Tuesday, June 25, 2024
The Latest @ USIP: How to Stymie Guatemala’s Democratic Slide
In recent years, Guatemala’s democracy has faced a series of setbacks, following a troubling regional trend. Endemic corruption is a major challenge that has exacerbated inequality and driven mass migration to the United States. The Biden administration is prioritizing addressing insecurity in Central America. Arresting Guatemala’s democratic erosion will be vital to that effort. In this edition of "The Latest @ USIP,” Ana María Méndez Dardón, director for Central America at the Washington Office on Latin America, discusses the challenges facing civil society and independent journalists in Guatemala today, and explains how the United States can help protect democracy and promote human rights.
The Latest on al-Qaida after al-Zawahiri: 3 Things You Need to Know
It's been about 10 years since the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden. In July, his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan. In this episode of The Latest, Asfandyar Mir, a senior expert in USIP's Asia Center, describes where this leaves al-Qaida, what it means for U.S. counterterrorism policy, and who the next leader of al-Qaida might be.
The Latest @ USIP: Why Central America’s Security Is a U.S. Priority
In this edition of "The Latest @ USIP,” Ricardo Zúniga, the principal deputy assistant secretary and special envoy for the Northern Triangle in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department, discusses why Central America is such a high priority for the Biden administration; the key strategies to prevent, mitigate and resolve violent conflict; and how U.S. engagement, particularly in Guatemala, can help address conflict in the region.
‘A lot Can Change in a Generation’: A Story from Lebanon
I want to share a personal story from our “Imagine: Reflections on Peace exhibit” that is not explained with the photos. It describes three pictures from the Lebanon exhibit and the transformation that is possible between generations.
The Challenge of Reintegrating Kyrgyz Children of ISIS Fighters in Iraq
A fifth grader at an elementary school in Aravan, Kyrgyzstan — a rural farming community in the lush Ferghana Valley on the border with Uzbekistan — could only count to 20 when this school year began. “It was like he dropped out of the sky,” his teacher said about his unfamiliarity with numbers, letters or the entire concept of school.
The Latest on Strategic Stability in Southern Asia: 4 Things You Need to Know
While the world focuses on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there's another hotspot — China, India and Pakistan — where three nuclear-armed states share contested borders. In this video, USIP’s Tamanna Salikuddin and Vikram J. Singh discuss how to enhance stability in the region, the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy, the prospects of nuclear talks in Southern Asia, and the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Why Religion-Based Support is Vital for Afghan Refugees
The increasing violence and insecurity in Afghanistan could force over half a million more people to migrate from the country by the end of 2022, adding to the population of almost 2.6 million Afghan refugees worldwide. And for these millions of migrants, the plight of serious mental health challenges is a concern that we cannot afford to overlook.
In the Struggle for Peace, Four Lessons From a Leader
Recent years of declining democracy and rising authoritarianism and violent conflict form what President Biden and others call the “defining challenge of our time.” Biden, like millions of people, see nonviolent struggles for freedom, such as those led by the Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as humanity’s best way to meet this challenge. Last week, though few may have realized it, the world lost a man who, over the last fifty years, helped us to understand and act on that insight: Dr. Peter Ackerman.
Voices: Searching for the Missing from the Vietnam War
Nearly 50 years after the end of the Vietnam War, families from all sides of the conflict are still searching for remains of loved ones through both official and personal channels. In 2021-22, as part of the Vietnam War Legacies and Reconciliation Initiative, USIP interviewed American and Vietnamese families who have recently received or identified wartime remains.
As Security Returns, Central Africans Await the State
In early February, five Central African friends and I hopped in a weathered Toyota pickup and retraced most of Route Nationale 3 (RN3), which runs through the Central African Republic’s (CAR) northwest from Baoro to the capital Bangui. Connecting Cameroon’s Douala and Bangui, the RN3 corridor accounts for 80 percent of internationally traded goods in CAR.