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.
The Afghan Refugee Crisis in 2016
Hundreds of thousands of documented and undocumented refugees returned to Afghanistan in 2016, joining more than one million internally displaced within the country. International agencies warn of a humanitarian crisis that would affect hundreds of thousands of people as returnees struggle to meet basic needs. This Peace Brief provides an overview of the situation at the end of 2016, focusing on those returning from Pakistan, the humanitarian situation, and the security implications of the influx.
Revenue Growth in Afghanistan Continues Strong but Future Uncertain
This Peace Brief analyzes the main ingredients behind this success. In the end, however, the authors believe that sustained robust revenue growth will hinge on a durable revival of the Afghan economy, which in turn depends on achieving major progress toward peace.
Violent Extremism: Muslim Democrats as Part of Solution
The White House account of President Donald Trump’s first phone call with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi is a good sign that the U.S. might continue to work cooperatively with moderate Muslim political leaders who can contribute to global stability and aid in reducing violent extremism.
Women, Peace, and Security in Pakistan
A society defined by patriarchal norms and structural inequalities keeps women and girls on the margins of the society and hinders women’s participation in public and political spheres. Yet women’s participation in decisions related to peace and security in the country is essential to peacebuilding and postconflict reconstruction. This brief examines the challenges in implementing the women, peace, and security framework in Pakistan.
Violent Conflict and Vital Interests: Keeping Focus
Over the next decade, the United States can expect to face complex foreign challenges from terrorism, insurgencies and internal conflicts fanned by external sponsorship, but the threat of conventional state-on-state wars, including direct assaults on the American homeland, have significantly diminished, according to retired Lt. General Douglas Lute, the former ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
China’s Kashmir Policies and Crisis Management in South Asia
China’s policy on the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan has a significant impact on regional stabilization and crisis management efforts in South Asia. Beijing also plays an important third-party role in helping deescalate hostilities between the two countries. This brief discusses the evolution of China’s Kashmir policies over the past several decades and examines Chinese cooperation with the United States during periods of crises between the South Asian rivals.
U.S. Braces for Tests to Foreign Policy (Video)
China, Russia, Iran, North Korea. Violent extremism, America’s global leadership, investing in stability. Those are some of the biggest issues facing the administration of President Donald Trump as it establishes its foreign and national security policies in the weeks and months ahead, according to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, other former officials and experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Pakistani Party Chief Voices Concerns Over Entry Curbs
“I do hope that this issue is sorted out very soon, because it is sending the wrong message and it’s shrinking the space for those of us out there fighting Islamic extremism on the front lines,” he told an audience of policy specialists, civil society leaders and others, in an event co-sponsored by the Heritage Foundation. Bhutto Zardari, the son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, the largest opposition party in parliament.
As Global Violence Expands, How Can Aid Adapt?
The speakers from OECD, meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, examined the ramifications for the aid community and others trying to address the burgeoning problem of fragility, when a state is weakened because its government is either unable or unwilling to meet the needs of its citizens.
In a Divided U.S., One Event Proved There's Still Bipartisan Foreign Policy
Amid the public debate about America's divisions, it may have been easy to miss this image just days before the inauguration: the national security advisers of Presidents Obama and Trump standing side by side to vow bipartisan cooperation in the transition of authority.