Publications
Articles, publications, books, tools and multimedia features from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest news, analysis, research findings, practitioner guides and reports, all related to the conflict zones and issues that are at the center of the Institute’s work to prevent and reduce violent conflict.
Q&A: Yemen on the Edge of Fracture?
Yemen’s path since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising has long seemed shaky, but this week’s events have created the most serious crisis facing the country in decades. With the government’s resignation, many observers fear the complete fragmentation and breakup of the state. Erica Gaston, a former senior program officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace, explains the ramifications.
Justice and Security Dialogue in Yemen
This report discusses the Justice and Security Dialogue (JSD) processes and activities which took place in the governorates of Abyan and Marib from early 2013 through early 2014. It details the research, planning, and implementation of context-driven dialogues, including outcomes, conclusions, and lessons learned.
Justice in Transition in Yemen
This research is part of a three-year United States Institute of Peace (USIP) project that explores how Yemen’s rule of law and local justice and security issues have been affected in the post-Arab Spring transition period. A complement to other analytical and thematic pieces, this large-scale mapping provides data on factors influencing justice provision in half of Yemen’s governorates. Its goal is to support more responsive programming and justice sector reform. Field research was managed b...
Dispute Resolution and Justice Provision in Yemen’s Transition
Alternative dispute resolutions has long played an important role in Yemen. Since the Arab Spring protests and the transition that has followed, a growing number of Yemenis have utilized tribal and nontribal dispute resolution outside of the formal justice system due to fractures in state control and weakened state institutions. Because of this political instability, the tribal system has since weakened and new actors have emerged, causing the authority of both formal and informal actors to b...
Yemen in Transition: Between Fragmentation and Transformation
A combination of a domestic balance of weakness and concerted international mediation efforts moved Yemen away from the brink of civil war. Yet it must still bridge deep divisions among its many factions if its negotiated transition is to last.
Process Lessons Learned in Yemen’s National Dialogue
Yemen’s national dialogue has been lauded as a model for other countries in transition. While it succeeded in convening a broad range of Yemeni society on a host of issues, difficult key issues were left unresolved. Other countries embarking on national dialogues should learn from Yemen’s experience that they must balance the scale of the forum, the weight of the agenda, and the impact on other transitional processes that may be sidelined by a dialogue.
Libya Institute Accord Advances On-the-Ground Work for Transition
The U.S. Institute of Peace entered an agreement today with the Libya Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS) to consolidate and formalize USIP’s work on the ground in helping strengthen Libya’s governing institutions and civil society.
Democracy, Like Revolution, is Unattainable Without Women
In this peace brief, author Sahar F. Aziz argues that the biggest challenge for women in Arab Spring countries is transforming their leadership and influence into high-level governance positions, both elected and appointed.
Sustainable Security in Yemen: Popular Committees in Abyan
In early 2011, as the Arab Spring protests swept through Yemen and crippled government control even in more urban areas Ansar al-Sharia (AAS), a local Islamic militant group affiliated with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), began to take control of major areas of the far southeastern governorate of Abyan. This not only posed a serious threat to local residents but also to those beyond Yemen’s borders. With Abyan in the control of AAS and beyond government reach, Abyan risked becoming ...
Waiting for Change
A year after a political compromise ended popular protests in Yemen, the transitional government has met some benchmarks for reform. However, key demands for improved security and government services, for example, remain stalled. This report studies security and justice conditions in four governorates to assess how transition is progressing. Also available in Arabic (1,076 KB))