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.
Q&A: Myanmar’s Peace Process, Suu Kyi Style
Four days of talks last week restarted Myanmar’s peace process almost a year after a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement was signed by some but not all of the country’s armed groups. The process, known as the 21st Century Panglong Conference, or Union Peace Conference, is intended to convene every six months and aims to end the decades-long conflicts between and among the Myanmar army and an array of rebel groups. Vanessa Johanson, the Myanmar country director for the U.S. Institute of Peace, exam...
Creating an Inclusive Burmese Peace Process
Burma's peace process reached a milestone with the October 2015 signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. The Aung San Suu Kyi government, the most democratic in living memory, has prioritized the peace process; however, many women's and youth groups and other civil society organizations have been marginalized during the negotiations, their voices on important topics silenced in favor of elite input. As a result, a parallel track of activism aimed toward peacebuilding outside the formal structure has developed. The international community should support both tracks while continuing to urge the formal inclusion of marginal groups in the main process.
Myanmar Peace Process: Slow Progress, Delicate Steps
The peace process in Myanmar, which seeks to end decades of conflicts between the country’s army and an array of rebel groups, is progressing fitfully but could still face a reversal, experts on the Southeast Asian nation said in a discussion at the U.S. Institute of Peace. To drive it forward will require that the country’s new democratic leadership to skillfully manage relations with the still-powerful military while pushing negotiations and building confidence with the nation’s diverse arm...
Cautious Optimism on Burma’s Arduous Path to Peace
A year after Burma’s pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, took office, her country’s transition from military rule toward democracy and peace has made progress—but continued fighting underscores the need for faster progress, said diplomats, scholars and other analysts who convened at USIP on March 16.
Burma’s Northern Shan State and Prospects for Peace
This Brief focuses on conflict dynamics to provide an overview of resurgent conflict patterns in northern Shan State over the past two years, outlines the armed groups involved, their competing interests, the human rights effects on the civilians in the area, and how the fighting has affected the nationwide ceasefire.