Economics and Conflict

Pakistan faces unprecedented stresses on its water resources from inequitable distribution, population growth, urbanization, and shifts in production and consumption patterns, and these water problems exacerbate local tensions. Solutions to Pakistan’s water crisis must focus on addressing unsustainable practices and gross mismanagement, say the authors of this new report.

Following the inaugural session of the U.S.- Liberia Partnership Dialogue, intended to promote cooperation on areas of mutual interest, several members of Liberia’s cabinet continued the discussion at the United States Institute of Peace with members of civil society, private sector, and diaspora in hopes of finding new ways to partner in achieving greater equitable economic development in Liberia.

During the 2011 uprisings, Arab protestors channeled decades of discontent with failed economic policy. However, the demise of leaders will not be enough to answer this discontent nor ensure productive development. Scholarship on the political determinates of economic development finds that the common recipe of expanding the private sector and increasing trade openness may be valuable, but alone are not sufficient for successful development. The Arab World’s economic path to 2011 included implementation in these areas, yet reform in underlying socio-economic structures and interests lagged. Addressing these conditions constitutes one of the most serious challenges facing Arab economies and politics. 

Despite extensive counternarcotics interventions and reductions in poppy cultivation in certain regions, Afghanistan remains the largest supplier of illicit opiates. In this Peace Brief, USIP’s William Byrd examines the current situation and various options to manage the problem.

As the former Soviet republic of Georgia’s new leadership determines which direction it will take a country with a struggling democratic transition, the new ruling party sent its first delegation to Washington recently to discuss what each side will contribute to the relationship—and what the other will need in return, both politically and economically.

USIP expert Raymond Gilpin examines the “modest gains” in efforts toward making economic development aid more effective and outlines five steps for 2013 to accelerate progress.

“The worst winter storm in two decades” hit the eastern Mediterranean this week, compounding the humanitarian crisis for Syrians fleeing the fighting in their country, just as UN agencies predicted in their most recent funding appeals.

The ongoing security transition in Afghanistan to be completed in 2014 has dominated discussions about the country’s future, but the economic transition will also be a challenge. With so much at stake, many are looking at the country’s abundant natural resources as an “economic life raft.”