PRIF’s new research program started in 2018. For at least the next five years the ambi­valent relation­ship of “Coercion and Peace” will provide the frame­work for a signifi­cant part of the research con­ducted at the institute. Different research groups will focus on the con­ditions, forms, effects and kinds of legiti­mation that character­ize coercion to peace as well as coercion in peace. The topic is not merely of aca­demic rele­vance. By studying the complex ways in which coercion and peace relate to each other, the re­searchers aim at shed­ding light on the current plight of the inter­national order and its conse­quences for inter­national and intra­state conflict. The present report out­lines the new research program. It identifies over­arching questions, crucial con­ceptual clari­fications, and impor­tant analytical dis­tinctions, as well as research gaps and research topics.