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.
Honoring Women Leaders as Agents for Change and Peace
Women leaders from Liberia, Pakistan, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Samoa shared compelling accounts of their innovative leadership approaches in a two-part panel event, "Women Leading Change in Transitioning Societies." These women, who have just been recognized as the 2012 honorees of the annual Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, are leading change in their transitioning societies through civil society, political activities, and private business.
Afghan and Iraqi Women Offer Lessons Learned to Women of the Arab Spring
Kathleen Kuehnast, director of the Center for Gender and Peacebuilding and Manal Omar, director, of the Iraq, Iran and North Africa Program, discuss a recent meeting in Istanbul with Afghan and Iraqi women leaders to map out practical steps forward for women in their own transitional countries.
USIP Working to Consolidate Gains of Women and Girls in Afghanistan
USIP has established a program, Capacity-Building and Dialogues for Afghan Women, in an effort to reach beyond the capital Kabul and help prepare women elsewhere to play a role in peace and post-conflict processes.
U.S. Agencies Move to Implement National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
For the past two years, USIP has been deeply engaged in supporting a government’s initiative on women, peace and security. The U.S. Department of State and the USAID recently issued detailed implementation plans to carry forward the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.
Burma/Myanmar Democracy Activist Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Calls for U.S. Support, Easing of Sanctions at USIP
USIP and the Asia Society hosted an engaging discussion with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the democratic transition in Burma/Myanmar, the challenges that lay ahead, and the potential of a promising future.
Girls’ Education Advances Security, USIP’s Kuehnast Tells House Foreign Affairs Panel
Expanding educational opportunities for women and girls around the world advances American and international security interests and should be part of a long-term strategy to prevent violent extremism, said Kathleen Kuehnast, director of the Center for Gender and Peacebuilding at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict? First, Understanding It
The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence, co-hosted in London this week by British Foreign Secretary William Hague and actress and United Nations envoy Angelina Jolie, will draw on research by young scholars who have documented the causes, responses and potential solutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, El Salvador and elsewhere. The researchers recently highlighted their significant and often unanticipated findings at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
The Success and Sidelining of Women Peacebuilders in Solomon Islands
During the height of “The Tensions” in Solomon Islands — an armed civil conflict from 1998 to 2003 — women were thrust into the role of peace symbol, negotiator, trauma counsellor and mediator. Women often went in between the two warring sides to negotiate safe trade and movement of people, encouraged militants to give up arms, and led meetings and marches for peace.
Addressing Gendered Violence in Papua New Guinea: Opportunities and Options
Each year, more than 1.5 million women and girls in Papua New Guinea experience gender-based violence tied to intercommunal conflict, political intimidation, domestic abuse, and other causes. It is, according to a 2023 Human Rights Watch report, “one of the most dangerous places to be a woman or girl.” Bleak as this may seem, it is not hopeless. USIP’s new report identifies several promising approaches for peacebuilding programming to reduce gender-based violence and effect meaningful and lasting change in Papua New Guinea.