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.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry: Frustrating Reform
Iraq's Ministry of Interior has been fraught with rivalries since 2003. How can it address these challenges?
Half Full or Half Empty: Assessing Prospects for Peace in Lebanon
On the surface, peace has broken out in Lebanon, bringing to an end the 18-month political impasse. However, many questions remain. Alistair Harris, a Beirut-based expert on security and reform, explores these issues.
2007–2008 Winning Essay - National First Place Winner
National First Place Winner Callie E. Smith Girls Preparatory School Chattanooga, Tennessee Coordinator: Kathleen H. Berotti Water is a form of life. Without it, survival would be impossible. So how would the world react if this vital resource were depleted? Currently, 97.5 percent of the Earth’s water is marine with only 2.5 percent left as fresh water, 70 percent of which is locked in ice, soils, and underground aquifers. Less than 1 percent of fresh water thus remains for more than si...
2007–2008 Winning Essay - National Second Place Winner
National Second Place Winner Kensey Berry Pulaski Academy Little Rock, Arkansas Coordinators: Bill Topich, Ginger Kidd Colonialism and disrupted transition into the capitalist-driven world are often cited as the most significant commonalities among international conflicts. The causal chain must be traced back further, however, in an attempt to divulge the true root of these conflicts: natural resources.1 During the age of colonialism, when global powers in search of infinite treasures vi...
2007–2008 Winning Essay - National Third Place Winner
National Third Place Winner Olga A. Korostelina W. T. Woodson High School Fairfax, Virginia Coordinator: Catherine R. Horowitz A country with rich natural resources is both blessed and cursed. It can enjoy peace and prosperity or may suffer from the “resource curse”: countries that should be wealthy, thanks to large resource reserves, in fact experience dire poverty, deterioration, and conflict.1 In many cases, disputes over rights to control the resources, denial of indigenous land righ...
My Kashmir
The picturesque Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, for centuries a model of harmony and coexistence, has been ravaged by conflict for sixty years, caught in a tug-of-war between historical rivals India and Pakistan. Now that both nations are nuclear powers, some see the Kashmir issue as a flash point for what could become a nuclear war. In My Kashmir, Wajahat Habibullah lays out the intricate web of issues at the root of the conflict: ethnicity, religion, national identity, friction between n...
Is Liberia’s Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program a "Necessary Intrusion?"
Liberia's Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP) is improving the country's fiscal profile after years of neglect. Is this internationally-monitored system a "necessary intrusion" into Liberia's sovereignty?
Analyzing Iran's Domestic Political Landscape
The surprising success of Iran's "third way" movement in the March 2008 parliamentary elections may pose a significant challenge in the country's 2009 presidential election.
Iraq After the Surge: Options and Questions
The Bush Administration and Congress face difficult choices in Iraq. How can the relative success during the surge be prolonged and solidified? Should the drawdown continue? When will the Iraqi security forces be ready to take over? What can be done to accelerate political progress?
Resurrecting the Wall of Fear: The Human Rights Situation in Syria
Over the past several months, Syrian authorities have engaged in a harsh campaign of repression against leading dissidents and human rights activists. The crackdown, overshadowed by developments elsewhere in the region, has received scant media coverage in the U.S. and Europe.