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.
Question And Answer
Amid a Changing Global Order, NATO Looks East
Rift Removal
The situation in Syria is dire, and there are no good options for addressing it; even the option of doing nothing is terrible, both morally and strategically. Inaction by the international community allows the killing to. Military intervention risks uncontrollable involvement without an obvious positive outcome. Although all agree that only a political solution can end the conflict, there is no agreement on the shape of such a solution.
Beyond the Annan Plan for Syria
One week after the first United Nation monitors arrived in Syria to oversee implementation of the peace plan negotiated by U.N. Special Envoy Kofi Annan, conditions on the ground have already made it irrelevant. What remains to be seen is how long it will take for the international community to acknowledge its failure and press ahead with its collective efforts to bring about a democratic transition in Syria.
Obama Announces Formation of the Atrocities Prevention Board
On April 23, 2012, President Obama announced the formation of the Atrocities Prevention Board and other steps to help the United States prevent and respond to mass atrocities. USIP’s Jonas Claes discusses the impact these initiatives will have on U.S. atrocity prevention efforts.
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.
USIP Examines Security Sector Transformation in North Africa, Middle East
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) held its third annual conference on security sector governance on May 10, drawing in activists from North Africa and the Middle East as well as former U.S. ambassadors to the region to assess the political and security-sector challenges arising from the “Arab Awakening.”
Syria and "The Day After" Project
USIP's senior adviser for Middle East initiatives, Steven Heydemann, discusses “The Day After” project, a Syrian-led effort to plan for a post-Assad transition.
"The Day After" Project
The Day After project brought together a group of Syrians representing a large spectrum of the Syrian opposition—including senior representatives of the Syrian National Council (SNC), members of the Local Coordination Committees in Syria (LCC), and unaffiliated opposition figures from inside Syria and the Diaspora representing all major political trends and components of Syrian society—to participate in an independent transition planning process.
Event at USIP Looks at New Media in the Syria Crisis
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), along with George Washington University, hosted an event on October 2 examining the role of new media in the ongoing Syrian crisis. “Groundtruth: New Media, Technology and the Syrian Crisis” featured activists using social media in their efforts to end Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as well as mainstream journalists reporting on the crisis and policy analysts.
'Day After' Members Discuss Post-Assad Syria Transition at USIP
Several Syrian opposition activists engaged in a project known as “The Day After” appeared at the USIP on October 4 to discuss the challenges of achieving a post-Assad democratic transition amid intensifying violence, militarization of the revolution, sectarian tensions and repression by the Syrian regime.
The Big Picture
Wars eventually end. Even the longest, most brutal, and most destructive conflicts ultimately give way to peace. Syria's civil war is no exception. All sides acknowledge that they are unlikely to prevail on the battlefield anytime soon, and both the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition have conditionally accepted the Geneva Communiqué for a political transition, endorsed by the Syria Action Group of the United Nations on June 30, 2012 (Geneva I). The United States, its Europ...