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.
What Does the Emerging China-Africa Minerals Consensus Mean for U.S. Initiatives?
The recently concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) provided a revealing glimpse into the current state of the Africa-China relationship. On the one hand, the official imagery and language of the summit emphasized constancy — a vision of a stable South-South relationship stretching from the past into the future. On the other hand, the summit also projected a relationship that is being reshaped for a new decade.
Jordan's Three Balancing Acts: Navigating the Post-October 7 Middle East
Jordan sits at the heart of the ever-shifting sands of the Middle East, walking a tightrope between maintaining neighborly relations, advancing national interests and containing threats to ensure its own security and stability.
Expanding the Scope of U.S.-Vietnam Reconciliation
Last September, Vietnam and the United States upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership — a historic development that has analysts, academics and high-level officials from both sides now pondering the question of “What’s next?” Part of the answer might be an expansion of Vietnam-U.S. postwar reconciliation.
INDUS-X at One: A Year of Bilateral Breakthroughs
Amid warming bilateral ties, India and the United States have steadily built their defense relationship over 20 years. More recently, shared concern over China’s rise and projection of power has motivated a renewed focused on institutionalizing the relationship at the highest levels while building the connective tissue necessary to innovate and collaborate effectively in support of preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Keith Mines on Haiti’s Recent Progress and U.S. Support for Its Transition
With a Kenyan-led security mission and a new interim government in place in Haiti, Secretary Blinken’s visit to the country shows that “the United States has been trying hard … to take advantage of the momentum,” says USIP’s Keith Mines, adding that while there’s a long way to go, “for now, there’s something to build on.”
How China Is Leveraging Security Cooperation in Central Asia
The July 2024 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in in Astana, Kazakhstan provided China with another platform to highlight its vision for global governance and security. While the SCO has expanded to include states beyond Central Asia, the organization’s focus on fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism — the so-called “three evils” — is particularly relevant for China in Central Asia, where Beijing looks to test and advance its security cooperation strategies. The SCO, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI) are key components of China’s ambition to offer an alternative to what it calls “Western hegemony” and to resist external interference in the domestic affairs of SCO states.
At Pacific Islands Forum, Tensions Flare Over Taiwan, Geopolitics and Climate
Last week, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) met in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, to discuss the challenges affecting the region. The PIF is an intergovernmental organization with the purpose of enhancing cooperation among the countries and territories of Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand, 14 independent Pacific Island countries, and France’s territories of New Caledonia and French Polynesia. China and the United States interact with the PIF as dialogue partners and the Pacific Islands have emerged in recent years as another arena of great power competition.
Quatre moyens par lesquels les États-Unis peuvent aider à faire progresser Haïti
Depuis que Haïti a conclu un accord politique début avril pour avancer vers une « transition ordonnée », de nombreux progrès ont été réalisés. Médié par la Communauté des Caraïbes (CARICOM), cet accord fixe à février 2026 l’échéance pour la mise en place d’un gouvernement et d’un parlement élus. Bien que politiquement et administrativement fragile, une structure de gouvernance transitoire est en place, dirigée par un Conseil présidentiel de transition (CPT) et le Premier ministre Garry Conille. Une mission multinationale de soutien à la sécurité (MSS), dirigée par le Kenya, est désormais active dans le pays et travaille à stabiliser la situation sécuritaire.
Four Ways the U.S. Can Help Advance Haiti’s Progress
Since Haiti reached a political agreement in early April to push ahead with an “orderly transition," much progress has been made. Mediated by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), that deal has a February 2026 timetable for an elected government and parliament. Although politically and administratively wobbly, a transitional governance structure is in place, led by a Transition Presidential Council (TPC) and Prime Minister Garry Conille. A Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission (MSS) is now active in the country and working to stabilize the security situation. Working with Haiti’s political and civil society leadership, the country’s diaspora and key international actors, the U.S. can help build on these milestones and pave a sustainable path out of Haiti’s long-running crises.
Whither Cease-fire Talks After Hamas Kills 6 Israeli Hostages?
Israeli soldiers’ discovery of six of their country’s hostages shot dead in a tunnel underneath Rafah, Gaza has placed the question of a cease-fire’s prospects in stark relief. Coming as the U.S. had already stepped up efforts to push for an Israel-Hamas agreement, the grim fate of the hostages can simultaneously be viewed as providing a catalyst for the urgent conclusion of a deal, or as a harbinger of diplomatic derailment for a process the U.S., Egypt and Qatar had been in the throes of pushing to resolution.