Six Dilemmas Facing Egypt

Six Dilemmas Facing Egypt

Thursday, January 18, 2024

By: Ambassador Hesham Youssef

Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Egypt has been heavily involved in efforts to end the military confrontations and wars that have periodically broken out in Gaza. However, the scope, scale and stakes of the current war is unlike any prior round of hostilities. In response to the massacre and hostage-taking of mostly Israeli civilians by Hamas and other militant armed groups during their devastating attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has launched one of the most destructive wars in its history. Indeed, this war will be transformational in numerous ways, with ramifications for several stakeholders beyond the parties themselves.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGlobal Policy

Un avance sobre las elecciones de 2024 en América Latina

Un avance sobre las elecciones de 2024 en América Latina

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

By: Lucila Del Aguila Llausas;  Nicolás Devia-Valbuena;  Mark Feierstein;  Keith Mines;  Mary Speck, Ph.D.

En los últimos años, el sentimiento anti-oficialista se ha apoderado de la mayoría de América Latina, moviendo el péndulo electoral hacia la izquierda en México, Colombia, Honduras y Brasil, trastocando las coaliciones corruptas que durante mucho tiempo han gobernado en Guatemala y entregando la presidencia de Argentina a un autoproclamado "anarcocapitalista". Sin embargo, el 2024 podría resultar ser un buen año para los candidatos del oficialismo. En los cinco países con elecciones este año —El Salvador, Panamá, República Dominicana, Uruguay y México—, los aspirantes de los partidos gobernantes, al menos hasta ahora, encabezan las encuestas.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceGlobal Elections & Conflict

The Pivotal Elections of 2024: Key Races That Will Shape the Global Landscape

The Pivotal Elections of 2024: Key Races That Will Shape the Global Landscape

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

By: Ashish Kumar Sen

Around 2 billion people in more than 50 countries, including India, Chad, Mexico and South Africa, will go to the polls this year in what has been described as the Super Bowl of elections. From major democracies to emerging nations, the outcomes of these votes will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping the future trajectory of countries around the world. While some elections could produce conflict, most will take place under the threat of disruption — all of this will have serious implications for U.S. foreign policy and security.

Type: AnalysisQuestion and Answer

Democracy & GovernanceGlobal Elections & Conflict

A Preview of 2024 Elections Throughout Latin America

A Preview of 2024 Elections Throughout Latin America

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

By: Lucila Del Aguila Llausas;  Nicolás Devia-Valbuena;  Mark Feierstein;  Keith Mines;  Mary Speck, Ph.D.

Anti-incumbent sentiment has gripped much of Latin America in recent years, swinging electoral results leftward in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and Brazil, upending the corrupt coalitions that have long ruled Guatemala, and handing the presidency of Argentina to a self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist.” But 2024 may prove to be a good year for establishment politicians. In the five countries with elections on the calendar — El Salvador, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Mexico — insider candidates are polling ahead, at least so far.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceGlobal Elections & Conflict

Seeking Peaceful Coexistence with North Korea: What Would Kennan Do?

Seeking Peaceful Coexistence with North Korea: What Would Kennan Do?

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

By: Paul J. Heer

The challenge that North Korea poses to the United States — as a hostile, intransigent and seemingly implacable power with nuclear weapons — is in many respects a microcosm of the challenge posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. How would George F. Kennan, who devised the strategy of containment for dealing with the Soviet Union, have advised Washington in confronting Pyongyang?

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

A Slippery Slope? U.S., U.K. Launch Strikes on Iran-Backed Houthis in Yemen

A Slippery Slope? U.S., U.K. Launch Strikes on Iran-Backed Houthis in Yemen

Friday, January 12, 2024

By: Sarhang Hamasaeed

On January 12, the United States and the United Kingdom, supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, launched military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on civilian and military ships in the Red Sea. The U.S.-led strikes are a significant escalation and part of the growing regional impact of the Israel-Hamas war, which the United States has been actively trying to prevent from turning into a regional war.

Type: AnalysisQuestion and Answer

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGlobal Policy

The Myanmar Army’s War Against Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

The Myanmar Army’s War Against Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Thursday, January 11, 2024

By: Carolina Buendia Sarmiento;  Billy Ford;  Yu Yu Htay;  Andrés Martínez

After nearly 75 years of sustained conflict, Myanmar’s population has suffered devastating and compounding intergenerational trauma. But rather than address that collective trauma, successive military governments have terrorized the country while also disinvesting from systems of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Riots in Papua New Guinea Are a Warning: Urgent Change is Needed

Riots in Papua New Guinea Are a Warning: Urgent Change is Needed

Thursday, January 11, 2024

By: Gordon Peake, Ph.D.

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.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceFragility & Resilience

Conservation and African Rangelands: From Conflict to Coexistence?

Conservation and African Rangelands: From Conflict to Coexistence?

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

By: Anna Haw;  Nora Moraga-Lewy

Sub-Saharan Africa’s population will nearly double to more than 2 billion by 2050, surpassing Asia by 2070. African policymakers recognize this trend and have focused efforts on increasing economic productivity. Native rangelands — the uncultivated grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands and savannas where wild and domestic animals graze — cover 43% of the continent’s land area. But rangelands have often been perceived as undeveloped areas and centers of degradation, erosion, desertification, droughts, famine and conflict. These vast areas, and the people they support, tend to be pushed to the periphery of political agendas, allowing root causes of degradation of land and livelihoods to fester and ultimately contributing to a vicious cycle of tension and conflict.

Type: Analysis

Environment