Publications
Articles, publications, books, tools and multimedia features from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest news, analysis, research findings, practitioner guides and reports, all related to the conflict zones and issues that are at the center of the Institute’s work to prevent and reduce violent conflict.
Will the U.S.-Africa Summit Address U.N. Security Council Reform?
U.N. Security Council (UNSC) reform has been a long-standing demand from many in the international community, but calls for an overhaul of the institution have grown louder amid renewed interest in democratizing the international system and addressing historical exclusion and injustices in its core institutions. And in a major development this past September, President Biden told the U.N. General Assembly the United States would support reforming the Security Council — specifically mentioning the addition of permanent members from Africa.
U.S. and African Leaders Need to Focus on Democratization
The U.S. government is gathering this month’s second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit not least because the swiftly rising challenges of the 21st century are pushing Africa squarely to the center of global and U.S. interests. Managing increased violent conflict, climate degradation and human displacement all depend on a better U.S.-African partnership, one that shares an interest in strengthening the democratic rule of law within and among nations. Democracy has eroded, globally and in Africa, since the first U.S.-Africa summit eight years ago — but this month’s conference can reverse that pattern, say two USIP experts, both former ambassadors in Africa.
The Taliban Continue to Tighten Their Grip on Afghan Women and Girls
Since the Taliban’s August 2021 takeover of Afghanistan, they have ratcheted up restrictions on women and girls as the group consolidates power. These restrictions include limitations on employment, education, public interactions and other fundamental rights such as access to justice. These restrictions have only tightened over time with increasingly draconian enforcement — the latest being public floggings that harken back to the Taliban’s 1990s rule. Amid the U.N.’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, USIP has compiled a comprehensive archive of Taliban decrees and public statements on the treatment of women and girls. While leaders and activists around the globe strategize and develop plans to address gender-based violence in their respective countries, Afghanistan stands out as a worst-case example, with two decades of hard-won progress rapidly unwinding.
10 Things to Know about the U.S.-China Rivalry in Africa
Next week, nearly 50 African heads of government plan to be in Washington, D.C. for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. A broad range of issues will be discussed, from food security to global health to education. While rightly not on the formal agenda — the summit is about the United States and African countries — the United States’ rivalry with China, and how it impacts Africa, will be in the background of this major diplomatic event, certainly to be discussed and analyzed in private conversations surrounding the summit.
Incremental Denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula
Tensions are rising on the Korean Peninsula as many believe North Korea is planning to conduct the seventh nuclear weapons test in the country’s history and the first since 2017. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has warned of an “unprecedented joint response” and called on China — North Korea’s closest ally — to dissuade Pyongyang from going through with the test. Amid this troubling geopolitical environment, USIP’s Frank Aum discussed the prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula with Yonsei University’s Dr. Moon Chung-in.
How to Advance Peace and Stability in Coastal West Africa
The U.S. government has identified stability in Coastal West Africa as a foreign policy priority, engaging five countries in particular — Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Togo — through its Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, which was adopted in December 2021. The strategy reflects the U.S. government’s consideration of the five countries as strategic focal points in the fight against transnational terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the neighboring Sahel region.
Africans’ Views on the Key Issues: What African and U.S. Leaders Need to Know
Dozens of African leaders will be in Washington next week for the second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Critical issues like economic engagement, climate change, food security and global health will top the agenda as U.S. and African decision makers gather for a host of formal and informal meetings. While such leader-to-leader engagements are vital to addressing these urgent issues, understanding what everyday Africans want from their leaders and their countries’ relations with the United States is vital to meeting today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.
Leverage the Private Sector for a Durable Peace in Northern Mozambique
The Biden administration has a full agenda planned for African heads of state arriving for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington next week. While much of the summit will focus on economic development, peace and security challenges exist throughout Africa. One area where concerted leadership on both fronts could make a real difference is in northern Mozambique, where an African-led regional intervention has helped to stem — but not quell — an insurgency that has ravaged Mozambique’s resource-rich Cabo Delgado province.
America and Africa Need a New Partnership
America needs strong partners in meeting this century’s accelerating challenges: climate change, human migrations, pandemics, tech revolutions and threats to democracy. A vital new partner, the U.S. administration has rightly declared, must be a rising geostrategic actor: Africa. Next week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will test America’s readiness to move from visionary declarations to concrete work. The key step, little noted in American public discussion, is for the United States to invest in Africa’s own 21st century development plan. This summit should send Americans and Africans home with “to-do” lists and a schedule to shape the first joint projects under that plan.
We Have Strategies to Address Gender-Based Violence — It’s Time to Implement Them
Gender-based violence against women and girls is the most pervasive breach of human rights worldwide and a tactical weapon that is fueling violent conflict. In just the last year, we have witnessed an increase in targeted attacks on women leaders, push back against women’s rights, shrinking of civil society space, virulent online harassment, and conflict-related sexual violence all in conjunction with the strengthening of authoritarianism and state aggression. This unparalleled trend is evident in many countries, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iran, Myanmar and Russian-occupied Ukraine.