The Bonn International Conversion Center (BICC) was founded as a non-profit limited company in 1994 with the support of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Shareholders are the States of NRW and Brandenburg. Its mission is to conduct critical, problem-oriented, policy relevant research in response to the problems posed by organized violence.

BICC examines the dynamics of organized violence at three levels:

• Concepts (with the research themes: Discourses about war and Civil–military boundaries);
• Means (with the research themes: Arms production and political economy, Arms transfers and arms control and Base conversion and arms destruction);
• Practices (with the research themes: Mobilization and demobilization and Use of violence).

Natural resources as well as Migration are intersecting research themes which show multiple inter-linkages with organized violence.