democracies and fragile ones. Some of the world's busiest sea lanes cross the Indian Ocean, and the island states that sit along them are small in size but large in importance.
For island nations such as the Maldives, much of which lies only a metre or two above the sea, rising sea levels are not a distant threat but a question of survival. This is where GPIL began, and where small states' voices matter most.
What it covers: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the island states of the Indian Ocean, such as Mauritius and Seychelles.
The big questions now
- How can small states keep good relations with larger neighbours and with distant powers at the same time?
- How can countries share rivers fairly as the climate changes? The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and the Ganges treaty of 1996 are famous examples of agreements that are now under strain.
- Why has regional cooperation through SAARC stalled (its last summit was held in 2014), and can other groupings such as BIMSTEC fill the gap?
- How can young people take part in politics peacefully, and what happens when they feel shut out?
Ideas for your piece
- How can the Maldives protect its people from sea-level rise, and who should pay?
- Debt and development: lessons from Sri Lanka's economic crisis of 2022.
- What would it take to restart regional cooperation in South Asia?
Where to start reading
Centre 2
Great Power Relations
When the largest powers compete, everyone else feels it: in the price of food and fuel, in trade rules, in new technology, and in the risk of war. The relationships between the United States, China, Russia and India, and the European Union, shape the choices of every other country.
Competition between great powers is nothing new. The task of peace is to keep competition from turning into conflict, and to keep open the channels through which rivals can still talk.
What it covers: The United States, China, Russia and India, and how their rivalry and cooperation affect the rest of the world, including through the United Nations Security Council, trade, technology and arms control.
The big questions now
- Can rivals agree on rules, hotlines and “guardrails” that stop an accident from becoming a war?
- What happens to nuclear safety as arms control agreements end? New START, the last treaty limiting US and Russian nuclear forces, was set to expire in February 2026.
- How are trade, sanctions and control of technology, from computer chips to artificial intelligence, being used as tools of power?
- Are “middle powers” and groupings such as BRICS giving smaller countries more choice, or less?
Ideas for your piece
- Should artificial intelligence be governed by an international agreement, and who should write it?
- What can the UN Security Council still do when its permanent members disagree?
- How should a small state respond when two great powers ask it to choose sides?
Where to start reading
Centre 3
Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asia
The Indo-Pacific is where much of the world's trade, manufacturing and economic growth is now concentrated. It is also where some of the most sensitive disputes lie, at sea and on land.
Southeast Asia shows that very different countries can keep the peace together. ASEAN, founded in 1967, has helped its members avoid war with one another for decades, and Timor-Leste became its eleventh member in 2025.
What it covers: The ASEAN countries, the South China Sea, Japan, the Korean peninsula, Australia and the Pacific islands, and the sea routes between them.
The big questions now
- How can rival claims in the South China Sea be managed peacefully? In 2016 an international tribunal ruled on the case brought by the Philippines against China; China rejected the ruling, and the dispute continues.
- What can the region do to help end the conflict in Myanmar that followed the military takeover of February 2021?
- How do Pacific island states make their voices heard on climate change and security?
- Do new partnerships such as the Quad and AUKUS make the region safer, or raise tensions?
Ideas for your piece
- Is ASEAN's way of quiet consensus still working, and what should it change?
- What could a fair code of conduct for the South China Sea look like?
- Climate change and security in the Pacific islands: who listens?
Where to start reading
Centre 4
Europe and the United Kingdom
Europe built one of the most successful peace projects in history after 1945, turning old enemies into partners. Yet Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought the largest war on the continent since the Second World War.
London, our home, sits at the crossroads of Europe, the Commonwealth and the wider world. Britain's own history, from Northern Ireland's Good Friday Agreement of 1998 to its departure from the European Union in 2020, holds many lessons in making and keeping peace.
What it covers: The European Union, the United Kingdom, NATO and the Council of Europe, and Europe's ties with Asia, Africa and the Gulf.
The big questions now
- How can the war in Ukraine end in a way that lasts?
- How can Europe welcome migrants and refugees fairly while keeping public trust?
- How can societies counter extremism and hate of every kind, whoever the target, while protecting free speech?
- What should Britain's role in the world be outside the European Union?
Ideas for your piece
- What can today's peacemakers learn from the Good Friday Agreement?
- How should Europe and the Gulf, or Europe and South Asia, work together on energy and migration?
- Countering online hate: what works, and what does not?
Where to start reading
Centre 5
Gulf and Middle East
The Middle East is the birthplace of three world religions and some of humanity's oldest cities. It holds much of the world's oil and gas, and its peace or conflict affects people far beyond the region.
The region has seen terrible suffering, including the wars in Syria, Yemen and Gaza. It has also seen courageous diplomacy: Gulf states such as Oman and Qatar have built reputations as mediators, and in 2023 Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore relations. Writing about this region calls for particular care, fairness and compassion for every people in it.
What it covers: The Gulf states, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, and peace, mediation and humanitarian work in the region.
The big questions now
- How can there be a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, with security and dignity for both peoples?
- How can humanitarian aid reach civilians in war, and how can civilians be protected?
- Can rivalry between regional powers, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, be turned into lasting coexistence?
- How are Gulf states using mediation, investment and hospitality as tools of diplomacy?
Ideas for your piece
- Small states as peacemakers: why do Oman and Qatar mediate, and why do others trust them?
- What does rebuilding Syria require, and who should lead it?
- Protecting civilians in war: what does international humanitarian law require, and how can it be enforced?
Where to start reading
Writing fairly, whatever your centre
- Give every side a fair hearing. Describe each party's view in words they would recognise.
- Never blame a whole religion, nation or people for the acts of some. Violence and extremism have come from every faith and from none.
- Remember the people. Behind every statistic are families. Write with care for all of them.
- Look for the way forward. GPIL's work is preventive: end your piece with practical steps that could reduce harm or build trust.
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