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
Amid a Changing Global Order, NATO Looks East
In the Pacific, U.S. Risks Letting Down its Closest Partners
As the United States seeks to shore up alliances and maintain regional stability amid increasing Chinese competition in the Pacific, it needs to mend strained relations with the island states that are its closest partners. The U.S. government describes Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands as “the bedrock of the U.S. role in the Pacific” and “crucial” to U.S. defense there. After months of delay that have undermined those relationships, the United States this month renewed the funding that underpins their government budgets. But significant bilateral strains will require further U.S. attention.
Addressing Gendered Violence in Papua New Guinea: Opportunities and Options
Each year, more than 1.5 million women and girls in Papua New Guinea experience gender-based violence tied to intercommunal conflict, political intimidation, domestic abuse, and other causes. It is, according to a 2023 Human Rights Watch report, “one of the most dangerous places to be a woman or girl.” Bleak as this may seem, it is not hopeless. USIP’s new report identifies several promising approaches for peacebuilding programming to reduce gender-based violence and effect meaningful and lasting change in Papua New Guinea.
In the Pacific, Corruption and Poor Policing Open a Door to China
After the Pacific’s largest island nation, Papua New Guinea, recently suffered deadly rioting that included police, an official last week announced a Chinese offer to help strengthen its police force. That sequence exemplifies a rising challenge for democracy and stability in the Pacific: Many island nations suffer corruption and deficient policing that undermines the rule of law. This gap in responsive governance lets China seek influence through technical assistance drawn from its authoritarian model of policing. In response, democracies must reshape narrow, outdated approaches to security assistance.
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.
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.
Gordon Peake on COP28 and Climate Financing
As COP28 continues, it’s estimated that the world needs to invest $5.9 trillion to stave off climate change. “The big question now is … who’s going to pay for all this,” says USIP’s Gordon Peake, adding that “we also need to tamp down the use of fossil fuels” to prevent the bill for growing even more.
U.S. Approach to COP28 Will Shape How it is Perceived in the Pacific
Pacific Island nations will be attending the 2023 U.N. Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai this week with their concerns well known. USIP’s Gordon Peake discussed what the island states will expect from the summit, how the U.S.-China strategic competition is playing out in the region and what more the United States can do to build support in the region.
Gordon Peake on the Second U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit
U.S. engagement with the Pacific Islands is “still in the honeymoon phase,” says USIP’s Gordon Peake. But as President Biden hosts the second U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit, there are a number of thorny issues that Pacific Island leaders are “hoping to get practical assistance from the United States” to address.
U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit: Getting Beyond the Honeymoon Phase
President Joe Biden will host Pacific Island leaders for a summit at the White House starting next Monday, marking one year since the first-ever such summit in September 2022. These high-level meetings signify the increasing level of attention that the U.S. government is paying to the region as its concerns about China’s activities there grow.
U.S. Strengthens Ties with Key Pacific Island Partners
The United States notched multiple diplomatic wins in the Pacific Islands region last week, making further progress in Washington’s efforts to step up engagement in this oft-neglected part of the world. In a move closely watched by Pacific nations, the United States signed deals to renew its economic assistance to Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia for the next 20 years. Meanwhile, although President Biden had to cancel his planned visit to Papua New Guinea, Secretary of State Antony Blinken inked a defense cooperation deal with the island nation in the president’s stead. While the region has become another arena for U.S.-China competition, Washington has long-standing relationships and interests there that go well beyond its rivalry with Beijing.