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.
Understanding the Informal Security Sector in Nigeria
Informal security actors such as vigilantes play a variety of roles in African communities. Research has tended to focus on the negative impact of informal security providers, but these groups have an essential role in a community’s safety and security. This report provides an analysis of the informal security actors in the Nigerian states of Plateau, Kaduna, and Kano and in the capital city of Abuja.
Nigeria’s Powerful Governors Eye Roots of Boko Haram
Governors from northern Nigeria, where the U.S. military is helping quell the Boko Haram militant group, will convene at the U.S. Institute of Peace for the second time this October to agree on civilian actions they can take to address the root causes of violent extremism and help ensure that efforts to stabilize this vital region will stick. Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, a USIP senior advisor helping organize the gathering, said Nigerian governors are some of the m...
Burns, Flournoy, Lindborg Press Urgency of Fragile States
Three former high-ranking officials in the State Department, the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) urged the next presidential administration to commit more attention and resources to preventing the kinds of violent conflicts that are roiling the Middle East and other regions today and spilling over into neighboring countries, Europe and the United States. Former Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns, Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy and USAID Assist...
U.S. Leadership and the Challenge of ‘State Fragility’
The new administration, a coming change in leadership at the United Nations, and an emerging global consensus about the fragility challenge make this an opportune moment to recalibrate our approach. The United States cannot and should not try to “fix” every fragile state. Nor can we ignore this challenge; all fragility has the potential to affect U.S. interests to some extent, especially when left to fester. There is simply too much at stake for our interests, our partners, and the global ord...
Q&A: In Nigeria, War and Peace Go Beyond Boko Haram
In the shadow of global headlines about ISIS and the Middle East, Nigeria’s government has pushed another of the world’s deadliest conflicts into a new phase. For months, Nigerian troops have been recapturing territory from the Boko Haram militant group, with support from the United States, which has sent special operations forces as advisors to help. But Nigeria’s crises, and any solutions, run wider and deeper than Boko Haram, according to U.S. Institute of Peace Program Officer Oge Onubogu...
Brussels Attacks Highlight Connection to Regional Arcs of Crisis
My sympathy goes out to the survivors and families of those who died in the terrible attacks in a string of bombings over this last week -- from Brussels to Baghdad to Lahore. I was in Brussels on a business trip and was preparing to leave my hotel to catch a flight back to Washington when we got word of the explosions at the airport and the metro station there. The terror that was palpable last week in Brussels is sadly all too common in those five countries that top the list for violent extremist incidents and fatalities: Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Syria. And, we are increasingly seeing the outward ripples.
In Nigeria, U.S. Seeks a Way Home for Boko Haram Defectors
The senior U.S. diplomat on Africa urged Nigeria to look beyond military measures in its fight against Boko Haram, and to consider how it treats both the extremist group’s victims and its fighters who may be ready to defect.
Corruption Poses Unparalleled Threat, U.S. Official Says
Corruption is an unparalleled threat to democracy and prosperity that costs the global economy as much as $2 trillion a year, and it will require the approach of a marathon rather than a sprint to eradicate the scourge, according to William Brownfield, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement. Victories like the current transformation of Ukrainian traffic police from reviled bribe takers to respected public servants give citizens the kind of hope n...
Terrorism Study: ISIS Isn’t the Deadliest Extremist Group
Worldwide deaths from terrorist incidents jumped 80 percent in 2014 compared with the year before and were concentrated in five major conflict zones, according to the third annual Global Terrorism Index, released November 17. While that conclusion was unsurprising, the index included less obvious findings with implications for policy makers who have to tailor solutions to specific countries and regions, according to experts who discussed the study at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Women, Religion and Peacebuilding
Women, Religion, and Peacebuilding: Illuminating the Unseen examines the obstacles and opportunities that women religious peacebuilders face as they navigate both the complex conflicts they are seeking to resolve and the power dynamics in the institutions they must deal with in order to accomplish their goals.