Strong Words Alone will not Deliver Peace to South Sudan

Strong Words Alone will not Deliver Peace to South Sudan

Thursday, June 7, 2018

By: Aly Verjee

At the end of May, after only four days, South Sudan’s long-delayed peace talks once again adjourned without reaching a viable agreement. The failure to reach a deal comes only weeks after the White House declared that the Government of South Sudan had “lost credibility,” expressed deep frustration at the “lack of progress toward an agreement,” and warned that “more than seven million people will face life-threatening hunger in the coming months,” as a result of the crisis.

Type: Analysis

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Nigerians Head to the Polls Again for State Elections

Nigerians Head to the Polls Again for State Elections

Thursday, March 7, 2019

By: Aly Verjee;  Chris Kwaja

On March 9, Nigerians return to the polls to elect governors and state legislators. The balloting follows the presidential elections held February 23, which saw the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, re-elected for another four-year term. USIP’s Chris Kwaja and Aly Verjee discuss how Buhari’s victory may impact the state elections, Nigerians’ seeming disenchantment with voting, and how to avert potential violence.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceGlobal Elections & Conflict

Sudan after Sanctions

Sudan after Sanctions

Thursday, May 31, 2018

By: Aly Verjee

In October 2017, the United States lifted a wide range of economic sanctions that had been in place against Sudan for two decades. Aly Verjee, a visiting expert at the United States Institute of Peace, recently interviewed roughly 50 Sudanese—including students, business owners, doctors, laborers, activists, and others outside the government-connected elite—on what this first step in the normalization of relations between Sudan and the United States might mean for the future of their country.

Type: Special Report

EnvironmentGlobal PolicyViolent ExtremismEconomics

In Southern Ethiopia, Trouble Brews in Sidama

In Southern Ethiopia, Trouble Brews in Sidama

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

By: Aly Verjee

The southern Ethiopian area of Sidama is famous for its coffee. But amid the beans, bitterness lingers. More than 50 people were killed in recent violence, as Ethiopia struggles with demands for the creation of a new Sidama ethnic federal state—a right explicitly permitted by the national constitution. USIP’s Aly Verjee discusses the implications of this latest challenge to peace in Africa’s second most populous country.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionDemocracy & Governance

In South Sudan, the Trust Deficit Could Doom a new Peace Deal

In South Sudan, the Trust Deficit Could Doom a new Peace Deal

Thursday, September 20, 2018

By: Aly Verjee

On September 12, after nearly nine months of talks, the warring parties in South Sudan signed a “revitalized” peace agreement, superseding a 2015 accord and bringing an end to the High Level Revitalization Forum. But fighting has continued in the days since the deal was signed, and many remain skeptical that this agreement will succeed. USIP’s Aly Verjee discusses the deal.

Type: Analysis

Peace Processes

A Year of Change in Ethiopia

A Year of Change in Ethiopia

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

By: Aly Verjee;  Payton Knopf

A year ago today, 42-year old reformist politician Abiy Ahmed became prime minister of Ethiopia. Abiy came to power during a deep political crisis with widespread grievances across this country of over 105 million people, and quickly began to enact political reforms. USIP’s Aly Verjee and Payton Knopf discuss Abiy’s year as prime minister and identify the challenges that lie ahead for eastern Africa’s most populous country.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

Chad, and Darfur, After Bashir

Chad, and Darfur, After Bashir

Thursday, May 2, 2019

By: Jérôme Tubiana;  Aly Verjee

The politics of the Central African nation of Chad are closely connected with those of Sudan, most prominently because of Darfur, the vast and troubled Sudanese region which borders Chad to the east. The recent fall of Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir—in power since 1989—raises questions about the future of Chad’s president and U.S. ally, Idriss Déby, beset by similar governance challenges and in power since 1990. Jérôme Tubiana, co-author of a 2017 USIP report on Chad, and USIP’s Aly Verjee discuss the implications of political change in Sudan for Chad.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionDemocracy & Governance

Reforming the U.S.-Sudan Relationship Requires a Regional Strategy

Reforming the U.S.-Sudan Relationship Requires a Regional Strategy

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

By: Aly Verjee;  Payton Knopf

On November 7, the U.S. Department of State announced long-awaited plans outlining a path to better relations with Sudan, “designed to expand our bilateral cooperation, facilitate meaningful reforms to enhance stability in Sudan, and achieve further progress in a number of areas of longstanding concern.” USIP’s Aly Verjee and Payton Knopf discuss the initiative, and identify where broader U.S. regional objectives could cohere, including in the war in Yemen.

Type: Analysis

Fragility & ResilienceGlobal Policy

After Election, Cameroon’s Governance Crisis Continues

After Election, Cameroon’s Governance Crisis Continues

Monday, December 17, 2018

By: Aly Verjee;  Jude Mutah, Ph.D.

Eighty-five-year-old Paul Biya, president of Cameroon since 1982, was sworn in for his seventh term in office on November 6, after complaints arising from multiple allegations of electoral irregularities in polls held a month earlier were dismissed by Cameroon’s constitutional court. An intercommunal crisis in Cameroon has seen violence increase substantially since 2017, and the conduct of these elections—which saw a partial boycott—has added to grievances. In this analysis of the official election results, USIP’s Aly Verjee and Jude Mutah examine the data, and discuss the prospects for Cameroon after the election.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceGlobal Elections & Conflict