Research & Analysis
U.S. Institute of Peace’s articles, reports, tools and other features provide policy analysis, research findings, and practitioner guides. These publications examine critical conflict issues at the center of the Institute’s work to prevent and resolve violent conflict.
The views expressed in these publications are those of the author(s).
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.
Marshland Arabs of Iraq
The near total destruction of the vast marshlands of southern Iraq by Saddam Hussein's regime has had significant ecological consequences and devastated the 500,000 Ma'dan or "Marsh Arab" people, who have populated the area for 5,000 years.
1998-1999 National Winning Essay
Jean Marie Hicks St. Thomas More High School Rapid City, SD “Too little, too late” often in the prevention of violent conflicts holds true (Peck). When the roots of the problem are not identified in time, violence becomes the solution. Preventive diplomacy, one way of avoiding conflicts, can be defined as “action to prevent disputes from arising among parties to prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflicts, and to limit the spread of the latter when they occur” (Boutros-Ghal...
Thinking Out Loud: Policies Toward Iraq
In the face of persistent crises between Iraq and the international community over Iraq's failure to comply with international agreements governing its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons development programs, the United States Institute of Peace convened a study group to understand better what options exist to deal with the threats that Iraq poses.
Between Impediment and Advantage: Saddam's Iraq
The report represents work in progress and summarizes the main points made during two public discussions about the nature of domestic politics in Iraq under Saddam. This analysis provides a useful backdrop to the ongoing conflict with Iraq and is intended to help interested observers understand the significance of Saddam Hussain in Iraqi politics and the forces with which he grapples as he makes decisions about compliance with international demands.
The Arab World After Desert Storm
"In many ways the Gulf War has been a disaster for the Arab World" says the author of this fact-filled, carefully balanced, and yet provocative study.
Making Peace among Arabs and Israelis
Every U.S. administration since 1948 has devised its own appraoch for coping with or trying to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict. Yet lessons from the history of U.S.-Arab-Israeli negotiations have rarely if ever been extracted and systematically applied to on-going negotiations.