Securing Afghanistan: Getting on Track

Sunday, February 1, 2009

By: C. Christine Fair;  Seth G. Jones

New USIP report, "Securing Afghanistan," strengthens case for urgent, sustainable reforms. This first-ever comprehensive analysis of international security assistance shows many donors have not met their Afghan commitments. A lack of focus on long-term sustainability, an inability to map the entirety of donor nations' security assistance programs and the subsequent failure on the part of the international community to understand precisely what is needed in Afghanistan are among the leading re...

Managing Public Information in a Mediation Process

Managing Public Information in a Mediation Process

Sunday, February 1, 2009

By: Ingrid A. Lehmann

Managing Public Information in a Mediation Process, the second handbook in the Peacemaker's Toolkit series, helps mediators identify and develop the resources and strategies they need to reach these audiences. It highlights essential information tasks and functions, discusses key challenges and opportunities, and provides expert guidance on effective approaches. Examples from past mediations illustrate how various strategies have played out in practice.

Type: Book

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Assessing the Impact of Transitional Justice

Assessing the Impact of Transitional Justice

Sunday, February 1, 2009

By: Hugo van der Merwe;   Victoria Baxter ;   Audrey R. Chapman;  editors

In Assessing the Impact of Transitional Justice, fourteen leading researchers study seventy countries that have suffered from autocratic rule, genocide, and protracted internal conflict.

Type: Book

Oral Histories: Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Teams (2008-2009)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Iraq PRT program has highlighted the challenges that the U.S. government faces in conducting operations in conflicted environments. The Iraq PRT Project collected insights and lessons learned from government, military, and non-governmental officials. Interviews were conducted by the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training under a contract with the Institute of Peace.

Type: Oral History

EnvironmentEconomics

Recruitment of Rule of Law Specialists for the Civilian Response Corps

Recruitment of Rule of Law Specialists for the Civilian Response Corps

Thursday, January 1, 2009

By: Scott Carlson;  Michael Dziedzic

For more than a decade, experienced international practitioners and peace scholars have recognized that multilateral interventions in societies ravaged by internal conflict cannot succeed unless they come prepared to deal with the inevitable void in public security and inability of the legal system to function effectively. In 1998, two core components of any solution to this crucial deficiency were highlighted in Policing the New World Disorder.

Type: Peace Brief

Dr. Ali Al-Dabbagh's Iraq-based Formula for Regional Cooperation

Thursday, January 1, 2009

By: Elizabeth Detwiler

USIP recently hosted Dr. Ali Al-Dabbagh, official spokesman for the Iraqi government, He unveiled a far-reaching regional initiative to increase economic and strategic cooperation in the Middle East. The initiative represents a new level of consciousness and independence in Iraqi foreign policy.

Type: Peace Brief

Islamic Peacemaking Since 9/11

Islamic Peacemaking Since 9/11

Thursday, January 1, 2009

By: David Smock;  Qamar-ul Huda

Muslims in general and Muslim leaders particularly have often been severely criticized for not more energetically condemning the violent acts of Muslim extremists. The uninformed often assume that extremists represent Islam’s mainstream.

Type: Special Report

Religion

Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers

Monday, December 8, 2008

The Genocide Prevention Task Force, co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, was jointly convened by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The American Academy of Diplomacy and the United States Institute of Peace. Its final report, Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers, offers practical recommendations on how to prevent genocide and mass atrocities. It was released in December 2008.

Type: Report

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Evaluating Iraq’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams While Drawdown Looms: A USIP Trip Report

Evaluating Iraq’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams While Drawdown Looms: A USIP Trip Report

Monday, December 1, 2008

By: Rusty Barber;  Sam Parker

Since their 2005 inception in Iraq, PRTs have struggled to fully define their mission, overcome structural problems, learn to work alongside their military counterparts and assist Iraqis down the path to self-governance and stability so that U.S. forces can withdraw. While the concept was born in the Afghan conflict, PRTs in Iraq bear little resemblance to their Afghan cousins, which are led and largely staffed by military officers.

Type: Peace Brief