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.
On Ukraine, Africa Needs a Clearer U.S. Message
As democracies rally to defend an international rules-based system against Russia’s brutal attack on Ukrainians, the United States should forge an alliance with African partners by committing with them now to resolve the Ukraine crisis in a way that makes that system fairer and more inclusive. One early step is for U.S. and other policymakers to highlight the core of this conflict: The 44 million Ukrainians are fighting to govern themselves freely within their internationally recognized borders — a cause that is viscerally real to billions of people across Africa and the “global south.”
The Ukraine War is Deepening Global Food Insecurity — What Can Be Done?
Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, the global economy was suffering from the repercussions of several man-made conflicts, climate shocks, COVID-19 and rising costs — with devastating consequences for poor people in low-income and developing countries. The war in Ukraine — a major “breadbasket” for the world — is deepening these challenges on an unprecedented scale. In the immediate, swift and bold action is required by both wealthy and low-income nations to avert further humanitarian and economic catastrophe.
U.S.-ASEAN Summit Focused on Building Ties, Not Countering China
President Joe Biden attends a virtual U.S.-ASEAN Summit meeting, from the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds in Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times)
How the Taliban’s Hijab Decree Defies Islam
The Taliban continued this week to roll back Afghan women’s rights by decreeing women must be fully covered from head to toe — including their faces — to appear in public. This follows decrees limiting women’s ability to work, women’s and girls’ access to education and even limiting their freedom of movement. Afghan women are rapidly facing the worst-case scenario many feared when the Taliban took over last summer. While the Taliban justify these moves as in accordance with Islam, they are, in fact, contradicting Islamic tradition and Afghan culture as the group looks to resurrect the full control they had over women and girls when they ruled in the 1990s.
U.S.-ASEAN Summit: A Chance to Explore New Steps to Resolve Myanmar’s Conflict
The February 2021 coup in Myanmar, which overthrew an elected government and installed a brutal military dictatorship, has posed an enormous challenge to the Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN). The group has split on what — if any — action to take regarding the coup. Meanwhile, the military’s unbridled violence against the country’s citizens failed to suppress an increasingly militarized opposition and the conflict now affects ASEAN states bordering Myanmar and those beyond. As the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit gets underway this week in Washington, Myanmar will not be present, a symbol that the organization — as a whole— does not accept the coup government’s legitimacy. What’s next remains to be seen.
Al-Hol: Displacement Crisis is a Tinderbox that Could Ignite ISIS 2.0
More than three years after ISIS’s territorial defeat, the vexing challenge of displacement threatens to provoke the rise of ISIS 2.0 if not adequately addressed. The May 11 Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS ministerial meeting in Marrakech, Morocco highlights these concerns over the evolving threat the so-called Islamic State still poses. The Marrakech meeting coincides with both growing disquiet at deteriorating humanitarian and security conditions in the al-Hol displacement camp in northeast Syria — ground zero for the ISIS-related displacement crisis — and some hope for a path forward.
Estonia’s Ex-President Kaljulaid: The Future of the Free World Is at Stake in Ukraine
Kersti Kaljulaid, a former president of Estonia, wants the West to enhance its support for Ukraine, end its dependence on Russian gas, and maintain sanctions on Russia even after Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is over. Speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace on May 10, Kaljulaid described the ongoing war in Ukraine as one that is between “the free world and the other world, a world of tyranny.” She warned: “If Ukraine loses, we all would have lost.”
Brian Harding on the U.S.-ASEAN Summit
Ahead of this week’s U.S.-ASEAN summit, USIP’s Brian Harding says the Biden administration is “kicking off a really intense period of diplomatic engagement with Asia” with plans to draw a contrast with China and seek cooperation on issues such as climate change and supply chains.
Over a Year Later, Myanmar’s Military Coup Threatens India’s National Security
The conflict in Myanmar triggered by the February 1, 2021, military coup that toppled the democratically elected government has not only become a disaster for Myanmar, but also for countries across the region. China’s response has received considerable international attention, as has the struggle within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to forge a resolution to the conflict. The impact on Myanmar’s western neighbors, however, has largely gone unexamined — with the exception of analysis of the consequences for Rohingya refugees, who are indefinitely stranded in Bangladesh with no chance of safely returning to Myanmar under this military regime.
What to Expect From the U.S.-ASEAN Summit
USIP’s Brian Harding explains how ASEAN factors into the Biden administration’s “Indo-Pacific Strategy,” what ASEAN countries want from Washington, and how the war in Ukraine and deteriorating situation in Myanmar will be addressed at the summit.