History

At the end of the 20th century, a small gathering of analysts expressed concern with the ability of operations analysis and related fields to respond to the world’s needs with the restructuring of the world into a multi-polar one. The change that occurred with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the bi-polar era raised new questions for military, economic, political, and social sectors. New or revised threats to world peace and stability became of increasing importance.

A consensus emerged that there was a call for a significant change to the analytic processes, tools, and thinking about complex problems related to obtaining and maintaining peace and stability in the world. A prevalent view was that at a minimum the traditional opportunities for introducing new approaches and defining the new array of problems potentially susceptible to analytic processes were inadequate. Overcrowded workshops severely limited opportunities to develop a comprehensive exchange of knowledge, and a need arose to address these challenges.

The group decided on a format that would allow for extended time for a limited number of researchers, analysts, and users of analysis to present their views and introduce new problems and approaches to solutions. Thus was born, in 1996, what became known as the Cornwallis Group.

Explanatory Note

To stave off discomfort among our American members and participants, we point out that the Cornwallis Group takes its name from Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia, home to the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre. The Centre was the venue for the Cornwallis Group meetings until 2003. By that point, the name had become well known. It now serves as a reminder of the origins of the endeavor. Cornwallis Park, in turn, is named for Colonel Edward Cornwallis, Governor of Nova Scotia in the mid-18th century; Edward was uncle to Charles Cornwallis, the general who surrendered the British Army to George Washington, at Yorktown in 1781.

Workshops

To see a list of past workshops, please click here.

Workshop Proceedings

Electronic copies of most previous proceedings can be obtained by following the link to past workshops above.

Our process for obtaining print proceedings is in the process of being changed. At this time we recommend that you either search Amazon.com for the proceedings, or contact admin@thecornwallisgroup.org.