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.
James Mattis: Yemen Needs a Truce Within 30 Days
Secretary of Defense James Mattis yesterday urged combatants in Yemen, including Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi faction, to negotiate a cease-fire in that war within 30 days while speaking to diplomats, military officers and conflict-resolution specialists at the U.S. Institute of Peace. In a webcast conversation moderated by former national security advisor and USIP Chair Stephen J. Hadley, Mattis also discussed global security challenges facing the United States—from Russia and China, to North Korea—cybersecurity and the need for the developed world to help fragile states improve their governance and address the root causes of extremism.
In Red Sea Region, Competing Outside Powers Complicate U.S. Interests
David Shinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, examines how great and regional power competition is impacting political and security dynamics in the Horn of Africa and complicating U.S. interests in the region.
Reforming the U.S.-Sudan Relationship Requires a Regional Strategy
On November 7, the U.S. Department of State announced long-awaited plans outlining a path to better relations with Sudan, “designed to expand our bilateral cooperation, facilitate meaningful reforms to enhance stability in Sudan, and achieve further progress in a number of areas of longstanding concern.” USIP’s Aly Verjee and Payton Knopf discuss the initiative, and identify where broader U.S. regional objectives could cohere, including in the war in Yemen.
Houthi Offensive ‘Primary Obstacle’ to Peace in Yemen, Says U.S. Special Envoy Lenderking
The Biden administration’s diplomatic efforts toward ending the war in Yemen are yielding international consensus on the need for a cease-fire and a more inclusive peace process, U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking said on February 8. However, Lenderking added, a military offensive by Houthi rebels is a major obstacle to those peace efforts.
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.
Halting Yemen’s War: U.S. Must Lead, Nobel Peace Laureate Says
Tawakkol Karman, the Yemeni human rights activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, called on the United States to assume a bigger role in trying to revive a political process that might end the war now tearing her country apart. She urged the U.S. government to lead in pressing for a cease-fire and the transformation of Yemen’s militias into political parties.
Yemen's National Dialogue
Erica Gaston, program officer in USIP's Rule of Law Center, discusses prospects and challenges for Yemen's National Dialogue, and highlights the Institute's past work in civil society.
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 ...
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.
Fellow Robin Wright Recognized by the Overseas Press Club
On April 25, Robin Wright, noted author, journalist, and joint USIP-Woodrow Wilson Center fellow, was recognized by the Overseas Press Club (OPC) for her recent book Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Middle East. Wright received the OPC’s Cornelius Ryan Award, which recognizes the best non-fiction book on international affairs.