Report of the Expert Study Group on NATO and Indo-Pacific Partners

Report of the Expert Study Group on NATO and Indo-Pacific Partners

Monday, February 19, 2024

By: USIP Expert Study Group on NATO and Indo-Pacific Partners

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its four partner countries in the Indo-Pacific—Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and New Zealand—have entered a period of increased engagement. This engagement is taking shape in the context of the war waged by the Russian Federation (Russia) against Ukraine, NATO’s growing awareness of the security challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China (China), and important structural changes in the international system, including the return of strategic competition between the United States and China and Russia. It is occurring not only in bilateral NATO-partner relations but also between NATO and these Indo-Pacific countries as a group.

Type: Report

Conflict Analysis & PreventionCivilian-Military RelationsGlobal PolicyMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Why Now? The Tortured History of Iran’s Hostage Seizures

Why Now? The Tortured History of Iran’s Hostage Seizures

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

By: Robin Wright

In January 1981, I stood at the foot of the Air Algerie flight that flew 52 American diplomats to freedom after 444 days as hostages in Iran. Some of them were my friends. I still remember their gaunt appearances after being caged and cut off from the world for so long as they quietly disembarked. That original hostage crisis was a turning point in U.S. history in the 20th century — and has shaped angry American views of the Islamic republic ever since.

Type: Analysis

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

70 Years After the Armistice, the Korean Peninsula Still Struggles for Peace

70 Years After the Armistice, the Korean Peninsula Still Struggles for Peace

Monday, September 11, 2023

By: Bong-geun Jun

On July 27, 1953, military commanders from the United States, North Korea and China signed an armistice agreement that ended the hostilities of the Korean War. The parties agreed to a “complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force until a final peaceful settlement is achieved.” They also recommended holding a “political conference” within three months for “the peaceful settlement of the Korean question.” After 70 years of truce, however, peace on the Korean Peninsula is still elusive.

Type: Analysis

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Il y a une voie à suivre en Haïti - mais ce n'est pas celle que nous suivons

Il y a une voie à suivre en Haïti - mais ce n'est pas celle que nous suivons

Thursday, June 29, 2023

By: Keith Mines

Il existe peu de crises internationales où la tension entre l'aide internationale et les solutions locales est plus conflictuelle qu'en Haïti. L'incapacité à trouver un juste équilibre explique en grande partie l'incapacité à résoudre la crise au cours des deux longues années qui ont suivi l'assassinat du président haïtien. Le pays a une longue liste de besoins, y compris sur des questions urgentes et immédiates telles que la sécurité alimentaire, les soins de santé, la violence endémique des gangs et l'éducation. En fin de compte, Haïti a besoin d'une élection crédible et transparente pour réinitialiser son système politique.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

There is a Path Forward in Haiti — But It’s Not the One We Are On

There is a Path Forward in Haiti — But It’s Not the One We Are On

Thursday, June 29, 2023

By: Keith Mines

There are few international crises where the tension between international assistance and locally led solutions is in greater conflict than Haiti. Failure to get that balance right goes a long way toward explaining the failure to solve the crisis for the two long years since the assassination of Haiti’s president. The country has a long list of needs, including on pressing, immediate issues like food security, health care, rampant gang violence and education. Ultimately, Haiti needs a credible and transparent election to reset its political system. But the functioning transitional government it requires is something that can best be achieved through an assertive political process that blends outside assistance with independent local actors, bringing together all key stakeholders under international facilitation.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Three Takeaways on U.S.-China Relations After the Shangri-La Summit

Three Takeaways on U.S.-China Relations After the Shangri-La Summit

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

By: Rosie Levine;  Alex Stephenson

Defense ministers from around the world gathered in Singapore last weekend for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, a forum for discussing security challenges in Asia and an opportunity for high-ranking security officials to engage in bilateral talks. However, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not meet with his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu. Beijing suspended formal military-to-military meetings last August following then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Since then, U.S.-China tensions have only ratcheted up, particularly following revelations this February that a Chinese surveillance balloon was hovering over U.S. territory.

Type: Analysis

Global PolicyMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Tajikistan’s Peace Process: The Role of Track 2 Diplomacy and Lessons for Afghanistan

Tajikistan’s Peace Process: The Role of Track 2 Diplomacy and Lessons for Afghanistan

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

By: Parviz Mullojanov

The peace process that ended the Tajik civil war in the late 1990s successfully combined both official and civic channels of communication and negotiation from its start. This report argues that although the agreement and its implementation were far from perfect, the Tajik experience contains valuable lessons on power-sharing arrangements, reconciliation, reintegration, and demobilization for the architects of future peace processes, and provides important insights into the shortcomings of the 2018–21 peace process in neighboring Afghanistan.

Type: Special Report

Mediation, Negotiation & DialoguePeace Processes

Seis formas de ayudar a mantener las negociaciones en Venezuela

Seis formas de ayudar a mantener las negociaciones en Venezuela

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

By: Mark Feierstein;  Keith Mines;  Nicolás Devia-Valbuena

A fines del año pasado, la Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela, controlada por la oposición, votó a favor de disolver el “gobierno interino” encabezado por Juan Guaidó, un proyecto de cuatro años diseñado para sustituir al gobernante del país, Nicolás Maduro. Este voto se produce en medio de un panorama regional cambiante, con gobiernos de izquierda recién elegidos en los vecinos Brasil y Colombia que apoyan una solución negociada al conflicto y un enfoque más moderado por parte de muchos de los aliados tradicionales en el exterior de la oposición.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Six Ways to Help Sustain Venezuela’s Negotiations

Six Ways to Help Sustain Venezuela’s Negotiations

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

By: Mark Feierstein;  Keith Mines;  Nicolás Devia-Valbuena

At the end of last year, Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to disband the “interim government,” led by Juan Guaidó, a four-year project designed to displace the country’s ruler, Nicolas Maduro. This comes amid a shifting regional landscape, with newly elected leftist governments in neighboring Brazil and Colombia supporting a negotiated solution to the conflict, and a more nuanced approach from many of the opposition’s traditional international supporters. The key to progress in the year ahead will be maintaining consistent negotiations, which remain the most efficient venue for key decisions, such as on elections, and engagement. There are several key ways to help nurture and sustain these talks, and to make them more impactful in achieving short-term improvements in the lives of the Venezuelan people.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Colombia’s Renewed Peace Talks with ELN Rebels Provide Historic Opportunity

Colombia’s Renewed Peace Talks with ELN Rebels Provide Historic Opportunity

Thursday, December 15, 2022

By: Steve Hege

As part of its ambitious “Total Peace” agenda, the new Colombian government recently restarted peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), marking the first new negotiations since January 2019. And while this cycle of talks adopted the same agenda and process framework as the previous efforts, current President Gustavo Petro appointed a diverse and broad negotiations team in the hopes of generating early momentum and support. Petro intends to advance on partial accords as quickly as possible — building up to a comprehensive agreement before his brief four-year term in office is complete.

Type: Analysis

Mediation, Negotiation & DialoguePeace Processes