Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Sudan’s National Dialogue Poses Test to Government’s Commitment
In Sudan, a country still struggling with violent conflict in Darfur and two other states, almost 700 participants in a national dialogue process are finalizing recommendations after three months of vigorous and genuine discussion. But legacies of tension and division are hard to overcome. Key groups that must be involved for any resolution to be sustainable have not joined. Most concerning, the open debate exercised within the national dialogue does not extend outside the doors of Friendship...
Puzzled by China’s Foreign Policy? Look Inside Instead
The linchpin for better understanding China’s foreign policy may lie less in watching its external moves than in analyzing its domestic dynamics. While President Xi Jinping has taken a more assertive approach to foreign policy than his predecessors, he continues to spend most of his time on internal issues such as party consolidation, the anti-corruption campaign, military reform and economic growth. Those efforts, plus pressures from the party elite, public opinion and the military, create a...
Colombia Peace Talks Quicken With New Deals
Colombia’s government and the country’s FARC-EP guerrillas are pressing ahead with peace talks at a pace that could yield a final agreement by the end of June. Having missed a self-imposed deadline of March 23, the two sides are working quickly through the remaining parts of an agenda set nearly four years ago, reaching accords this month on a process for Colombians to ratify a final agreement and a plan to remove minors from the battlefield.
Colombia’s Disappeared: Assessing the Search for Truth
The tragedy of the “disappeared” in Colombia’s more than half-century of internal war cuts across the entire society. Among those who were forcibly seized and then vanished without further information are labor leaders and journalists, peasant organizers and politicians, urban and rural citizens. Soldiers and guerrillas are missing, too. The perpetrators include right-wing paramilitaries, leftist rebels and government security forces. In few other conflicts has the tactic of disappearance bee...
The Latest @ USIP: Venezuelan Youth Lead the Charge for Democracy
While Venezuela’s youth population might be disillusioned with the current political situation, they have shown a deep-rooted commitment to democracy despite the persistent repression of civil society. Wanda Cedeño, national coordinator of Voto Joven (Youth Vote) in Venezuela, discusses why voting is a central part of what it means to be Venezuelan, how her organization is helping youth shape the country’s future through political action and voter participation, and what the international community can do to support free and fair elections in Venezuela.
The Latest @ USIP: A Veteran Reflects on the Evolution of the Iraq War
From battling insurgents to securing provincial elections, USIP military fellow Colonel Jim Modlin saw firsthand how the war in Iraq evolved over the course of his four deployments to the country. Twenty years later, Modlin discusses why he regrets not engaging more with the Iraqi people on a personal level during his first deployment, his experience helping guide a fledgling peace process to prevent sectarian violence in northwestern Iraq, and the lessons that the United States cannot afford to forget from the war.
The Latest: Three Things to Know About China-Pakistan Military Ties
While Pakistan and China maintain strong economic and diplomatic ties, it’s their bilateral military relationship that has grown most significantly in recent years. This threshold alliance still falls short of a formal treaty — something China has eschewed — but serves many of the same functions, and the prospect of Chinese naval bases on Pakistan’s shores has major implications for regional security. USIP’s Sameer Lalwani discusses his latest report on China-Pakistan military ties, how China could leverage this relationship in future great power competition and what U.S. leaders can do to seek strategic clarity with Pakistan while helping it to maintain independence in its foreign policy.
The Latest @ USIP: Development Financing Reform in the U.S.-Africa Partnership
While the COVID pandemic and war in Ukraine have caused economic shocks throughout Africa, the dire socioeconomic conditions in parts of the continent are also a product of how global, multilateral finance institutions are organized. African countries rarely have access to the development funds they need — and when they do, it’s often on stringent terms. Meanwhile, the continent’s socioeconomic struggles continue to exacerbate political and security crises as well. Solomon Dersso, founding director of Amani Africa, discusses the 2023 African Union Summit’s renewed focus on reforming development and trade and the importance of framing U.S.-Africa ties as a partnership built on mutual interests rather than a means to counter China or Russia.
The Latest @ USIP: Russia, India and China’s Growing Trilateral Partnership
Russia has wanted strategic partners in Eurasia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, with India and China emerging as the strongest candidates. But while Russia has pursued cooperation with the two in both multilateral forums and in trilateral relations, the war in Ukraine has left Russia more isolated than ever — meaning Russia needs India and China for its geopolitical pursuits more than India or China needs Russia. The Institute for Security and Development Policy’s Jagannath Panda discusses how Russia has influenced China-India relations, the implications for U.S. foreign policy, and how the United States can navigate multilateral forums that include this trilateral strategic alignment.
Ask the Experts: Libyans’ Lack of Trust in Each Other Impedes Election Efforts
There have been several attempts to hold elections since Libya’s 2011 revolution. But so far, each has failed to produce a sustainable result. Any new electoral roadmap, such as the one recently proposed by U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily, must contend with the seemingly intractable issue at the heart of the conflict: a lack of trust between Libyans.