Question And Answer
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.
To Stabilize Afghanistan, U.S. and Partners Must Commit to the Long Haul
As Washington hosts Afghanistan’s new leaders this week, policy specialists and government officials have urged the United States and its allies to agree on long-term financial and security support to stabilize Afghanistan. The reformist administration of President Ashraf Ghani and his coalition partner, Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah, creates a fresh opportunity for governments and international institutions to strengthen the Afghan state and curtail the country’s decades-long war...
U.N. Peacekeeping in the Sahel: Overcoming New Challenges
New U.N. operations in the Sahel present unprecedented challenges for U.N. peacekeeping. They involve the United Nations directly in the struggle against transnational Islamist terrorism, weapons proliferation, and illicit trafficking by international organized crime. The United Nations must operate in countries with harsh terrain, vast expanses, poor communications, and porous borders. In response, the Security Council adopted more robust mandates based on the peace enforcement provisions of...
Ukraine’s Rotten Front
Ukrainian leaders, it has been said, never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Though it’s still unclear whether the new government can break this pattern, the opportunity before it now is nothing less than to undo the system of institutionalized corruption that has held Ukraine down since independence, and made it vulnerable to aggression and dismemberment.
Political Parties in Afghanistan
Political parties in Afghanistan are often dismissed by international and Afghan observers as unruly and highly personalized organizations that contribute little to the democratic process. Yet they continue to play a part in shaping the political landscape, albeit in what might be considered unorthodox ways. This report assesses their history, role, and activities over the last decade and how their future might unfold under and contribute to the country’s new unity government.
Even Amid War, Ukraine Must Confront Corruption
As Ukraine battles Russian-backed forces in its eastern Donbas region, it must not let the war deter it from fighting the country’s endemic corruption, according to a panel of experts who spoke at the U.S. Institute of Peace on March 3. Indeed, the existential threat posed by Russia’s aggression can serve as a stimulus for the Ukrainian government to dismantle the systems of corruption that have dominated governance since independence, the specialists said.
Ukrainians Broadly Reject Russian Actions and Influence, Poll Shows
A new survey of Ukrainians shows a broad majority, including in the East, reject the boldest moves against their country, belying notions that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be winning the fight through propaganda and military aid to separatists.
Episode 21 - Sandra Melone
In this episode, we talk with Sandra Melone, Executive Vice President of Search for Common Ground, about the importance of monitoring and evaluating peacebuilding programs. This includes discussion on transparency, self-deception, balancing evaluation needs of stakeholders and organizational ones, and working with external evaluators.
Supporting Afghan Women in the 2014 Transition
The 2014 elections in Afghanistan saw great promise for advancing the status of women, with unprecedented voter turnout among women and powerful rhetoric from presidential candidates. As the new administration sets its agenda, this report offers guidelines for Afghan leaders to fulfill their campaign promises by strengthening women’s political participation, access to justice, and involvement in the security sector.
Feingold Presses Three African States on Elections
Russell Feingold, the U.S. Special Envoy working to stabilize Africa’s Great Lakes region, urged Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to hold fair, democratic elections as a key step to bringing peace to the region. And he pressed the DRC to launch a promised military offensive in the country’s East against an ethnic Hutu militia that includes fighters who participated in the anti-Tutsi genocide in Rwanda 21 years ago.
Q&A: Amid Boko Haram’s War and Postponed Vote, What Prospects for Nigeria’s Election?
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, begins 2015 at the brink of both a historically important election and a breakdown of state authority that is simultaneously cause and effect of the Islamist Boko Haram rebellion. Nigeria’s ability to govern itself effectively will be critical in determining whether Boko Haram can be contained or continues to grow into a trans-national threat like that of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Middle East.