More than 100,000 Colombians have been forcibly disappeared over the last six decades. Finding their remains is “tremendously healing” and can “repair the social fabric” by giving closure to the victims’ loved ones and allowing former armed actors “to regain their own dignity” by contributing to the process, says USIP’s Steve Hege.

Type: Podcast

Outside powers often treat aid as an easy geopolitical win in the Pacific. However, Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Minister for National Planning Sir Ano Pala’s recent public critique of Australian aid at Australia’s latest development plan launch in PNG punctured this perception. Pala’s statement should serve as a reminder that Pacific Island countries won’t be bought with aid packages in the tussle for geopolitical influence in the region, particularly those that do not align with Pacific priorities or build local capacities.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) will gather in Kazan, Russia, next week for the group’s annual summit, along with an expanded roster of members. This is the first BRICS summit since Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE joined earlier this year. Russia, which holds the BRICS presidency this year, has also invited over two dozen other countries, which have expressed interest in joining the group, for the first “BRICS+” summit. For President Vladimir Putin, hosting this summit is an opportunity to show that Western efforts to isolate Moscow for its illegal war on Ukraine have not been successful and that Russia has friends around the globe.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will meet in Kazan, Russia from October 22-24 for the 16th BRICS Summit. BRICS will welcome its five new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), with at least 24 other prospective members joining the summit. As BRICS expands and looks to become a more influential player in world affairs, India faces the increasingly complicated task of continuing to deepen ties with the United States and play a leading role in Russian- and Chinese-dominant global forums, like BRICS.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

Although Kazakhstan denuclearized over three decades ago when it split from the Soviet Union, the Central Asian nation held a referendum on October 6 over whether it should build a nuclear power plant. With 73% voting yes, the referendum could reverberate beyond Kazakhstan and the Central Asia region. Safe nuclear power would be a boon for Kazakhstan, decreasing its reliance on fossil fuels while increasing economic resilience and helping it to address its immense climate change challenges. There are also important U.S. interests at stake here. The U.S. and Western allies should constructively engage with Kazakhstan, including helping to build a new reactor, to avoid Russian or Chinese control of Kazakhstan’s new nuclear energy sector and its valuable uranium resources.

Type: Analysis

Environment;  Global Policy