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.
Antonio Saint Louis lives in constant fear. A housekeeper in Haiti’s capital, he says bandits killed a friend’s brother weeks ago as they laid unrelenting siege to the sprawling Carrefour-Feuilles slum. Saint Louis, 34, fears an invasion of his own community is inevitable. He has little faith that...
Bangladesh is just a few months away from its next general election, but the ruling Awami League (AL) and the opposition parties are locked in a disagreement over the administration of the election. While the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) wants elections under a non-partisan caretaker government, as they believe that elections under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will not be...
n Monday, after eight years inside Iran’s Evin Prison, notorious for its brutal conditions, Siamak Namazi stepped through the door of a Qatar Airways plane that had just flown him to freedom and paused. From the top of the steps, he looked around, cracked a smile, then waved—at no one in particular. Minutes later, he issued a statement from Doha, before his transfer for the final leg of his journey to...
In this week's episode of The Irrawaddy Newscast we hear about the expansion of BRICS and whether the junta has any hope of joining. Also, it’s been two years since the civilian National Unity Government declared an armed uprising against the...
“Dan was my first love and my first grief,” Brenda Lott said, as she spoke to families who’ve spent decades searching for answers about their missing loved ones. In a crowded hotel conference room in northern Virginia, Lott, 79, spoke at an annual government briefing in mid-August designed to offer updates on American service members from the Korean War. When she was 6 years old...
Does the North Korean leader's visit to Russia herald closer military cooperation between the two countries? Does it signal a loss of stature for...
For decades, the West - and Washington particularly - has asked itself the question: how do you solve a problem like North Korea? Now it may be more urgent than ever as Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin's heavily sanctioned regimes enter what appears to be a...
The first hint Soe Thun* had that his online sales job might not be exactly as advertised was that the hiring process lasted just a few minutes and took place over a voice messaging app. His recruiter, who gave her name as Lisa, told Soe Thun to send her a paragraph of...
As if Coca-Cola gave up making soft drinks, the Taliban announced to great fanfare last year that they were getting out of the drug business. The group that rode big opium profits to a takeover of Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 suddenly, seemingly, swore off the stuff. Poppy planting was banned and drugs were...
The elevation of Vietnam-US relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership marks “a historic new phase of bilateral cooperation and friendship.” It’s stated in the Joint Statement released during US President Joe Biden's state visit, which concluded on September 11. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was declared by...