WASHINGTON--The U.S. Institute of Peace Press has just published The United States and Coercive Diplomacy, edited by Brandeis University Professor Robert Art and U.S. Agency for International Development Assistant Administrator Patrick Cronin, formerly director of research and studies at the Institute of Peace. The U.S. government has turned to coercive diplomacy—the threat or limited use of military force to change a state's or group's behavior—eight times since the end of the Cold War. The...

WASHINGTON—As looting and disorder in Iraq abate, there remains a risk of violent conflict over real property claims, especially in Kirkuk and other areas the Saddam Hussein regime tried to Arabize. For more than 35 years, people of all ethnic and religious groups in Iraq have been uprooted and forced to move in order to satisfy Ba'athist political objectives. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds and Turkmen are now trying to return to their homes, many of which are occupied by Arabs. Iraq is bound...

WASHINGTON—Fifty-two American high school students have been named state winners of the 16th annual National Peace Essay Contest, sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace. Each student will receive a $1,000 scholarship for his or her efforts, and will now compete for the 2003 national first prize, a $10,000 college scholarship. The 52 winners will represent their states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia in a program for state-level winners in Washington, D.C. from June 21 t...

WASHINGTON—With the Iraq war essentially over, United States priorities are quickly shifting to securing the peace and setting Iraq on the path to democracy. Concerns about immediate needs have been exacerbated by the inability of coalition forces to control widespread looting and lawlessness in Baghdad and elsewhere, reported shortages of potable water in some areas, and the failure to date of coalition forces to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In launching an effort that will be mu...

WASHINGTON—On April 8, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair affirmed, "The United Nations has a vital role to play in the reconstruction of Iraq." Just the day before, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan noted, "There are lots of areas where the United Nations can play a role, but above all the UN involvement does bring legitimacy which is necessary, necessary for the country, for the region and for the peoples around the world." To assess the various roles that the United Nation...

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Institute of Peace mourns the passing of Dr. Masipula Sithole, of Harare, Zimbabwe, a senior fellow at the Institute during 2002-2003. Sithole, who was 56, died on April 3 in Fairfax, Virginia, after suffering a massive stroke. His life was one of deep commitment to the people of Zimbabwe. Masipula Sithole was one of Africa's most respected scholars. He was a professor of political science at the University of Zimbabwe and founding director of the Mass Public Opinion Ins...

WASHINGTON--Kirkuk, the northern Iraq city and surrounding province that produces a large share of Iraq's oil, is a potential hot spot of interethnic tension in the aftermath of the Iraq war. Claimed historically by both Kurds (at one time a majority in the province) and Turkmen (at one time a majority in the city), Kirkuk has seen the displacement of much of its Kurdish, Turkmen, and Christian population by the Saddam Hussein regime, which sought to "Arabize" it by importing over 250,000 mos...

WASHINGTON--Journalists and others seeking to understand the strange machinations of Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regime would do well to read Negotiating on the Edge: North Korean Negotiating Behavior by Scott Snyder, published in 1999 by the U.S. Institute of Peace Press. Scott Snyder, a former program officer with the Institute, now with the Asia Foundation in Seoul, explains in the book that the North Koreans' disturbing penchant for confrontation, threats and violence should not be...