The Afghan Refugee Crisis in 2016

The Afghan Refugee Crisis in 2016

Monday, February 27, 2017

By: Belquis Ahmadi;  Sadaf Lakhani

Hundreds of thousands of documented and undocumented refugees returned to Afghanistan in 2016, joining more than one million internally displaced within the country. International agencies warn of a humanitarian crisis that would affect hundreds of thousands of people as returnees struggle to meet basic needs. This Peace Brief provides an overview of the situation at the end of 2016, focusing on those returning from Pakistan, the humanitarian situation, and the security implications of the influx.

Type: Peace Brief

Fragility & ResilienceViolent ExtremismHuman Rights

'Political Peace' Is Possible, Says AEI President

'Political Peace' Is Possible, Says AEI President

Friday, January 13, 2017

Arthur Brooks, an economist and musician who is president of the American Enterprise Institute, said the cause of the current U.S. political rifts has been misdiagnosed and outlined a prescription for achieving “maybe the most elusive kind of peace of all around the world today.” In a presentation at Passing the Baton, a conference at the U.S. Institute of Peace that was co-sponsored by his think tank and four others, Brooks declared, “Political peace is possible.”

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGlobal PolicyFragility & Resilience

Senator Graham Urges Trump to Back Development Aid

Senator Graham Urges Trump to Back Development Aid

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Senator Lindsey Graham said President-elect Donald Trump needs to understand that foreign assistance is a critical tool for fighting terrorism around the world and requires a jolt in spending no less than his proposed boost for the military. Speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace’s “Passing the Baton” conference on Jan. 10, the South Carolina Republican said that, without more resources for intelligence and for humanitarian and development aid, the new administration “will miss the boat on w...

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionHuman RightsFragility & ResilienceDemocracy & Governance

Cooling Iraq’s Conflict With Community Dialogue

Cooling Iraq’s Conflict With Community Dialogue

Thursday, January 12, 2017

The violence of extremists—and the chaos they spawn—takes place in towns, villages, streets and homes, not along some far-off front line. That’s where extremist groups seek recruits and where residents they victimize plot revenge, said the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Sarhang Hamasaeed in a Ted Talk-style presentation during the Jan. 10 “Passing the Baton” conference. While national and international efforts to bring peace to such areas can help, dialogue and mediation at the community level has...

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionMediation, Negotiation & DialogueViolent ExtremismReligionFragility & ResilienceDemocracy & Governance

India-Pakistan Needs Trump Administration’s Focus

India-Pakistan Needs Trump Administration’s Focus

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

By: Fred Strasser

Relations between India and Pakistan are becoming less predictable as nationalist sentiments in India heighten political pressure there to escalate its response to clashes in the disputed territory of Kashmir, specialists on the two states said. The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump should develop clearer U.S. policies to ease strains between the nuclear-armed states, the analysts said at the U.S. Institute of Peace. 

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionMediation, Negotiation & DialogueGlobal PolicyFragility & Resilience

Dynamics of Radicalization and Violent Extremism in Kosovo

Dynamics of Radicalization and Violent Extremism in Kosovo

Monday, December 19, 2016

By: Adrian Shtuni

Relying in large part on primary empirical evidence, this report explores the dynamics of violent extremism in Kosovo and the disproportionately high number of radicalized fighters from the region in Syria and Iraq. Examining the historic, cultural, geopolitical, and socioeconomic factors behind the phenomenon, it focuses on the flow as a symptom of a larger religious militancy problem within the country and offers recommendations on countering that challenge.  

Type: Special Report

Violent ExtremismFragility & ResilienceReligion

South Sudan: Looming Genocide, Plans for Prevention

South Sudan: Looming Genocide, Plans for Prevention

Thursday, December 15, 2016

By: Fred Strasser

The likelihood that South Sudan will descend into genocide and mass starvation is growing by the day, say diplomats, advocates and journalists familiar with the central African nation. Violence has spread to previously peaceful regions, propelled by a political breakdown that increasingly is becoming a clash of ethnic groups. Efforts to mediate between the government and the armed opposition have collapsed. Action by the U.S. and the international community is needed urgently to prevent furth...

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionHuman RightsFragility & ResilienceDemocracy & Governance

From ISIS to Al-Qaida: The Changing Extremist Threat

From ISIS to Al-Qaida: The Changing Extremist Threat

Thursday, December 15, 2016

By: Fred Strasser

The Islamic State may be crumbling across Iraq, but the future prospects of violent extremist groups are far from fading. While ISIS rampaged across Iraq and Syria in 2014, setting up a terror-based regime to impose its will, a revitalized al-Qaida was taking a different, more sustainable approach by grafting itself onto local extremist groups, experts said in a forum at the U.S. Institute of Peace that also examined community approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism. Al-Qaid...

Type: Analysis

Violent ExtremismFragility & ResilienceDemocracy & Governance

Q&A: What Works in Preventing Election Violence

Q&A: What Works in Preventing Election Violence

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

By: USIP Staff

The elections this year in the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and even the United States, demonstrate how high-stakes elections frequently trigger anxiety, tension or even violence or the threat of unrest. Properly managed elections allow opposing groups to press their claim to power through a peaceful process. But in fragile democracies, elections frequently feature intimidation or violent protest. U.S. Institute of Peace Senior Program Officer Jonas Claes, editor o...

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGlobal Elections & ConflictDemocracy & GovernanceFragility & Resilience