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Peace and Pandemics

Stories of resilience from USIP's global network of peacebuilders

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As the world grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, inspirational stories of on-the-ground peacebuilding, nonviolent activism, and community leadership are all the more valuable—as practical examples for other peacebuilders around the world, as reaffirmations of USIP’s commitment to our core mission, and as beacons of hope and progress in a turbulent time.

Read USIP expert's analysis of the intersections between the coronavirus pandemic and conflict »

A student participates in a discussion during a gender ethics class at the University of Maiduguri, in Nigeria, Dec. 2, 2017. (Adam Ferguson/The New York Times)

Nigeria: Police in Jos Adapt to COVID-Driven Rise in Sexual Violence

Dialogues bring together police and community to devise approaches for addressing gender-based violence amid the pandemic.
In Caracas in 2017, Maria (left) and colleagues in the Green Cross Brigade rush to help a person injured by riot police during mass protests against the government. (Manuel Rivas)

COVID Menaces Venezuela, Medical Students Respond

Amid conflict and a shattered health system, medical students build healing and unity.
Tunisians wait in line to enter a grocery store amid COVID-19 lockdown measures. March 27, 2020. (Brahim Guedich/Wikimedia Commons)

Preventing Conflict During the Pandemic in Southern Tunisia

As tensions flared over lockdown measures, local peacebuilders help rebuild trust between citizens and government.
South Sudanese children carry water for their families at sunset in a camp for people displaced by warfare. About 39 percent of South Sudan’s 11 million people have been uprooted amid the country’s violence. (www.geoffpugh.com/Flickr)

In South Sudan, Civic Activists Take On COVID

Amid violence and weak governance, local groups organize against the virus—and for a sustainable peace.
Students participate in distance learning during the pandemic, April 28, 2020. USIP’s Peace Teachers have had to pivot to new forms of teaching like this as social distancing protocols are being observed. (Department of Defense)

Amid the Pandemic, Teaching Peace Remains Vital

Two USIP Peace Teachers explain how, amid global turmoil, the lessons of peacebuilding can inspire students to build a better world.
Gatwal Gatkuoth asks advice from the Dalai Lama on building peace amid civil war. Gatkuoth was among 25 young peacebuilders from nations facing violence who were hosted by USIP in 2017 for a dialogue with the religious leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

An African Activist Builds Peace with Youth—and Refugees

But Uganda’s progressive refugee policies face financial pressures, and now COVID.
Justice and Security Dialogue participants in Casamance pose after the first dialogue session, March 5, 2020. (Pierre Ndecky/USIP)

In Casamance, Dialogue Helps Battle Coronavirus and Build Trust

Decades of conflict in the Senegalese region have led to damaged security-civilian relations—but that’s changing at just the right time.
A vital highway for western Libya climbs the escarpment from Arab-populated plains to the ethnic Amazigh city of Nalut. Libyan civic leaders, supported by USIP, are working to end years of conflict between the two locales. (Anchishkyn/CC License 3.0)

Amid Libyan Crisis, Two Hostile Towns Build a Basis for Peace

Old foes in the mountains find a way to cooperate, despite land disputes, civil war and COVID.

Generation Change Fellows: Action for Change Amid the Pandemic

USIP's Generation Change Fellows program connects young leaders worldwide with the peacebuilding training and global community they need to help transform their communities. Amid the pandemic, many of these fellows have used skills and resources from the program to find creative ways to take action for change.

Rebecca Jibi

Rebecca Jibi

In South Sudan, Rebecca’s media campaign shares COVID-19 preventive measures with her community.
Reech Malual

Reech Malual

Reech counters hate speech in South Sudan with social media campaigns like this video.
Tunde Ogunyale

Tunde Ogunyale

In Nigeria, Tunde is using social media to inspire growth and reflection in others throughout the pandemic
Daniella Liendo

Daniella Liendo

Daniella virtually connects patients and medical specialists in Venezuela and helps provide meals for healthcare workers
Faten Khalfallah Hammouda

"Extend Your Hand to Save Our Land"

Generation Change Fellow

Faten Khalfallah Hammouda’s “Extend your hand to save our land” initiative has helped create over 1,300 protective face shields, masks and medical gowns for hospitals in Tunisia through 3D printing. “The skills I gained from the leadership training and conflict resolution have helped me a lot,” Faten said of our Generation Change Fellowship Program.

Latest Publications

Kenya’s Crisis Shows the Urgency of African Poverty, Corruption, Debt

Kenya’s Crisis Shows the Urgency of African Poverty, Corruption, Debt

Thursday, June 27, 2024

By: Ambassador Johnnie Carson

Kenya’s public protests and deadly violence over proposed tax increases this week highlight some of the country’s most serious challenges: high youth unemployment, deepening poverty and the glaring gap between living conditions for the country’s elite and its urban poor. This social crisis is exacerbated by severe corruption, a stifling foreign debt and a too-violent response by Kenyan police, who have a poor record in handling large demonstrations. Steps to calm this crisis are vital to preserve Kenya’s overall stability, its role as an East African trade hub — and its capacity to serve as a leader for peace, which the United States increasing has relied upon in Africa and elsewhere.

Type: Analysis

Economics;  Global Policy

Toward a Durable India-Pakistan Peace: A Roadmap through Trade

Toward a Durable India-Pakistan Peace: A Roadmap through Trade

Thursday, June 27, 2024

By: Sanjay Kathuria

Despite a three-year long cease-fire along their contested border, trade and civil society engagement between India and Pakistan has dwindled, exacerbating the fragility of their relationship. With recently re-elected governments now in place in both countries, there is a window of opportunity to rekindle trade to bolster their fragile peace, support economic stability in Pakistan, create large markets and high-quality jobs on both sides, and open doors for diplomatic engagement that could eventually lead to progress on more contentious issues.

Type: Analysis

Economics

¿Es la histórica elección de México una oportunidad para reiniciar la cooperación con los Estados Unidos?

¿Es la histórica elección de México una oportunidad para reiniciar la cooperación con los Estados Unidos?

Thursday, June 13, 2024

By: Lucila Del Aguila Llausás

El 2 de junio, los mexicanos eligieron a la ex alcaldesa de la Ciudad de México y candidata del partido gobernante, Claudia Sheinbaum, como su próxima presidenta. Con un mandato electoral contundente, así como con una mayoría calificada en el Congreso, Sheinbaum ha prometido continuar el proyecto de la “Cuarta Transformación” de su predecesor, enfocado en reducir la pobreza, combatir la corrupción, promover la justicia social y lograr una distribución equitativa del ingreso bajo un estado fortalecido. En medio de esta mezcla de continuidad y cambio, Estados Unidos podría tener una oportunidad para reconstruir la deteriorada cooperación entre ambos países en materia de seguridad y reducción de la violencia, una de las prioridades de Sheinbaum y algo que será imposible de lograr sin una estrecha cooperación con Estados Unidos.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance;  Global Elections & Conflict

Israel and Hezbollah Change the Rules, Test Redlines — Will it lead to War?

Israel and Hezbollah Change the Rules, Test Redlines — Will it lead to War?

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

By: Mona Yacoubian

Tensions between Israel and the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah are at their highest point since their 2006 war. They have exchanged tit-for-tat attacks since October, displacing tens of thousands from northern Israel and southern Lebanon. But in recent weeks, both sides have escalated the violence and rhetoric. USIP’s Mona Yacoubian looks at what’s driving this escalation, what each side is trying to tell the other and the diplomatic efforts underway to lower the temperature.

Type: Question and Answer

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

How to Support Female Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan

How to Support Female Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

By: Belquis Ahmadi;  Afsana Rahimi

Potential areas of cooperation between the Taliban and the international community, such as private sector development and alternative livelihoods to now-banned opium poppy cultivation, will be on the agenda at a meeting of international envoys for Afghanistan hosted by the United Nations in Doha from June 30 to July 1. Discussions on women’s rights are not included, as the Taliban consider it an internal matter. This is ironic, given that the private sector is one area where the Taliban allow limited women’s participation.

Type: Analysis

Economics;  Gender

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