Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities

Rebuilding economies after protracted chaos or violent conflict requires careful thought and political courage. By creating dynamic and inclusive growth, reconstruction zones could help countries stand on their own feet, consolidate peace, and overcome the unsustainable aid dependency to which they have grown accustomed. This event examines the validity of this approach, using Afghanistan and Pakistan as case studies.

Webcast: This event is now full and we are no longer accepting RSVPs for audience attendance. However, you can still participate by watching the live webcast and joining the online discussion beginning at 2:00pm EST on February 9, 2012. If you have already RSVP'd, you may still attend the event.

Arguing that the popular uprisings of the past year reflect the global appeal of American values of freedom, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who led his own country’s 2003 “Rose Revolution,” told an audience at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on February 1 that the success of such revolutions requires sweeping reforms that aim for a complete “social transformation,” commence quickly and “never stop.”

On February 1, 2012, USIP and the Atlantic Council hosted President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia as he addressed what Georgia, North Africa, and other reforming societies have in common.

USIP’s Sheldon Himelfarb, director of USIP’s Center of Innovation for Science, Technology and Peacebuilding, and Andrew Robertson, a senior program officer with the center, discuss the latest developments on technology, science and peacebuilding – and where the new field is going.

Civilian health, health care workers, and health facilities disproportionately suffer in countries experiencing severe instability, but global health donors have yet to make developing health systems in such states a priority. Doing so could both make populations healthier and contribute to state legitimacy.

The United States Institute of Peace announced today the release of  “Iraq, Its Neighbors, and the United States: Competition, Crisis, and the Reordering of Power,” a volume that examines how Iraq’s evolving political order affects its complex relationships with its neighbors and the United States.

In May, President Obama defined the Arab Spring as a “historic opportunity” to redefine and strengthen America’s relationships in the Middle East, demonstrating that “America values the dignity of the street vendor . . . more than the raw power of the dictator.” One year after the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia, has the promise of the Arab Awakening been realized? Please join former national security adviser Stephen Hadley and former Jordanian foreign minister Marwan Muasher on Wednesday, January 18, as they lead an analysis and discussion of what the Arab Awakening means for 2012.