Religion

Ahead of the country's critical 2011 referendum on whether the South should secede from Sudan, USIP is dedicated to help resolve internal conflicts and help ensure the country's future stability and security. In "Notes from Sudan," USIP's Jon Temin writes about his recent tour of the country to get an update on the status of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended decades of civil war in Sudan and learn about preparations for the 2011 referendum and the 2010 national elections. 

Serious and contentious questions surround the issue of how the international community should relate to Somalia. Should major support be given to the Transitional Federal Government? Should the African Union peacekeeping force be expanded?

In The Next Front, co-authors Senator Christopher Bond  and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lewis M. Simons argue that the Obama administration can reverse the devastating effects of failed policies throughout the Islamic community in Southeast Asia by adopting a new "smart power" approach, one that combines the "soft" tools of diplomatic, economic and personal outreach with the fallback "hard" option of military force.  By so doing, the United States can begin to reverse the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in a region with more Muslims than in the entire Middle East.

As Bosnia and Herzegovina’s longtime tradition of religious coexistence is disappearing, USIP examines how education for new generations can improve multiethnic understanding in the postwar country.

In the wake of Lebanon forming a new government, USIP assesses how the country can ensure ongoing political progress and stability.

This report was commissioned by USIP's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention. Consistent with the center’s commitment to conflict prevention, this report aims to inform the center’s ongoing work to expand the understanding of the determinants of terrorism and its support base.

Join IFES and USIP experts for a public discussion of Lebanon's elections.

May 2009 | Daniel Brumberg and Eriks Berzins
On February 23, 2009, the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), together with the United Nations Association-USA and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, held a roundtable discussion among top Middle East experts and former United States Government officials. Held at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, the meeting’s purpose was to discuss prospects for creating a diplomatic framework through which the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran can address issues of common concern in the Middle East and South Asia, and in so doing, advance an engagement dynamic that might eventually open the doors for rapprochement between the two countries.