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.
Marshland Arabs of Iraq
The near total destruction of the vast marshlands of southern Iraq by Saddam Hussein's regime has had significant ecological consequences and devastated the 500,000 Ma'dan or "Marsh Arab" people, who have populated the area for 5,000 years.
The Palestinian Reform Agenda
The Oslo Accords reached by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel in 1993-95 ushered into existence the Palestinian Authority and inspired efforts to build autonomous structures for Palestinian self-rule. Since the earliest days of the Palestinian Authority, a varied group of Palestinians has sought to lay the practical foundation for Palestinian statehood through the construction of strong institutions with clear (and generally liberal) legal bases.
The Israeli Military and Israel's Palestinian Policy: From Oslo to the Al Aqsa Intifada
Peri’s account of Israel’s travails is the broader lesson about what can happen to a democratic political system over decades of constant warfare of greater or lesser intensity. Perhaps inevitably, military leaders, active or retired, acquire great public prominence, while civilian politicians, nominally their superiors shrink in perceived stature. In Israel it has become more and more difficult for either major political party to achieve political success without having a bevy of retired gen...
A Very Political Economy
A Very Political Economy spares no political sensitivities in its dissection of the aid process, but also argues persuasively that without international assistance there would have been no Palestinian Authority left to negotiate with, and no peace process to revive.
The Israeli-Syrian Peace Talks
Helena Cobban here provides a fascinating look at the painstaking negotiations between the two Middle East powers that thrice went to war in the past half-century, and the role that the United States played in trying to bring Israel and Syria closer together on crucial points.
Jordanians, Palestinians, and the Hashemite Kingdom in the Middle East Peace Process
Himself from a Palestinian family, Adnan Abu-Odeh served as Jordan's permanent representative to the United Nations, as well as minister of information and political advisor to King Hussein. A senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in 1995-96, he is now a political advisor to King Abdullah.
1998-1999 National Winning Essay
Jean Marie Hicks St. Thomas More High School Rapid City, SD “Too little, too late” often in the prevention of violent conflicts holds true (Peck). When the roots of the problem are not identified in time, violence becomes the solution. Preventive diplomacy, one way of avoiding conflicts, can be defined as “action to prevent disputes from arising among parties to prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflicts, and to limit the spread of the latter when they occur” (Boutros-Ghal...
Thinking Out Loud: Policies Toward Iraq
In the face of persistent crises between Iraq and the international community over Iraq's failure to comply with international agreements governing its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons development programs, the United States Institute of Peace convened a study group to understand better what options exist to deal with the threats that Iraq poses.
Between Impediment and Advantage: Saddam's Iraq
The report represents work in progress and summarizes the main points made during two public discussions about the nature of domestic politics in Iraq under Saddam. This analysis provides a useful backdrop to the ongoing conflict with Iraq and is intended to help interested observers understand the significance of Saddam Hussain in Iraqi politics and the forces with which he grapples as he makes decisions about compliance with international demands.
In Pursuit of Peace
This book tells the story of the Israeli peace movement and the role it played in that pursuit of peace. It is an eloquent, fascinating account of a remarkably diverse and determined cast of activists: from war-weary soldiers to hard-headed politicians, careful scholars to impassioned artists.