U.S. Unveils Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

By: Thomas Omestad;  Steven Ruder

In a historic change in how the U.S. government approaches peacebuilding in conflicts abroad, President Barack Obama on Dec. 19 signed an executive order creating a U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security—an initiative that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton described as “a comprehensive roadmap for accelerating and institutionalizing efforts across the United States government to advance women’s participation in making and keeping peace.”

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGenderMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Former USIP Fellows Help Foster Basque Peace Breakthrough

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

By: Thomas Omestad

When they met during their fellowships at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in 2005, a lasting friendship was born. But as Pierre Hazan, a Swiss political scientist and former journalist, got to know Gorka Espiau Idoiaga, a peace activist from the Basque country of Spain, they had no idea that their friendship would bring them back together years later to help foster a breakthrough for peace in Western Europe’s last guerrilla conflict.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Analysts Laud U.S. Commitment to Asia

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

By: Thomas Omestad

The Obama administration’s reaffirmation of American engagement in the Asia-Pacific region for strategic and economic reasons is welcome, but describing it as a “pivot” toward the region in the wake of U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan neglects the continuity through decades of U.S. involvement in the region, three senior foreign policy figures from the United States, Japan and South Korea said at a forum sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on December 15.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionMediation, Negotiation & DialogueGlobal Policy

Justice and Security Dialogue

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Justice and Security Dialogue brings together stakeholders at the local community level to strengthen rule of law and security by building lines of communication, increasing trust, sharing information, promoting accountability, and providing input on justice and security reform needs and options.

Human RightsMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Multilateral Political Missions and Preventive Diplomacy

Multilateral Political Missions and Preventive Diplomacy

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

By: Richard Gowan

Multilateral teams can often bring a level of expertise and impartiality to preventing conflicts that other missions cannot. With a little more support, they can be an even better tool for conflict prevention. The report is based on Review of Political Missions, a project launched by New York University ’s Center on International Cooperation in 2010. The United States Institute of Peace funded this project in association with the governments of Norway and Switzerland.

Type: Special Report

Conflict Analysis & PreventionMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

After 2014: Managing the Transition in Afghanistan

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

USIP hosted an event in which experts look at building the Afghan economy in anticipation of the big transition in 2014, when American and NATO forces will finish turning responsibility for the country's security to the Afghan government. It's also when, a new World Bank report suggests, the bulk of foreign assistance, now keeping the Afghan economy alive, will begin to dry up.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionEnvironmentMediation, Negotiation & DialogueEconomics