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.
What to Do When Foreign Fighters Come Home
Not every Westerner who comes home after joining the Islamic State is a threat. But whether they ultimately live a life of peace or violence can be shaped by what they find when they get back.
You Can’t Fight What You Don’t Understand
Is the violent extremism that's fueling the Islamic State something new?
Iraq Needs Political Reconciliation to Defeat ISIS, Parliament Speaker Says
Iraq must achieve a political reconciliation among its long-divided religious and ethnic groups as a first step toward defeating the Islamic State (ISIS) extremists who control a third of the country, Iraq’s parliament speaker said at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Reconciliation will rely heavily on building police and military forces that those disparate communities can trust, said the speaker, Saleem al-Jubouri.
Pakistan Public School Curriculum Distorts Views on Terrorism, Researcher Says
Pakistan’s public school curriculum uses flawed textbooks that distort student perceptions, limit their critical thinking skills and obscure the real causes of violence and terrorism in the country, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Institute of Peace.
To Help Afghanistan Survive, Narrow the Focus
Afghanistan’s Taliban are trying to defeat the government in this first year following the U.S. military’s withdrawal from combat operations, and their surge in attacks has driven the rate of army and police casualties at least 65 percent higher than last year. Still, a focused strategy can help the government survive, USIP experts say.
Welcome to Afghanistan’s Peace College
Can you teach your way out of a war?
Beating the Islamic State Won’t Fix Iraq
The country's extremist problem goes way beyond ISIS. And unless the state fixes its governance troubles, it will have to fight this war all over again.
Q&A: Security and Democracy in Tunisia after Latest Attack
A Tunisian gunman recently massacred 38 people at the major resort of Sousse. It was the second mass attack this year, after the March 18 assault on the well-known Bardo Museum in the capital Tunis that killed 22 people, most of them tourists. U.S. Institute of Peace Special Advisor Daniel Brumberg explores the ramifications for Tunisia and the region, as the country shows determination to pursue a democratic transition.
Bring Back Our Democracy
Activist movements are changing the way that the world changes — and if the United States wants to help democracy abroad, it needs to update who it throws its weight behind.
Obama, in Africa, Will Need to Balance Agenda, Ex-Envoys Say
Six years after Barack Obama first visited sub-Saharan Africa as a presidential messenger of democracy, he faces a more complicated task in turning back to the continent next week. Obama hosts Nigeria’s new president, Muhammadu Buhari, on July 20, and then flies to Kenya and Ethiopia. As he does, the continent’s security threats and its urgent need to address ongoing poverty are forcing him to balance priorities and messages, say two former assistant secretaries of state now at the U.S. Insti...