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Leslie Minney

Senior Program Specialist, Russia

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Leslie Minney is a senior program specialist with the Russia Program at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Leslie joined USIP full time after two years as a graduate student research assistant and coordinator focused on Ukraine with USIP’s peace processes and reconciliation team. Leslie specializes on the Ukrainian-Russian war and eastern Ukraine’s peace processes. She also supports research on the role of religion in this conflict. In addition, Leslie researches and analyzes Russia’s role and impact on peace and conflict dynamics around the world.

Leslie holds a master’s degree from American University in ethics, peace and global affairs with a special focus on environmental peacekeeping. Before starting her graduate career, she was an agribusiness advisor in the Peace Corps in the French-speaking region of eastern Cameroon. She holds bachelor’s degrees from the Ohio State University in international development and cultural anthropology, with concentrations in Sub-Saharan Africa and globalization studies.

Publications By Leslie

Amid the Central African Republic’s search for peace, Russia steps in. Is China next?

Amid the Central African Republic’s search for peace, Russia steps in. Is China next?

Thursday, December 19, 2019

By: Leslie Minney; Rachel Sullivan; Rachel Vandenbrink

The 2017 National Security Strategy refocused U.S. foreign and defense policy to address resurgent major power competition with Russia and China. In U.S. foreign policy, Africa has emerged as a frontline for this competition, as in recent years both Moscow and Beijing have sought to expand their influence and promote their interests on the continent. Nowhere is the role of major powers more apparent than in the Central African Republic (CAR), where Russia has emerged as a key power broker amid a civil war that has simmered since 2012. Despite concerns about the need to counter other major powers, the best course for U.S. policy in CAR is to not allow competition with Russia and China to distract from the fundamental priority of supporting a democratic, inclusive path to peace.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Conflict Analysis & Prevention; Global Policy

The Ukraine-Russia Summit: An Unproven Chance for Peace

The Ukraine-Russia Summit: An Unproven Chance for Peace

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

By: Leslie Minney

The presidents of Ukraine and Russia will meet the French and German leaders in Paris December 9 to consider prospects for ending the five-year-old war in eastern Ukraine. Recent steps by Ukraine and Russia to reduce tensions highlight the summit’s potential, although questions for any real peace plan remain unanswered, most critically by Moscow. Despite signs that Russians at home are tired of the war and its costs, it remains unclear whether President Vladimir Putin might seriously consider ending his armed incursion into Ukraine’s Donbas region. But one potential benefit of the Paris summit is that his intent can be tested.

Type: Blog

Peace Processes

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