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.
How Can Nicaragua’s Opposition Achieve a Breakthrough?
Only a few months ago Nicaragua was a spectator to the turmoil in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador that has led to a massive exodus of families seeking refuge by traveling north. Sadly because of the current tumult in Nicaragua, a new refugee crisis could be on the way. To prevent further escalation, the opposition and the Catholic Church should loudly and strategically embrace nonviolent discipline.
Could Pakistan’s Protests Undercut Taliban and Extremism?
Tens of thousands of ethnic Pashtuns have held mass protests in Pakistan in the past three months, demanding justice and better governance for their communities. The largely youth-led protests forged an organization, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (“tahafuz” means “protection”), that has broadened its goals to include democracy and decentralization of power in Pakistan. The movement reflects demands for change among the roughly 30 million Pashtuns who form about 15 percent of Pakistan’s population, the country’s second-largest ethnic community.
To Defeat Terrorism, Use 'People Power'
As governments and communities seek the right combination of methods to halt terrorism, one that we too often miss is nonviolent resistance. It’s not that we haven’t seen the power of protest movements that use mass marches, sit-ins, boycotts and other forceful but nonviolent tactics. To the contrary, people worldwide have been moved by watching such movements sweep aside the walls of apartheid, the tanks of dictators or the impunity of kleptocracies...
How the United Nations Can Harness 'People Power'
The United Nations has declared a priority this year to unify and strengthen its work in building peace—and U.N. bodies will meet in the next two months to advance that change. U.N. leaders have acknowledged that a vital element in peacebuilding is nonviolent, grassroots movements. But as the United Nations aims to more efficiently promote peace, how prepared is it to actually work with them?
Maria Stephan on the Iranian Protests
Maria Stephan discusses non-violent action in Iran and the diversity among participants in the recent protests. Stephan tackles the impact of cyber suppression on protesters and how "he
Banging Pots for Peace: Strategies to Prevent Electoral Violence
The recent election violence in Kenya and Honduras reveals a pattern that’s all too familiar: An incumbent campaigns on a platform of law and order and declares victory after a contested election. The
How the Catholic Church Can Bolster Alternatives to Violence
The Catholic Church, with its 2.1 billion adherents worldwide, has been pivotal in some of the most significant nonviolent struggles in modern history. Many will recall the iconic image of Filipino religious sisters confronting military forces and a kleptocratic dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in prayerful resistance during the 1986 “people power” revolution. Today, Filipino religious leaders, facing another violent dictator, Rodrigo Duterte, once again are the leading face of nonviolent resistance. The Vatican is discussing these and other examples of powerful nonviolent movements as it rethinks its long-held doctrine of “just war.”
Afghan Women Step Up in Local, National Taliban Talks
Amid a spate of recent Taliban attacks across Afghanistan, I heard a different but equally important story during a visit to Kabul last week: women from major cities to rural villages are taking action to defuse local tensions...
Nigerian Civic Leaders Assert a Role Against Violence
As Nigeria struggles to calm violent conflicts nationwide, including the Boko Haram insurgency, 11 eminent civil society leaders are summoning government officials to seek an unprecedented degree of citizen input on policy. Prominent religious, military, academic...
Q&A: Speaking Truth to Power—What Really Builds Peace
As global leaders debate ways to reduce the world’s violence at this year’s United Nations General Assembly session, many peacebuilding experts and civil society activists argue that more of this work needs to be done at the grass roots, often through nonviolent movements for change.