Q&A: Amid Boko Haram’s War and Postponed Vote, What Prospects for Nigeria’s Election?

Q&A: Amid Boko Haram’s War and Postponed Vote, What Prospects for Nigeria’s Election?

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

By: James Rupert

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.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionDemocracy & Governance

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Explains Feminist Foreign Policy

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Explains Feminist Foreign Policy

Monday, February 9, 2015

By: James Rupert

When Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström announced last year that her government would pursue a “feminist foreign policy,” the idea “met with considerable derision,” she says. “We call it the giggling factor.” And where the response was not quiet laughter, it was often confusion, including in Washington. “No one knows what this means” for Sweden’s approach to conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war, a Foreign Policy headline declared in December.

Type: Analysis

GenderJustice, Security & Rule of LawGlobal Policy

China Has Peaked as a Challenger to U.S. Power, Former Secretary of State Shultz Says

China Has Peaked as a Challenger to U.S. Power, Former Secretary of State Shultz Says

Monday, February 9, 2015

By: James Rupert

While China continues to grow as an economy and a military and political power, its overall influence relative to the United States has passed its peak, former Secretary of State George Shultz said at the U.S. Institute of Peace January 30. As China’s population ages, fewer working-age people must support a larger aged and dependent populace. “I think China, in relation to the U.S., has already reached its peak,” Shultz said in offering the Institute’s annual Dean Acheson Lecture.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionEnvironmentGlobal PolicyEconomics

Obama Visit to New Delhi Stirs Islamabad’s Scramble to Compete

Obama Visit to New Delhi Stirs Islamabad’s Scramble to Compete

Thursday, February 5, 2015

By: Amy Calfas

Above the sounds of cheering during President Obama’s recent visit to New Delhi for the 66th Republic Day military parade, a chorus of discontent emerged across the international border to the northwest. In the perennial regional competition between India and Pakistan, the U.S. leader’s second visit to one while again steering clear of the other could have serious implications for strategic stability in South Asia.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionMediation, Negotiation & DialogueJustice, Security & Rule of Law

Pakistan Massacre of Schoolchildren: What Has It Changed?

Pakistan Massacre of Schoolchildren: What Has It Changed?

Friday, January 30, 2015

By: James Rupert

Even having lost 50,000 people killed in terrorism-related violence over more than a decade, Pakistan was stunned by the Taliban massacre of 145 schoolchildren and others at an Army school in Peshawar on December 16, 2014. With some commentators calling the event “Pakistan’s September 11,” the U.S. Institute of Peace convened experts to assess whether the country may actually have reached a decision point that could yield a more consistent and effective state campaign against terrorism.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionViolent ExtremismYouth

Q&A: Iran Nuclear Talks

Q&A: Iran Nuclear Talks

Friday, January 30, 2015

Talks between Iran and six major powers—the U.S., the U.K., China, France, Germany and Russia—seek a framework agreement by March 24 with technical details by June. But leaders on all sides face intense—and sometimes harrowing—domestic pressure from opponents who fear a final agreement will give away too much. Robin Wright, an author and distinguished fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, explores the dynamics of the diplomacy.

Type: Analysis

Mediation, Negotiation & DialogueGlobal Policy

Peace, Inc.

Peace, Inc.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

By: Sheldon Himelfarb;  Anand Varghese

To make their mark, the architects of peacebuilding's bleeding edge need to leave the government payroll and start their own industry.

Type: Analysis

Nonviolent Action