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.
Yemen Teeters on Brink of Civil War...Again
Last week, Yemen’s President Ali Abdallah Saleh -- who remains in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia recovering from injuries incurred in a bomb attack on the presidential compound in June -- announced that he had delegated authority to his vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, to sign an agreement negotiated through the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) last spring that would remove Saleh from power.
USIP to Examine Yemen’s Tattered Justice Sector
Yemen is seeing some of its worst violence this year with at least three subsequent days of fighting this week between divided government forces, tribal groups and unarmed pro-democracy protesters, inching the country ever closer to full-blown civil war.
USIP Conference Assesses Social Media’s Role in Conflict
The new role of social media in popular revolutions and other political change is not the inevitable force for good some commentators portray it as, but its complicated effects are promoting a wider transfer of geopolitical power from traditional nation-states to individuals and institutions, according to speakers at a conference held at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on September 16.
Haiti in Waiting
Former USIP Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar Louis-Alexandre Berg, who recently returned from a trip to Haiti, provides an update on the political situation and Haitian President Michel Martelly’s plans to rebuild the conflict- and disaster-prone country.
The Secrets of Peacebuilding: A Conversation with Military Officers
Ending or preventing conflict almost always means talking to the people who understand it best: the women. It was one of many pieces of sage advice USIP Chief of Staff Paul Hughes gave to a group of Air Force officers visiting USIP in September as part of a tour of Washington. The officers are studying the role of the Air Force officer and his or her role in political-military strategy.
Libyan Official Calls for Libyan Lead in Transition
Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC), the immediate successor to the ousted regime of Col. Moammar al-Qaddafi, needs significant international help to prepare the North African nation for a democratic future, but Libyans themselves must be in the lead, and outside governments and institutions must show patience as Libya tries to address its many challenges, a key senior official in Libya’s new government told an audience at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on September 23.
"Customary Justice and the Rule of Law in War-Torn Societies"
What dilemma does customary justice present to international justice actors and how does this volume address it? What challenges or constraints do rule-of-law practitioners face when engaging customary justice systems? What are the arguments against engaging with customary justice systems? Why is it so important for international justice practitioners to take customary justice systems into account? What principles does the volume set forth to guide policy and programming in environmen...
Nigerian Foreign Minister Lays Out Ambitious New Agenda for Country
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, visited the U.S. Institute of Peace on September 29 to lay out President Goodluck Jonathan’s agenda.
State Dept.’s Schwartz Calls for Stronger Humanitarian Capabilities
In tackling complex humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere, the U.S. government will “proceed on two fronts—building our national capacities while strengthening the multilateral system of humanitarian response,” Eric P. Schwartz, the assistant secretary of state for population, refugees, and migration told an audience at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on September 28.
"International Mediation in Venezuela"
What was the situation in Venezuela at the start of the Carter Center’s intervention? What did the Carter Center aim to achieve in Venezuela? The ultimate goal of preventing violence was achieved by the intervention, but the underlying issues producing polarization and new forms of political exclusion were not resolved. What explains the mixed results of such an unusual international intervention?