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.
Shut out of the Asean summit last week, Myanmar’s junta held its own meetings with representatives from China, India and Thailand in a bid to use its larger neighbours to leverage against the regional bloc and boost the generals’ “legitimacy”, analysts said. As leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Indonesia...
The leaders of Turkiye and Egypt on Sunday met formally for the first time in more than a decade, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. The meeting in the Indian capital New Delhi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi marked a...
On the eve of the final day of a four-day visit to India and Vietnam, President Biden emphasized one point: He is not trying to contain China. "It's not about containing China; it's about having a stable base — a stable base in the Indo-Pacific," the president said as he answered question after question about...
The elevation of Vietnam-US relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership marks “a historic new phase of bilateral cooperation and friendship.” It’s stated in the Joint Statement released during US President Joe Biden's state visit, which concluded on September 11. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was declared by...
For decades, the West - and Washington particularly - has asked itself the question: how do you solve a problem like North Korea? Now it may be more urgent than ever as Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin's heavily sanctioned regimes enter what appears to be a...
As if Coca-Cola gave up making soft drinks, the Taliban announced to great fanfare last year that they were getting out of the drug business. The group that rode big opium profits to a takeover of Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 suddenly, seemingly, swore off the stuff. Poppy planting was banned and drugs were...
“Dan was my first love and my first grief,” Brenda Lott said, as she spoke to families who’ve spent decades searching for answers about their missing loved ones. In a crowded hotel conference room in northern Virginia, Lott, 79, spoke at an annual government briefing in mid-August designed to offer updates on American service members from the Korean War. When she was 6 years old...
In this week's episode of The Irrawaddy Newscast we hear about the expansion of BRICS and whether the junta has any hope of joining. Also, it’s been two years since the civilian National Unity Government declared an armed uprising against the...
Does the North Korean leader's visit to Russia herald closer military cooperation between the two countries? Does it signal a loss of stature for...
The first hint Soe Thun* had that his online sales job might not be exactly as advertised was that the hiring process lasted just a few minutes and took place over a voice messaging app. His recruiter, who gave her name as Lisa, told Soe Thun to send her a paragraph of...