Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest analysis and perspective on the world’s critical hot spots, U.S. and global security and issues involved in violent conflict, based on the Institute’s work on the ground and with key individuals, governments and organizations. They give interviews and background briefings to journalists and write for news outlets around the world.
The U.S. is seeking to bolster its outreach to the Pacific as Beijing gains sway in the region. Across Tonga’s main island, China’s footprint is clear, with many storefronts bearing Chinese language signs. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Tonga comes after the country was devastated by a volcanic eruption and...
As Russia seeks more allies during its invasion of Ukraine, longtime U.S. security partner Kenya might not be an obvious choice. But hours after Russia terminated a deal to keep grain flowing from Ukraine, Moscow’s ambassador saw an opening to appeal to one of the African countries that would feel the...
From Shwe Kokko to KK Park, a slew of brutal criminal enterprises now dot the Moei River that forms Myanmar’s border with Thailand. Survivors, ensnared by promises of legitimate work, spoke to This Week in Asia of trafficking, torture – and being forced to defraud strangers online. This story was produced in...
Hopes for a progressive, democratic Thailand may be dashed after Pita Limjaroenrat and his Move Forward party were dealt a major blow Wednesday when the country’s parliament barred Pita from standing a second time in elections for Prime Minister. The National Assembly also ousted Pita late Wednesday on...
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Tonga, New Zealand and Australia next week. He will visit Tonga’s capital, Nukuʻalofa, to dedicate the new U.S. Embassy there, part of an effort to ramp up America’s diplomatic presence in the region to counter China’s influence and pressure. VOA’s...
The U.S. Institute of Peace is pleased to announce the 2023-24 cohort of Peace Scholar Fellows. This year 113 applicants from 66 U.S. universities applied for this prestigious award. The 21 award recipients demonstrated the greatest potential to advance the peacebuilding field and the strongest likelihood to inform policy and practice.
I thought of the writer Finnoula O’Connor and her wonderful 1993 book In Search of a State when surveying the thin pile of newspapers at a sweetshop in Leitrim, a few kilometres south of the border one day in late June. In the book, O’Connor relates the story of a Catholic from Northern Ireland holidaying...
U.S. President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet for visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in late June, but their demonstration of growing solidarity and cooperation was somehow not convincing. On June 22, after meeting with Modi at the White House, Biden touted U.S.-Indian ties as being "among...
A United States nuclear submarine's appearance in South Korea is grounds for North Korea to consider nuclear repercussions, according to Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam. Japanese and South Korean militaries said Thursday that North Korea fired two ballistic missiles eastwards early on Wednesday...
Mr. Hudson said atrocities committed by Russian mercenaries on the continent, and their seizing of mines and other resources, as well as the...