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.
Question And Answer
Blinken’s China Trip Shows Both Sides Want to Stabilize Ties
As El Salvador’s Gang Crackdown Continues, Citizens Wonder What’s Next?
San Salvador’s historic center teems with commerce: some 40,000 vendors not only fill the downtown area’s four official markets, but also spill into the surrounding streets, their tarpaulin-covered stalls packed with everything from clothing to electronics, packaged sweets to fresh produce. The national and city governments have embarked on an effort to transform the capital city’s downtown into a tourist attraction, restoring monuments and relocating ramshackle market stalls. A new national library — donated by China — is under construction on the capital city’s civic square, across from the metropolitan cathedral.
What Sudan Needs Right Now
The unthinkable is unfolding in Sudan. A humanitarian disaster is deepening, as the state is being torn apart. The spill over could impact East Africa and the broader region — already tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled. As we have seen with other conflicts in the region, it is likely that malign, foreign interests will seek to exploit the situation to advance their own interests. The risk of Somalia-like anarchy on the Red Sea is real if the current fighting continues and foreign support for the warring parties — the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — continues to grow.
Amid the Fight for Myanmar, Federalism Rises from the Grass Roots
On April 11, Myanmar’s ruthless military dictatorship showed just how much it fears the emergence of local governments that have slipped beyond its control. As about 200 villagers in the Sagaing region celebrated a new administrative center after junta-controlled officials had fled, fighter jets swooped in and dropped munitions on the crowd. When people sought to retrieve the dead and injured, an Mi35 helicopter arrived and circled, strafing the scene. At least 170 people, including women and children, died in the attack.
It’s Not About Picking Sides: The Nonaligned Movement and Russian Aggression
For nearly 80 years, the world has benefited from the post-World War II international legal prohibitions and norms outlawing aggressive war. While this relative peace and stability was threatened during the Cold War, a group of countries — called the nonaligned movement (NAM) — came together to declare their aversion to the bloc politics of the United States and the Soviet Union. This nonaligned movement championed key principles of the U.N. charter, including respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty and nonaggression.
Mientras represión de las bandas en El Salvador continúa, los ciudadanos se preguntan qué vendrá después.
El centro histórico de San Salvador vibra con comercio: unos 40.000 vendedores no sólo llenan los cuatro mercados oficiales del centro, sino que también se extienden por las calles circundantes, con sus puestos repletos de todo tipo de productos, desde ropa a electrodomésticos, dulces y productos frescos. Los gobiernos nacional y municipal se han embarcado en un esfuerzo por transformar el centro de la capital en una atracción turística, restaurando monumentos y reubicando los destartalados puestos de los mercados. Se está construyendo también una nueva biblioteca nacional, donada por China, en la plaza cívica de la capital, frente a la catedral metropolitana.
In Pakistan’s Crisis, Judicial, Military Roles Will Be Vital
Pakistan’s eruption into new political crisis this week elevates the risks — in South Asia and beyond — of instability in a nuclear-armed state that is also the world’s fifth most populous. The authorities’ arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan triggered a confrontation between his many supporters and Pakistan’s politically powerful military, which many Pakistanis say precipitated Khan’s detention. As U.S. policymakers monitor this still-unfolding crisis, a first useful step may be to carefully press Pakistani leaders to avoid any unlawful repression or military intervention.
Afghanistan’s Crisis Requires a Coherent, Coordinated International Response
Over the past year, especially in recent months, the Taliban have made several missteps. The consequences are not a threat to their power in the short run but will damage their ability to govern as well as, potentially, their longer-term cohesion. Unfortunately, these missteps will harm the Afghan people much more, both directly and through their adverse impact on humanitarian aid.
Five Takeaways from China’s Latest Diplomacy
China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, has been on a whirlwind diplomatic tour in recent weeks, with high-profile meetings in Europe, Myanmar, Pakistan — where he also met with Taliban officials — and back home in Beijing with the U.S. ambassador to China. With U.S.-China relations as frosty as ever, Qin’s meeting with Ambassador Nicholas Burns signals that both sides want to manage better manage their differences. In Europe, Beijing is promoting its peace plan for Ukraine despite European concerns that Beijing is decidedly pro-Moscow. Meanwhile, amid crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Myanmar, China is wielding its clout to advance its own interests in spite of the implications for long-term stability.
Sudan: Engage Civilians Now, Not Later
Over the last month, a series of cease-fires in Sudan have yielded minimal results. Fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has continued and even intensified in some places. While the capital Khartoum and areas surrounding key infrastructure remain the core battlegrounds, the clashes have spread into other parts of the country.
Pro-Taiwan Pacific Island Leaders Show Cracks in China’s Appeal
Most Pacific Island countries have formal diplomatic relations with Beijing. But at both the local and national level, some leaders are raising concerns about Chinese bribery, violations of sovereignty, clandestine intelligence operations and political interference in their countries, as well as the possibility that China may invade Taiwan. As Beijing forces its agenda on Pacific Island countries and competes with the United States for influence in the region, Washington should lead by example and build partnerships with the Pacific Islands that emphasize consulting with them as equals and focusing on areas of common interest, like climate change.