Publications
Articles, publications, books, tools and multimedia features from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest news, analysis, research findings, practitioner guides and reports, all related to the conflict zones and issues that are at the center of the Institute’s work to prevent and reduce violent conflict.
COVID Raises the Stakes for Zimbabwe’s Civil Society Movement
Countries worldwide that suffer or risk violent conflicts face a new hazard amid the COVID-19 pandemic: governments’ use of the disease as a pretext to curtail democratic freedoms and punish opposition. As COVID has spread across Africa, Zimbabwe is emerging as one of the countries most vulnerable to the disease—and most illustrative of its threat to peace and democratization efforts on the continent. Two and a half years after a military coup installed President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his government has used the health crisis to arrest members of the opposition and journalists, and divert humanitarian aid to ruling party supporters.
The Challenges for Social Movements in Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe
Civil society and social movements have long been at the center of pushing back against corruption and authoritarian practices. Zimbabwe was no exception in the run-up to the November 2017 coup d’état that ousted Robert Mugabe after four decades of unaccountable rule. This report, based on in-country interviews and focus group discussions, examines the transition that followed the coup to draw broader lessons for how the international community can support, without harming, grassroots nonviolent action initiatives in countries undergoing profound political shifts.
After Voting and Violence, What’s Next for Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe’s election last week offered hope for more democratic and stable governance following the removal last year of President Robert Mugabe after his 37 years in power. But the country’s direction is uncertain following the disputed election result and the violent suppression of protests by...
Zimbabwe Crisis: USIP Experts on What You Need to Know
In Zimbabwe, the military has taken control and detained its longtime leader, President Robert Mugabe. Despite what appears to be a coup, shops and banks remain open and there has been no violence or resistance. The world is keeping a careful eye on Zimbabwe as Mr. Mugabe’s four decades of ironclad rule are seemingly coming to an end and the immediate future of the country is perilous and uncertain.
U.S. Africa Summit Leaders Face Weighty Agenda for Continent
President Barack Obama and African leaders attending the first U.S.-Africa Summit in Washington next month face an array of factors undermining the democratic development and economic growth achieved on the continent in recent decades, according to three former high-level U.S. officials on Africa who spoke at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
'Women of Courage' Awardees Challenge Social Norms Head On
Roshika Deo’s announcement that she would run in her country’s first election since a military coup eight years ago drew vicious condemnation on social media – racist and homophobic comments, threats of rape. Her story hails from the South Pacific island nation of Fiji, but it reflects the kinds of attacks, verbal and physical, also faced by her fellow recipients of the U.S. State Department’s International Women of Courage Awards this year.
Zimbabwe’s—and Mtetwa’s—Troubles Grow as Next Mugabe Term Begins
He has held power in Zimbabwe for a third of a century, and today Robert Mugabe was re-inaugurated as president of the southern African nation—the result of a recent election that was free of violence but marred by widespread voting irregularities.
At USIP, Zimbabwe’s Beatrice Mtetwa Describes Repression, Legal Challenges
Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who has defended peace activists, journalists, opposition candidates, farmers and ordinary citizens arrested and prosecuted by the government of Robert Mugabe, appeared at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on April 25, discussing her ongoing efforts to use the country’s laws and court system to defend clients against politically-motivated charges that seem aimed at deterring opponents to Mugabe’s three decades of rule.
Voting in Fear
In Voting in Fear, nine contributors offer pioneering work on the scope and nature of electoral violence in Africa; investigate the forms electoral violence takes; and analyze the factors that precipitate, reduce, and prevent violence. The book breaks new ground with findings from the only known dataset of electoral violence in sub-Saharan Africa, spanning 1990 to 2008. Specific case studies of electoral violence in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria provide the context to further un...
The Diversity of Truth Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry
Over the past several decades, dozens of countries have established truth commissions and other bodies to investigate mass atrocities or systematic human rights abuse. Lessons learned from past truth-finding processes are invaluable to help address the legacies of human rights violations in countries transitioning to democratic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa and elsewhere.