Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Boko Haram Kidnappings Prompt Northern Nigerian Women’s March
Dressed in black and white to represent both lamentation and hope, and clutching red roses, 300 women from all religions and tribes in the multi-ethnic state of Plateau in northern Nigeria gathered in the streets of the state capital of Jos. Together they marched to the governor's office to deliver a communique and a stern message: the government of Nigeria must take a more committed, effective and proactive approach to rescuing the girls captured in northern Nigeria and also in combatting Bo...
Northern Ireland: When Peace is Imperfect
It is said you should never forget where you came from, and I often think that is why I ended up working here at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
The Future of Afghan Policing
As President Obama was outlining his plans to leave almost 10,000 American troops in Afghanistan next year to train and support the Afghan army and police, experts in a long-scheduled meeting at USIP were exploring a question that was directly related: how prepared is the Afghan National Police (ANP) to handle the non-military side of Afghanistan’s security equation?
Nigeria: Remedies for a Police-Community Disconnect?
Community policing is increasingly seen as a hopeful approach to address violent extremism and even terrorism. The kidnapping of the Nigerian school girls by Boko Haram offers a strong case for the potential of stronger connections between citizens and their police forces to prevent and counter the effects of violent radicalization.
U.S.-China Cooperation on North Korea: What are the Options?
The U.S. and China have dramatically different perspectives and approaches on North Korea’s nuclear weapons development, even though both say they want the program shut down. So how to find common ground? Stephanie T. Kleine-Ahlbrandt, USIP’s director of Asia-Pacific programs, tells a congressionally established commission, “There are no good options, only a series of trade-offs.”
Twitter Chat: How Will Iraq Confront Militant Group Sweeping in from Syria?
Anti-government Sunni militants have swept across western and northern Iraq over the past week, gaining control of the cities of Mosul and Tikrit. Operating mainly under the banner of the State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or also known as ISIS), in many places they seemed to have faced little to no resistance from the official Iraqi army, who, according to reports, laid down their arms and melted into the countryside. As they neared Baghdad, Kurdish paramilitary pesh merga fighters took con...
Iraq Crisis: Will Politics Deliver More After Military Response This Time?
Just six months ago, I was having a traditional Iraqi dinner with a friend in a building overlooking the Tigris River. But this was no ordinary Iraqi, and our surroundings were hardly luxurious. My friend is a senior Iraqi intelligence officer and a close aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the setting was his bunker-like office in a heavily guarded military compound in Baghdad. Security threats left us no choice.
Afghanistan: How to Oversee Aid in Uncertain Times
Last weekend, as many as 7 million Afghan voters are reported to have defied skeptics and cast their ballots for a second time this year in a runoff election to choose a president. Although the U.S. and other international partners are moving to reduce their military presence in the country, the next Afghan administration will still need significant military and non-military assistance. A report by USIP and the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) lays out the discussio...
Preventing Extremist Violence: Views From a Peacebuilder
Countering violent extremism has traditionally involved tactics undertaken by outsiders aimed at preventing individuals from engaging in ideologically-fueled violence. USIP Senior Program Officer Georgia Holmer explains the increasing intersection with peacebuilding and how that can strengthen local communities to identify and address the drivers of radicalism and ultimately develop a more effective means of preventing extremist violence.
Iraq: Islamic Militants, Breakup and Other Tough Questions on Twitter
Will Iraq’s current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki defy efforts to replace him? Will it break apart into several separate states? Should its neighbors do more to challenge the militants rampaging across the border with Syria? And are we giving this group legitimacy by acceeding every time their leaders change the organization's name -- "Islamic State" or their earlier moniker, "The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria"?