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.
Training U.S. Army Officers for Peace Operations: Lessons from Bosnia
It's the most difficult leadership experience I have ever had. Nothing quite prepares you for this. -- Gen. Eric Shinseki1 Summary National debates fuelled by the recent U.S. military experience in Bosnia produced a series of lessons that range from force protection to civil-military implementation strategies. These lessons can and should inform U.S. military policy toward its present deployment in Kosovo. One of the most important lessons to emerge from the Bosnian experience is ...
Establishing the Rule of Law in Iraq
Summary In Iraq, the immediate post-war period is likely to be difficult, confusing, and dangerous. Based on the experience of previous peace operations, the U.S.-led coalition's most important objective should be establishing the rule of law. The Fourth Geneva Convention makes this an obligation for the U.S. military administration. It will also be necessary to ensure that post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction go forward successfully. Saddam Hussein exercised power in Ira...
Can Faith-Based NGOs Advance Interfaith Reconciliation? The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Summary Reconciliation can be an immense challenge in the pursuit of sustainable peace. Progress toward postconflict reconciliation is being made in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as evidenced by some previously unthinkable recent events. Some early initiatives toward promoting interfaith reconciliation undertaken by international actors were not well conceived and proved counterproductive.
Kosovo Decision Time: How and When?
Kosovo today is an international protectorate created by UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which foresees establishment of substantial autonomy and self-governance under the aegis of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) followed by a decision on final status. In the three and a half years since the NATO/Yugoslavia war, officials have generally avoided discussion of Kosovo final status and sought to postpone the decision foreseen in resolution 1244. At the same time, pressures are building and ...
Angola's Deadly War: Dealing with Savimbi's Hell on Earth
Summary The rebel organization National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) has plunged Angola back into a recurring nightmare of war and human rights depredations. Dissatisfied with any scenario in which he is not Angola's president, UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi has chosen war over peace, for the second time this decade.
Building Interreligious Trust in a Climate of Fear: An Abrahamic Trialogue
Summary The events of 9/11 and after have made painfully clear the need for improved understanding among Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Participants in the meeting advocated that interfaith dialogue be conducted at all levels of religious hierarchies and across all segments of religious communities.
Lethal Ethnic Riots: Lessons from India and Beyond
Briefly Because deadly ethnic riots are activities undertaken by crowds, understanding why these riots occur and how they unfold requires analysis of the dynamics of crowd behavior. Rioters display a mixture of lucid calculation and irrational passion in their behavior, carefully targeting their victims but finding emotional release in their killing.
After Saddam Hussein: Winning a Peace If It Comes to War
Military planners argue that nothing short of overwhelming force designed to contend with every contingency is appropriate for a war with Iraq. But a similar doctrine is also appropriate for the post-conflict period.
Would an Invasion of Iraq Be a "Just War"?
Summary Ethical Analysis of War Against Iraq, Gerald Powers The United States, in collaboration with others, has not only a moral right but a grave obligation to defend against mass terrorism and the threat Iraq poses. But the difficult moral issue is not mostly about ends but about how to defend the common good against such threats.
Putting Humpty Dumpty Together: Reconstructing Peace in the Congo
Summary Standing today at a crossroads between war and peace, the Congo threatens either to drag the entire Central African region into a quagmire of conflict or to provide the engine of economic reconstruction necessary for stability and democratization.