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.
USIP Roundtable Discussion on the Koran Desecration Issue in Afghanistan
The importance of USIP’s convening authority and its unique expertise in religion, peacebuilding, Afghanistan, and conflict management training was evident in a closed-door session between leading religious leaders, scholars, practitioners and representatives from the U.S. government on Monday, March 5, 2012.
Head of the Secretariat for Afghanistan's High Peace Council Visits USIP
Minister Masoom Stanekzai, the head of the Secretariat for Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, was joined by other members of the council as well as Afghanistan expert Dr. Barnett Rubin, serving as a senior adviser to the U.S. State Department’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Stenekzai was a former fellow at USIP.
The U.S.-Pakistan Relationship: Three Pollsters' Views
Pakistanis who live along the country’s western border care far less about national security issues and extremism within their borders than many American experts and policymakers think, according to new poll data that hints at what may contribute to the complex relationship between the two countries. Taken broadly, the data show a disconnect between the U.S. and Pakistan over how each country views issues that are central to politics and policy in both countries.
Urgent Imperative: Get Afghanistan’s Government Working
Ten weeks after the Taliban briefly captured Kunduz, Afghanistan’s fifth-largest city, neither the fractured government nor the country’s political class is showing signs of heeding that wake-up call—or the other flashing warnings that the 14-month-old government is close to failure. While the United States quickly announced the reversal of its planned withdrawal of forces from the country, the factions in Kabul must figure out how to cooperate in governing, and Washington must do all it can to advance that, analysts say.
USIP & Afghanistan’s Political Transition
Since 2011, USIP has advocated that Afghanistan’s political transition, and the presidential election in particular, will be the most crucial factor in determining the country’s stability post-2014. USIP has conducted research, facilitated discussions, and raised awareness of this issue through publications, projects on the ground, events, and briefings for government officials on the importance of and need to support the political transition. Learn more on USIP’s Support for a Successful Afg...
Afghanistan Withdrawal Should Be Based on Progress on Peace, Study Group Says
The Biden administration should commit to the Afghan peace process but seek an extension of the May troop withdrawal deadline stipulated in the February 2020 U.S.-Taliban deal, said the bipartisan Afg
‘Worrying Fragility' Marks Afghan Nation-Building
Afghanistan has benefited from some “amazing” social and economic advances in recent years, but “at the same time, there is a very worrying fragility” as military forces and aid from the United States and other countries wind down, J. Alexander Thier, director of the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), told an audience at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on November 17.
Obama's State of the Union Address: A World Wrap-Up
President Obama heralded progress in Iraq, asked Americans to brace for hard days ahead in Afghanistan, and touted seminal moments in Tunisia and Sudan in a State of the Union speech on Jan. 25. The president largely focused on the economy and jobs in this year's address, while covering the major international developments in the last ten minutes or so of his hour-long speech, beginning with Iraq.
Afghan Peace Requires ‘Will and Ideas’
Doubts about mounting a successful peace process in Afghanistan are running high as 2011 nears an end. However, hopes for it have not been extinguished and considerable work needs to be done on laying out what a viable process would include and how it might proceed, according to several Afghanistan specialists appearing at an event held at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on Nov. 29.
Laura Bush Urges Sustained Support for Afghan Women
Former first lady Laura Bush said the international community must continue to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan and progress for the country’s women through aid, investment and an ongoing presence of American troops. Speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace on March 15, Bush said she remains hopeful for the country’s future, in part because of the spirit of Afghan women and the strides they have made in education, business and government.