Resources & Tools

Cover (Image: U.S. Institute of Peace)
January 2010 | Peace Brief by Virginia M. Bouvier

With congressional and presidential elections respectively scheduled for March 14 and May 30, 2010, electoral politics in Colombia will shape the prospects for peace in the coming months. Peace does not appear on the government’s public policy agenda and it has yet to materialize as a campaign issue.

Cover (Image: U.S. Institute of Peace)
January 2010 | Working Paper by Daniel Brumberg

This Working Paper is the culmination of the work of the Study Group on Reform and Security.

Cover (Image: U.S. Institute of Peace)
September 2009 | Special Report by Lawrence Woocher

How well does the international community work to prevent the outbreak of new wars? In a special report, "Preventing Violent Conflict: Assessing Progress, Meeting Challenges," USIP's Lawrence Woocher examines the current status of conflict prevention as an international norm and argues for enhanced global attention on conflict prevention strategy relative to more reactive responses, such as post-conflict rebuilding and resolving existing conflicts.

July 2009 | Book by Virginia M. Bouvier, editor

Bringing together the experiences and insights of more than thirty experienced and emerging authors, human rights activists, and peace practitioners from Colombia and abroad, Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War documents and analyzes the vast array of peace initiatives that have emerged in Colombia in recent years.

July 2009 | Book by Anatoly Adamishin and Richard Schifter

A diplomatic memoir unlike any other, this volume takes the reader behind the scenes on both sides of the Cold War as two men form an unlikely partnership to help transform Soviet-American relations. 

Won't You Be My Neighbor - Working Paper (Image: USIP)
April 2009 | Working Paper by Steven Simon

Overall, Syria has marginally benefited from the war in Iraq at both the regional and international levels. After watching the U.S. military unseat the Baathist regime next door in 2003 with unprecedented speed, it looked to many observers—including some in Damascus—as if Syria would be next in line.

Credit: Files Photo
March 2009
Issue Areas: Human Rights
Credit: File Photo
March 2009

USIP has supported over 300 products, projects, and activities related to human rights and peacebuilding. From grants to fellowships, from training to education, from working groups to publications, the Institute strives to encourage more practice and scholarly work on the issue of human rights, and seeks to deepen understanding of the role human rights play in conflict and in peace.

March 2009 | Congressional Testimony by Scott Worden

Rule of Law Specialist Scott Worden testified on Capitol Hill on March 26, 2009 on the issue of "Human Rights in Afghanistan." A former adviser to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on human rights and elections issues, Worden helped the U.S. Helsinki Commission examine the current state of human rights in Afghanistan.

Countries: Afghanistan | Issue Areas: Human Rights
Iraq, its Neighbors, and the Obam Administration - Working Paper (Image: USIP)
February 2009 | Working Paper by U.S. Institute of Peace and The Stimson Center

Since 2004, USIP's "Iraq and its Neighbors" initiative has sponsored track II dialogues and ongoing research on relations between Iraq and its six immediate neighbors. As part of this work, the Institute--in partnership with the Stimson Center--sponsored a bipartisan, independent, and unofficial Study Mission to Syria and Saudi Arabia in mid-January 2009. The delegation met with a wide variety of leading political figures, businesspeople, NGOs and foreign policy experts in both countries, including President Bashar Assad of Syria and Prince Turki al-Faysal of Saudi Arabia.