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
Why Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan Still Matters
Question And Answer
What Does the Xi-Ma Meeting Mean for Cross-Strait Relations?
Financially Weak Pacific Island States Are Vulnerable to China
The Pacific island nation of Nauru this week switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, a move that could seem of little consequence in a largely symbolic competition between Taipei and Beijing. But the move has a deeper significance for the United States.
As Tensions with India Grow, Maldives Looks to China
On January 4th, social media posts from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising the beauty of India’s beaches in Lakshadweep sparked a diplomatic row with the Indian Ocean island nation, Maldives. As a country that leans heavily on tourism at its own beaches, three Maldivian junior ministers were quick to criticize the Indian prime minister, which led to calls from Indian social media users to boycott Maldives as a tourist destination.
Are Taiwan and China on a Collision Course?
In a rebuff to China, Taiwanese voters on January 13 elected pro-sovereignty candidate Lai Ching-te as the island nation’s next president. Lai’s victory secures a historic third term for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Seeking Peaceful Coexistence with North Korea: What Would Kennan Do?
The challenge that North Korea poses to the United States — as a hostile, intransigent and seemingly implacable power with nuclear weapons — is in many respects a microcosm of the challenge posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. How would George F. Kennan, who devised the strategy of containment for dealing with the Soviet Union, have advised Washington in confronting Pyongyang?
Disinformation: Building Digital Resilience
When it comes to election interference from China and disinformation in general, Taiwan faces serious challenges. This episode of "Dispatch from Taiwan" tackles the spread of disinformation in Taiwan, the role of China, and how civic society has stepped up to shore up digital resilience.
Riots in Papua New Guinea Are a Warning: Urgent Change is Needed
Riots erupted in Papua New Guinea's capital yesterday, laying bare the hollowness of governance that is failing to meet public needs, thus risking deeper violence and instability. U.S attention to the Pacific Islands' largest and most populous nation is increasing, partly because it is an arena for geopolitical competition with China. While Papua New Guinea's leaders are good at rolling out the red carpet for visiting partners, the state fails lamentably in providing basic services for its people. This week’s violence is a wake-up call for U.S and international policymakers to re-focus on this root of the country’s instability.
The Myanmar Army’s War Against Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
After nearly 75 years of sustained conflict, Myanmar’s population has suffered devastating and compounding intergenerational trauma. But rather than address that collective trauma, successive military governments have terrorized the country while also disinvesting from systems of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).
The Cascading Risks of a Resurgent Islamic State in the Philippines
On December 3, militants placed a bomb amongst parishioners gathered for Catholic Mass on the floor of the Mindanao State University (MSU) gym in Marawi City. Minutes later, it detonated killing four and injuring dozens. The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed that its East Asia affiliate was responsible for the attack. After a year of heavy losses, many had hoped that the threat posed by pro-ISIS groups was dissipating. Unfortunately, the violence that has characterized the six weeks since the bombing suggests that the Islamic State East Asia (ISEA) is attempting a resurgence timed for a critical 16-month period for the Philippines. The stakes are very high.
Defense: Rising Awareness and Preparation
Taiwan elects a new president on January 13, 2024. Peace across the Taiwan Strait is on people’s minds, but where the candidates and their political parties differ is how to maintain it. All three presidential candidates have indicated they would continue Taiwan’s current foreign policies, though they have different views of what shape relations with China and with the United States should take, as well as different priorities for Taiwan’s defense preparedness.
Andrew Scobell on Taiwan’s Elections
The United States and China are watching closely as Taiwan prepares for elections on January 13. But while the stakes are high, USIP’s Andrew Scobell says there is a relative consensus among candidates regarding Taiwan’s foreign policy: “Whoever wins the election, we’re likely to see much more continuity than change.”