The EastWest Institute established the multiyear “International Task Force on Preventive Diplomacy” as the flagship of its Conflict Prevention Program in May 2007. The Task Force has one core purpose: it will investigate and promote concrete ways of strengthening practical mechanisms to build domestic and international political will to shorten the time between early warning and effective early response to violent conflict. To this end, the Task Force has adopted a set of Guiding Principles as a framework for its activities over the next few years.