Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Projects

Project

Peace and Pandemics

Stories of resilience from USIP's global network of peacebuilders

Share This
Print the Page

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, inspirational stories of on-the-ground peacebuilding, nonviolent activism, and community leadership are all the more valuable—as practical examples for other peacebuilders around the world, as reaffirmations of USIP’s commitment to our core mission, and as beacons of hope and progress in a turbulent time.

Read USIP expert's analysis of the intersections between the coronavirus pandemic and conflict »

A student participates in a discussion during a gender ethics class at the University of Maiduguri, in Nigeria, Dec. 2, 2017. (Adam Ferguson/The New York Times)

Nigeria: Police in Jos Adapt to COVID-Driven Rise in Sexual Violence

Dialogues bring together police and community to devise approaches for addressing gender-based violence amid the pandemic.
In Caracas in 2017, Maria (left) and colleagues in the Green Cross Brigade rush to help a person injured by riot police during mass protests against the government. (Manuel Rivas)

COVID Menaces Venezuela, Medical Students Respond

Amid conflict and a shattered health system, medical students build healing and unity.
Tunisians wait in line to enter a grocery store amid COVID-19 lockdown measures. March 27, 2020. (Brahim Guedich/Wikimedia Commons)

Preventing Conflict During the Pandemic in Southern Tunisia

As tensions flared over lockdown measures, local peacebuilders help rebuild trust between citizens and government.
South Sudanese children carry water for their families at sunset in a camp for people displaced by warfare. About 39 percent of South Sudan’s 11 million people have been uprooted amid the country’s violence. (www.geoffpugh.com/Flickr)

In South Sudan, Civic Activists Take On COVID

Amid violence and weak governance, local groups organize against the virus—and for a sustainable peace.
Students participate in distance learning during the pandemic, April 28, 2020. USIP’s Peace Teachers have had to pivot to new forms of teaching like this as social distancing protocols are being observed. (Department of Defense)

Amid the Pandemic, Teaching Peace Remains Vital

Two USIP Peace Teachers explain how, amid global turmoil, the lessons of peacebuilding can inspire students to build a better world.
Gatwal Gatkuoth asks advice from the Dalai Lama on building peace amid civil war. Gatkuoth was among 25 young peacebuilders from nations facing violence who were hosted by USIP in 2017 for a dialogue with the religious leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

An African Activist Builds Peace with Youth—and Refugees

But Uganda’s progressive refugee policies face financial pressures, and now COVID.
Justice and Security Dialogue participants in Casamance pose after the first dialogue session, March 5, 2020. (Pierre Ndecky/USIP)

In Casamance, Dialogue Helps Battle Coronavirus and Build Trust

Decades of conflict in the Senegalese region have led to damaged security-civilian relations—but that’s changing at just the right time.
A vital highway for western Libya climbs the escarpment from Arab-populated plains to the ethnic Amazigh city of Nalut. Libyan civic leaders, supported by USIP, are working to end years of conflict between the two locales. (Anchishkyn/CC License 3.0)

Amid Libyan Crisis, Two Hostile Towns Build a Basis for Peace

Old foes in the mountains find a way to cooperate, despite land disputes, civil war and COVID.

Generation Change Fellows: Action for Change Amid the Pandemic

USIP's Generation Change Fellows program connects young leaders worldwide with the peacebuilding training and global community they need to help transform their communities. Amid the pandemic, many of these fellows have used skills and resources from the program to find creative ways to take action for change.

Rebecca Jibi

Rebecca Jibi

In South Sudan, Rebecca’s media campaign shares COVID-19 preventive measures with her community.
Reech Malual

Reech Malual

Reech counters hate speech in South Sudan with social media campaigns like this video.
Tunde Ogunyale

Tunde Ogunyale

In Nigeria, Tunde is using social media to inspire growth and reflection in others throughout the pandemic
Daniella Liendo

Daniella Liendo

Daniella virtually connects patients and medical specialists in Venezuela and helps provide meals for healthcare workers
Faten Khalfallah Hammouda

"Extend Your Hand to Save Our Land"

Generation Change Fellow

Faten Khalfallah Hammouda’s “Extend your hand to save our land” initiative has helped create over 1,300 protective face shields, masks and medical gowns for hospitals in Tunisia through 3D printing. “The skills I gained from the leadership training and conflict resolution have helped me a lot,” Faten said of our Generation Change Fellowship Program.

Latest Publications

A Year After October 7, the Middle East Crisis Has No End in Sight

A Year After October 7, the Middle East Crisis Has No End in Sight

Thursday, October 10, 2024

By: Robert Barron;  Caroline Dibble;  Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

The grim anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing war brought little respite for memorialization and healing from the enormity of loss with which Israeli and Palestinian societies have been grappling. More than 100 of the over 250 Israeli and foreign hostages abducted that day into Gaza are estimated to remain in captivity, with only 64 presumed still alive; upward of 42,000 Gazans have been killed in the ongoing war, most of the enclave’s population has been repeatedly displaced, and damage and humanitarian devastation is widespread. A multi-front war that has simmered since that day is now poised to boil over with catastrophic potential for the region.

Type: Question and Answer

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

As Taiwan Builds Resilience, Lai’s Tough Stance on China Risks Escalating Tensions

As Taiwan Builds Resilience, Lai’s Tough Stance on China Risks Escalating Tensions

Thursday, October 10, 2024

By: Jennifer Staats, Ph.D.;  Naiyu Kuo

Facing a growing threat from China, Taiwan has taken several steps in recent years to strengthen its defense and deterrence capabilities. Predictably, much of this has involved traditional military initiatives, such as increased defense spending, investments in asymmetric capabilities and the extension of compulsory military service for men from four to 12 months. Elected this January, President William Lai Ching-te is continuing that work, but also stressing the role that civil society can play in preventing a war. By enhancing civil-military integration, improving preparedness across society and building overall resilience, Taiwan aims to erode Beijing's confidence in its ability to swiftly and easily seize control of the island. But to successfully deter an attack and preserve the cross-Strait status quo, leaders in Taipei must demonstrate resolve while avoiding unnecessary provocation.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military Relations;  Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Southeast Asian Nations Convene amid Myanmar Crisis, South China Sea Tensions

Southeast Asian Nations Convene amid Myanmar Crisis, South China Sea Tensions

Thursday, October 10, 2024

By: Brian Harding;  Jason Tower;  Andrew Wells-Dang, Ph.D.

Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are in Vientiane, Laos this week for the bloc’s annual summit and the concurrent East Asia Summit, which brings ASEAN together with other important regional players like the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Russia and China. Typically, the East Asia Summit is not a venue for major policy discussions, but the gathering offers opportunities for a bevy of side meetings between various countries. At both summits, Southeast Asian leaders will lament progress on Myanmar and the South China Sea — where China’s maritime claims and aggressive actions lead to tensions with regional countries — and the state of the world in general.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

Costly Conflict: Here’s How China’s Military Options for Taiwan Backfire

Costly Conflict: Here’s How China’s Military Options for Taiwan Backfire

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

By: Peter Wonacott

When Lai Ching-te was inaugurated as Taiwan’s new president in May, he thanked supporters “for refusing to be swayed by external forces” and called on China to cease “political and military intimidation.” Days later, Beijing sent its own blunt message to Taiwan’s newly elected president. China’s army, navy, air and rocket forces converged in nearby waters to test its readiness to “reunify” with Taiwan, whether or not the self-ruled island — or any of its international supporters — shared the same objective. Such Chinese military drills around the Taiwan Strait point to one of the world’s most combustible threats, a potential conflict between China and Taiwan that draws in the United States and wreaks havoc with the global economy.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention;  Economics

Pathways to Reconciliation: How Americans and Vietnamese Have Transformed Their Relationship

Pathways to Reconciliation: How Americans and Vietnamese Have Transformed Their Relationship

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

By: Andrew Wells-Dang, Ph.D.;  Carl Stauffer, Ph.D.

The road to reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam has not been a straight or easy one. In the years following the Vietnam War, citizen diplomats—veterans, families of the missing, humanitarians, Vietnamese Americans, and others—led the way, reaching across geopolitical and ideological lines. Governments eventually followed, and the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1995. This report draws on the theory and practice of reconciliation to identify lessons for strengthening the US-Vietnam partnership and advancing reconciliation between other postconflict countries.

Type: Peaceworks

Reconciliation

View All Publications