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.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week declared South Korea to be an enemy state and formally abandoned the idea of peacefully reunifying the two halves of the peninsula, a bombshell even by his fiery standards. It marked a sharp break from the long-standing principle set by his grandfather and reinforced by his father, compounded by his pronouncement that the North’s nuclear weapons were no longer just for...
The rapid breakdown of a Beijing-mediated cease-fire in northern Myanmar has exposed the limits of Chinese influence in the region, even as it seeks to turn recent military gains by a rebel alliance to its advantage. The "Haigeng agreement," announced January 12, was less than a day old when witnesses reported widespread gunfire in northern Shan state, bordering China. The rebel Three Brotherhood Alliance — comprising the...
Japan recently became the fifth nation to successfully complete a soft landing on the moon’s surface, joining a select few countries — the U.S., Russia, China and India — in accomplishing this feat. But moon landings are likely to become more common over the next few years. Globally, more than 100 lunar missions, both by private companies and by governments, are expected to take place by...
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is holding talks Tuesday and Wednesday in Nigeria, the largest country by population and economy in sub-Saharan Africa. His visit to the continent comes amid concerns about stability in the Sahel sub-region of West Africa following several coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger since...
On January 6, Sudanese paramilitary leader Mohamad Hamdan Dagalo, better known as “Hemedti”, visited the memorial in Kigali that commemorates the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Hemedti toured the museum solemnly, his sympathy-filled face belying the fact that his paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are accused of similar atrocities in...
Houthi militants in Yemen fired a ballistic missile on Friday toward a U.S. warship patrolling the Gulf of Aden, according to U.S. Central Command. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship. The attack comes one day after the U.S. and U.K. announced that they’re jointly imposing sanctions on four Houthi military officials, in an effort to deter the Iran-backed militant group from...
The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, met with the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and Vice President for Europe and Russia at the Institute of Peace, William Taylor. Andriy Yermak thanked William Taylor for supporting Ukraine in both public statements and various forums, as well as...
An international human rights lawyer, Knox Thames, has urged the Nigerian government to enact legislation to safeguard religious freedom in addition to existing constitutional provisions. In an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, Mr Thames, a senior visiting expert with the religion and inclusive societies team at the United States Institute of Peace, noted that ensuring religious freedom throughout Nigeria is...
The eight coups d’état that have rocked Africa’s Sahel region since 2020 are a flashing, red-light warning: Washington’s efforts to stabilize the region have failed. For too long, the United States has acted on the assumption that jihadi terrorism is the source of the Sahel’s crises and therefore funneled military assistance to the governments fighting it. But Washington...
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation Tuesday, the day after the United States pledged another $100 million to a United Nations-backed multinational...