Question And Answer
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.
Anti-Conversion Laws and Religious Freedom in South Asia and the Middle East: The Case of Abdul Rahman
J Alexander Thier testified on Friday, April 7, 2006, before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on helping Afghans implement a legal system that understands, respects, and promotes the rule of law.
The Basque Conflict: New Ideas and Prospects for Peace
The international community lacks updated information on the latest stage of the Basque conflict—the longest enduring violent conflict in Western Europe—and the emerging opportunity for a peace process among the key parties to it. This report examines recent promising developments, outlines remaining obstacles, and offers recommendations to ensure that the present opportunities for peace in the Basque Country are not lost.
The Peace Process and Palestinian Refugee Claims
The property abandoned by Palestinian refugees in 1948 is an acutely sensitive subject for Palestinians and Israelis alike, and wary negotiators have often steered clear of so impassioned an issue. But the failure to deal with claims for compensation or restitution has ultimately served only to undermine numerous peace endeavors.
Lebanon's Confessionalism: Problems and Prospects
Over the past year and a half, Lebanon has witnessed tremendous political upheaval. Can Lebanon escape its sectarian politics and offer itself as an example for the region?
A Hamas Government: Isolate or Engage?
What does Hamas' victory in the January Palestinian elections mean for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking? USIP Guest Scholar Shlomo Brom reviews the advantages and the risks of the two strategies that have crystallized since the election.
How Not to Make Peace: "Conflict Syndrome" and the Demise of the Oslo Accords
The failure of the Oslo Accords has been attributed to a variety of factors, including deficiencies in the accords themselves, failures of implementation, and the play of domestic politics. These are all critical factors that describe what happened, but they do not explain why each side behaved as it did--that is, why each side made choices that would only increase the likelihood of the accords' failure.
Chaplains as Liaisons with Religious Leaders: Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan
As this study demonstrates, military chaplains, as clergy and officers, occupy a unique space that blends a secular status and a religious one, making them well suited to serve as intermediaries between military and religious leaders in areas of conflict and postconflict stabilization.
Who Are Iraq's New Leaders? What Do They Want?
USIP's ongoing examination of Iraq's emerging leadership finds a revolutionary change in the forces shaping the new leaders and their political orientation since the end of the Ba'th regime. The report offers several proposals to help Iraqis step back from the current political crisis.
Measuring Progress in Stabilization and Reconstruction
This report is based on series of consultations with the Working Group on Measuring Progress, a part of USIP's "Filling the Gaps" series which aims to systematically address the causes of failure in specific areas in reconstruction and stabilization operations and to generate policy options for those in the U.S. government and elsewhere who lead and staff these missions.
Who Are Iraq's New Leaders? What Do They Want? (Arabic Edition)
Summary Understanding the background and visions of Iraq's new leaders is critical to analyzing where the country may go in the future. Changes in leadership since Saddam have been revolutionary. Among Iraq's new leaders there are virtually no holdovers from the Ba'th era. A "de-Ba'thification" program to remove the old guard reinforces the divide between those who held office before and those who hold it now.