Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest analysis and perspective on the world’s critical hot spots, U.S. and global security and issues involved in violent conflict, based on the Institute’s work on the ground and with key individuals, governments and organizations. They give interviews and background briefings to journalists and write for news outlets around the world.
President Biden hosted the first face to face summit with leaders of Japan, Australia and India. The four countries are known as the Quad and see themselves as a democratic bulwark against China...
On this Africa edition of Encounter, Joshua Meservey, senior policy analyst for Africa and the Middle East at the Heritage Foundation and Oge Onubogu, director of the West Africa program at the U.S. Institute of Peace, discuss setbacks in democracy and good governance as exemplified by coups in Guinea and Mali, the need to strengthen regional institutions like ECOWAS and the African Union and the importance of fostering positive trends...
Host Carol Castiel and VOA senior diplomatic correspondent, Cindy Saine, talk with Mona Yacoubian, a senior official at the US Institute of Peace who tells VOA that the end of the US military intervention in Afghanistan underscores the need to prioritize diplomacy, peacebuilding, and development...
North Korea said Friday it was "premature" to declare a formal end to the Korean War, after a reference to renewed efforts by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to put the discussion back on the table amid stalled nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang...
The troubled nation of Afghanistan, set in unforgiving deserts and the foothills of the Hindu Kush, is once again sagging under the yoke of a medieval-minded regime that enforces draconian punishments and gender rules that echo those of 16th or 17th century Europe. According to international experts trying to come up with a viable plan to help oppressed and underfed Afghans, the truth of Afghanistan in 2021 is significantly stranger than an imaginary dystopia...
Although not a new phenomenon in Africa, military takeovers or coups occurred with disturbing frequency over the last year, writes Dr. Jude Mutah, an Africa program specialist at the United States Institute of Peace and a Penn Kemble Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). While experts argue that democracy is backsliding or shrinking in Africa, recent developments prompt the question: were democratic values ever really embedded...
In 2020, eight Mozambican public officials and one Chinese national named Zhao were arrested for illegally harvesting and exporting timber from Cabo Delgado — Mozambique’s northernmost province — to China. According to local reports, five of the Mozambicans are awaiting trial while Zhao and three Mozambicans have been released, and the seized wood was...
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan over a month ago. The last time they rose to power was in 1996, promising order through a strict interpretation of Sharia law. But how did they become the dominant force in Afghanistan? Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei, hosts of NPR's History podcast Throughline, look at the origins of the Taliban, starting with the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan more than 40 years ago...
Talks between U.S. and global leaders this week underscored intensifying concerns about the fallout from the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, but they produced no consensus on how and when to fully resume vital financial assistance to the country as it plunges deeper into economic crisis...
YARMOUTH, Maine — On Tuesday, September 21, the world celebrated the 40th International Day of Peace, dedicated by the United Nations to building resilience and creating change. This year, the peace-building movement has roots in Maine, partly because of a national program designed to...