The Trump administration has appointed four special envoys to coordinate U.S. policy toward key hot spots: Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Afghanistan. Yet in the Red Sea—one of the most volatile and lethal regions of the world afflicted by several interconnected conflicts and rivalries that pose significant challenges to American interests—U.S. policy has been rudderless in large part due to the absence of a similar post.

Global Policy; Conflict Analysis & Prevention

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.

Economics & Environment; Global Policy; Violent Extremism

As the war in South Sudan rages on, its dynamics are influenced by events across the border in Sudan and by the policies of neighboring countries, regional groups and the broader international community, notably the U.S. It’s just the kind of situation that cries out for an American diplomat with the stature and the ability to work across borders to help resolve the myriad conflicts underlying the fighting, according to former Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Princeton Lyman and two other former diplomats.

Global Policy; Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue