Resources & Tools
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Countries: Afghanistan, United States
| Issue Areas: Communications and Media, Religion, Terrorism and Political Extremism
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Education plays a critical role in preparing communities for change and has made important contributions to post-conflict reconciliation in numerous war-torn societies, yet education issues have largely been excluded from past efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A new USIP report argues why an education track should be included in the negotiations phase and in the text of an agreement itself, and puts forward practical recommendations on how Israelis and Palestinians – and the international community – can move forward with a successful peace process that incorporates education. Countries: Israel, Palestinian Territories
| Issue Areas: Civil Society, Education, Identity, Ethnicity, and Culture, Peacebuilding, Religion, Terrorism and Political Extremism, Training, Youth
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The trade of stolen oil, or “blood oil,” in Nigeria is fueling a long-running insurgency in the Niger Delta region that has claimed many lives. A USIP special report by Judith Burdin Asuni shows how the big business of blood oil poses a threat not only to the Nigerian state and the region, but to the international community as well. |
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In Afghanistan's poppy-rich south and southwest, a raging insurgency intersects a thriving opium trade. A new USIP report, How Opium Profits the Taliban, examines who are the main beneficiaries of the opium trade, how traffickers influence the Taliban insurgency as well as the politics of the region, and considers the extent to which narcotics are changing the nature of the insurgency itself. Countries: Afghanistan, Asia, Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Economics and Development, Identity, Ethnicity, and Culture, Religion, Terrorism and Political Extremism
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Authored by USIP's Raymond Gilpin, this new working paper offers practical strategies to mitigate the rising costs of Somali piracy and lay the foundation for lasting peace. The upsurge in attacks by Somali pirates between 2005 and mid-2009 reflects decades of political unrest, maritime lawlessness and severe economic decline which has dire implications for economic development and political stability in Somalia. |
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Hamas's landslide victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections of January 2006 came as an unwelcome and unexpected shock to both Middle Eastern and international regimes, with the organization winning nearly 58 percent of the Palestinian Legislative Council seats. The United States, a number of European nations, and Israel had all issued clear warnings before the elections that they would not deal with a Palestinian Authority led by Hamas. |
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President Barack Obama recently met with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai and pressed the two leaders to do more to combat Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in the border area. Rodney W. Jones, program officer for USIP’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, assesses Pakistan’s efforts to battle insurgents, the Obama administration’s new approach on Pakistan and Afghanistan, and what USIP is doing to address the problems in the troubled region. Countries: Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Identity, Ethnicity, and Culture, Religion, Terrorism and Political Extremism
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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. Countries: Iraq, Syria
| Issue Areas: Civil-Military Relations, Conflict Management and Resolution, Economics and Development, Governance, Human Rights, International and Regional Organizations, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Nongovernmental Organizations, Political Systems and International Relations, Terrorism and Political Extremism
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The recent war in Gaza has again underscored the tensions involved in brokering sustainable peace in the Middle East. USIP has actively explored the critical role neighboring countries in the Middle East play in the success of creating peace throughout the region. In this "On the Issues," USIP presents a collection of resources and tools about the role of Syria in peacebuilding efforts. Building upon the foundation started in 2005 with the Syrian Working Group, USIP has held a number of recent events, activities, and programs resulting the development of some recent resources. |
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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. The top concern for both Riyadh and Damascus remains blowback from Iraq: the ascendance of ethnic and sectarian identity and the spread of Islamic militancy. The need to contain this threat is the dominant force that shapes their relations with Iraq. Both Syria and Saudi Arabia have a vital interest in ensuring that Iraq's emerging political order is inclusive of Sunni Arab Iraqis, who have not yet been fully incorporated into Iraqi institutions. This working paper represents the initial findings of the Study Mission. |