Displacement and the Vulnerability to Mobilize for Violence: Evidence from Afghanistan

Displacement and the Vulnerability to Mobilize for Violence: Evidence from Afghanistan

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

By: Sadaf Lakhani;  Rahmatullah Amiri

Forced displacement affects over 70 million people worldwide and is among the most pressing humanitarian and development challenges today. This report attempts to ascertain whether a relationship exists between displacement in Afghanistan and vulnerability to recruitment to violence by militant organizations. The report leverages an understanding of this relationship to provide recommendations to government, international donors, and others working with Afghanistan’s displaced populations to formulate more effective policies and programs.

Type: Peaceworks

Violent Extremism

Engaging the Post-ISIS Iraqi Religious Landscape for Peace and Reconciliation (Arabic)

Engaging the Post-ISIS Iraqi Religious Landscape for Peace and Reconciliation (Arabic)

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

By: Ann Wainscott

Religious actors in Iraq wield considerable influence, and Iraqis perceive them as playing an important role in moving the country toward peace. This report analyzes the influence of Iraq’s religious actors—who has it, why they have it, and how they exercise it—to illuminate their crucial role in supporting peace and reconciliation efforts and to help policymakers and practitioners understand how to engage them in efforts to advance peace.

Type: Peaceworks

ReconciliationReligion

Engaging the Post-ISIS Iraqi Religious Landscape for Peace and Reconciliation

Engaging the Post-ISIS Iraqi Religious Landscape for Peace and Reconciliation

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

By: Ann Wainscott

Religious actors in Iraq wield considerable influence, and Iraqis perceive them as playing an important role in moving the country toward peace. This report analyzes the influence of Iraq’s religious actors—who has it, why they have it, and how they exercise it—to illuminate their crucial role in supporting peace and reconciliation efforts and to help policymakers and practitioners understand how to engage them in efforts to advance peace.

Type: Peaceworks

ReconciliationReligion

Insurgent Bureaucracy: How the Taliban Makes Policy

Insurgent Bureaucracy: How the Taliban Makes Policy

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The system of shadow Taliban governance and the experiences of civilians subject to it are well documented. The policies that guide this governance and the factors that contribute to them, however, are not. This report examines how the Taliban make and implement policy. Based on more than a hundred interviews and previously unreleased Taliban documents, this report offers rare insight into Taliban decision-making processes and the factors that influence them.

Type: Peaceworks

Local Cross-line Coordination in Syria

Local Cross-line Coordination in Syria

Thursday, October 3, 2019

By: Natasha Hall;  Benjamin Smith;  Thomas McGee

Throughout the eight-year-long conflict in Syria, the movement of people and goods—including vital foodstuffs, medicines, equipment, and fuel—has often been severely restricted by periods of prolonged fighting. Yet in many areas, local arrangements, historical circumstances, and key actors have facilitated trade and movement across the lines of conflict. This report examines four cross-line areas in Syria and draws lessons for how these local dynamics might affect the resolution of the larger conflict and these communities in the long term.

Type: Peaceworks

Conflict Analysis & PreventionFragility & Resilience

Donor Assistance in the Transparency and Accountability Movement

Donor Assistance in the Transparency and Accountability Movement

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

By: Davin O'Regan

Focusing on transparency and anti-corruption issues, this report discusses the findings from a series of participatory workshops and more than seventy interviews with social movement actors and organizations in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ukraine. It looks at the different ways social movement actors in these countries were influenced by foreign financial support and training, including in terms of the goals they set, the tactics and activities they pursue, and whether receiving foreign support compromises their legitimacy with their domestic constituents.

Type: Peaceworks

Global PolicyDemocracy & GovernanceNonviolent Action

Ceasefire Monitoring in South Sudan 2014–2019: “A Very Ugly Mission”

Ceasefire Monitoring in South Sudan 2014–2019: “A Very Ugly Mission”

Friday, August 30, 2019

By: Aly Verjee

More than five years after South Sudan’s first ceasefire agreement, ceasefire monitors are still on the ground. The hope was that their work would help overcome the mistrust between rival factions, halt ongoing violence, and deter further violations. Drawing on interviews with monitors, combatants, politicians, civil society representatives, diplomats, peacekeepers, and others, this report examines the history of ceasefire monitoring in South Sudan and offers recommendations for donors supporting future monitoring processes in South Sudan and elsewhere.

Type: Peaceworks

Global PolicyPeace Processes

The Religious Landscape in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

The Religious Landscape in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

Thursday, August 29, 2019

By: Melyn McKay

This Peaceworks report maps the religious landscape of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, focusing in particular on the current and potential influence of religion in peace and reconciliation efforts. Part of a broader USIP initiative to map the religious landscape in conflict-affected environments, it presents key findings and offers recommendations to enable policymakers and peacebuilding practitioners to better navigate and engage within Rakhine’s religious landscape.

Type: Peaceworks

Religion

Systems Thinking for Peacebuilding and Rule of Law (French)

Systems Thinking for Peacebuilding and Rule of Law (French)

Thursday, August 1, 2019

By: Philippe Leroux-Martin;  Vivienne O'Connor

Notre approche traditionnelle de la consolidation de la paix et de l’État de droit semble solide : des objectifs ambitieux, une injection de ressources, des équipes d’experts travaillant intensément. Pourtant nous semblons rarement aboutir à des réformes véritablement fructueuses et durables. Pourquoi nous enlisons-nous ? Une des réponses possibles réside dans notre façon de percevoir les systèmes avec lesquels nous travaillons. Nous avons tendance à traiter de nombreux systèmes de consolidation de la paix et de l’État de droit comme s’ils étaient des systèmes d’horloge, c’est-à-dire ordonnés, réguliers et prévisibles. En réalité, les environnements dans lesquels nous travaillons sont plutôt des systèmes de type nuage,en cela qu’ils sont désordonnés, irréguliers et imprévisibles.

Type: Peaceworks

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

The Religious Landscape in South Sudan: Challenges and Opportunities for Engagement

The Religious Landscape in South Sudan: Challenges and Opportunities for Engagement

Thursday, June 20, 2019

By: Jacqueline Wilson

Since the beginning of South Sudan's civil war in 2013, the country's religious actors have sought to play an active role in turning the tide from war and violence to peace and reconciliation. Drawing on interviews, focus groups, and consultations, this report maps the religious landscape of South Sudan and showcases the legitimate and influential religious actors and institutions, highlights challenges impeding their peace work, and provides recommendations for policymakers and practitioners to better engage with religious actors for peace.

Type: Peaceworks

Religion