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.
Afghan Civil Society and a Comprehensive Peace Process
The peace brief summarizes key findings of the field research undertaken during five trips to Kabul, Afghanistan and one trip to Pakistan between 2009 and 2011.
Customary Justice and the Rule of Law in War-Torn Societies
Customary Justice and the Rule of Law in War-Torn Societies presents seven in-depth case studies that take a broad interdisciplinary approach to the study of the justice system. Moving beyond the narrow lens of legal analysis, the cases—Mozambique, Guatemala, East Timor, Afghanistan, Liberia, Iraq, Sudan—examine the larger historical, political, and social factors that shape the character and role of customary justice systems and their place in the overall justice sector.
President Obama Calls for Troop Drawdown
President Barack Obama announced he would bring home 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of next summer, thus ending the surge he announced at West Point in 2009.
Military Strategy Alone Cannot Lead to Durable Peace in Afghanistan
USIP’s Andrew Wilder comments on President Barack Obama’s call to draw down U.S. forces and why achieving durable peace in Afghanistan is essential for U.S. national security.
President Obama's Afghanistan Speech
USIP’s Andrew Wilder previews the president’s speech and how it is likely to play out in Afghanistan.
USIP Reports from Afghanistan
USIP’s Shahmahmood Miakhel, who heads the Institute’s office in Kabul, discusses the state of play in Afghanistan as the U.S. debates its strategy in Afghanistan.
Eye on Afghanistan-Pakistan
Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) are closely following developments in Afghanistan, Pakistan and U.S. policy. In a series of reports and interviews, they cover a wide range of issues.
Achieving Durable Peace in Afghanistan
The July deadline for the beginning of a drawdown of American troops from Afghanistan is looming, and the debate in Washington is increasingly focused now on how reconciliation and reintegration efforts will affect the long-term peace process. Experts from Capitol Hill, Kabul and Washington think tanks gathered at USIP on June 13 to discuss how to build a “durable peace” in Afghanistan.
Promoting Stability and Resolving Provincial Disputes in Afghanistan
Currently numerous disputes at the local level are unresolved in Afghanistan, leading to local instability, a growing distance between the government and people and encouraging communities to turn to the Taliban. In March 2010, USIP began working with local elders, government officials (particularly governors and officials from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs) and religious figures to address a range of disputes in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces in eastern Afghanistan.
Afghan Perspectives on Achieving Durable Peace
This brief outlines key findings from the first phase of research on Afghan stakeholder views on the conflict. The author worked in Afghanistan for the World Bank and the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit from 2005-2010, and has researched governance and peace processes in Southeast Asia, Central America and Afghanistan.