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.
![Afghan Women’s Voices Urgently Needed for Country’s Transition, Activists Say](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130318-AfghanWomensVoices2-TOB_0.jpg?itok=_cCNqL3a)
Afghan Women’s Voices Urgently Needed for Country’s Transition, Activists Say
To the backdrop of stunning photographs illustrating the achievements and remaining hurdles for women in Afghanistan, a USIP expert and the recipient of a U.S. award for courage joined other advocates in an urgent call for more Afghan women to be consulted in major decisions of the transition.
![Prospects for Middle East Peace](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130318-MIDEAST_CONFLICT_23-OTI.jpg?itok=eIct8ivB)
Prospects for Middle East Peace
Ahead of President Obama's trip to the Middle East, Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, USIP’s senior program officer working on issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict discusses broader context.
![Overcoming Obstacles to Peace](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130318-Overcoming-Obstacles-Peace-book-cover.jpg?itok=0Dh9n1R5)
Overcoming Obstacles to Peace
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) hosted a panel on March 18 to discuss the findings of “Overcoming Obstacles to Peace: Local Factors in Nation Building,” a new RAND Corporation book that lays out data-based evidence on how international interventions can build more peaceful nations.
![Copenhagen Process Tackles Delicate Topic of Detainees in Military Operations](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130315-Copenhagen-TOB.jpg?itok=B5VkzvXq)
Copenhagen Process Tackles Delicate Topic of Detainees in Military Operations
Allegations of detainee mistreatment are not new and remain one of the most controversial aspects of contemporary military operations. The debate has led a number of states to embrace the 'Copenhagen Process: Principles and Guidelines' concerning the taking and handling of detainees.
![National Service and Women’s History Month](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130313-Women-History-Month-NB.jpg?itok=icKkAapW)
National Service and Women’s History Month
USIP’s director of the Gender and Peacebuilding Center, Kathleen Kuehnast, participated in the Senate Military Family Caucus annual Joint Services Women’s History Month congressional event on March 13 hosted by Caucus co-chairs, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). This year’s event highlighted the diverse ways women serve their communities and our nation.
![Syria's Conflict, In Numbers: 525,600 Minutes X 2](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130314-JORDAN-SYRIA-REFUGEES-TOB_0.jpg?itok=k_Jfj6sa)
Syria's Conflict, In Numbers: 525,600 Minutes X 2
It has been two years since the beginning of the Syrian uprising. USIP Program Officer Rachel Brandenburg counts the ways the country has been shattered and its neighbors overwhelmed.
![Kenya's Elections: What's Next?](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130312-KENYA_ELECTION_7-OTI.jpg?itok=RuDaQnPt)
Kenya's Elections: What's Next?
USIP’s Jacqueline Wilson discusses the recent Kenyan elections and how the country can continue to mend rifts from the 2007 violence.
![Largely Peaceful Kenyan Vote Bolstered by Youth, Technology](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130313-KENYA-NYT-NF.jpg?itok=2RaFPzS5)
Largely Peaceful Kenyan Vote Bolstered by Youth, Technology
A young woman who saw her home burned to the ground as a child, and another who ended up homeless for 1 ½ years after Kenya’s election violence of 2007 and 2008, are among the youth leading a movement to end the destructive cycle. A roundtable at USIP co-sponsored with Mercy Corps explored a program aimed at strengthening the constructive force of youth in Kenya.
![Soft Power in an Age of Austerity](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/20130311-JM-CSIS-NB_0.jpg?itok=9_7mUsyr)
Soft Power in an Age of Austerity
USIP President Jim Marshall spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on March 11 for the release of a new report, “U.S. Navy Humanitarian Assistance in an Era of Austerity.” Marshall delivered the keynote address and participated in a panel discussion with Admiral (ret.) Gary Roughead (Hoover Institution), Rear Admiral (ret.) Thomas Cullison (CNA Institute for Public Research), and moderated by CSIS’s Dr. J. Stephen Morrison.
![Pakistan and the Narratives of Extremism](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/SR327_0.jpeg?itok=rYFEp8uB)
Pakistan and the Narratives of Extremism
Violent extremist organizations in Pakistan have effectively drawn on existing narratives about Pakistan’s history and identity in promoting their own worldviews. An effective communications strategy to counter extremism likewise needs to engage existing narratives, as well as engaging youth and others who are already challenging extremist views.