Wednesday, April 17, 2024
The Latest @ USIP: What’s Next for U.S. Engagement in the Horn of Africa?
The Horn of Africa represents an area of strategic importance for the United States, and the current peace process in Ethiopia is an example of the positive role that U.S. engagement can have in the region. Ambassador Mike Hammer, the U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, discusses his meetings with USIP’s Red Sea Study Group, how the cessation of hostilities agreement in northern Ethiopia came to fruition, and the latest U.S. efforts to ensure a lasting peace in Ethiopia through humanitarian assistance, accountability for human rights violations and a host of other avenues for bringing stability back to the region.
The Latest @ USIP: Women’s Inclusion and Transitional Justice in Ethiopia
During Ethiopia’s disastrous two-year civil conflict, women were subjected to countless acts of conflict-related sexual violence by security forces on both sides. Now that a peace process has begun, securing true transitional justice will require women’s participation and leadership throughout the negotiations. Filsan Abdi, founder director of the Horn Peace Institute, discusses her decision to resign from her prior position as Ethiopia’s minister of women, children and youth in protest of the violence, why women’s participation is so vital to the long-term success of peacebuilding and democracy in the Horn of Africa, and why the current peace process gives her hope despite its shortcomings.
The Latest @ USIP: Protecting Myanmar’s Christian Minority
Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s junta has increased its targeting of the country’s Christian minority — committing atrocities such as killing and detaining pastors and burning down churches. While Christian leaders, particularly those in Christian-majority Chin State, have offered their support to the movement, many Burmese Christians are fleeing to neighboring countries — with thousands already living as refugees in India. Zo Tum Hmung, executive director of the Chin Association of Maryland, discusses the junta’s violence against religious minorities in Myanmar, the need for international accountability, and how the United States can partner with other countries in the region to facilitate cross-border humanitarian aid and refugee assistance.
The Latest @ USIP: Women’s Networks Open Doors for Peacebuilding in Cameroon
In Cameroon, a number of women’s networks have sprung up in recent years to push not just for the equal distribution of roles, resources and education for women, but for women’s effective participation in decision-making processes as well. Esther Omam, executive director of Reach Out Cameroon, discusses the importance of the women, peace and security agenda in Cameroon, how her organization has helped open doors for women to use their voice to shape the national narrative, and the positive impact of the international community’s support for women-led movements in the country.
The Latest @ USIP: How Military Chaplains Can Open Doors for Peacebuilding
While often overlooked, religious leaders are very much a part of international affairs. And in conflict environments, religious leaders can offer guidance, open doors and build bridges both within their own communities and between adversaries. Rear Admiral Chaplain Margaret Grun Kibben, the U.S. House of Representatives chaplain and former USIP senior fellow, discusses the role of faith leaders in helping end conflict abroad, her experience engaging Afghan religious leaders and the lessons she hopes to pass on to future chaplains.
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.
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.
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: 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: 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.