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.
Framework for Success: Fragile States and Societies Emerging from Conflict
This strategic framework is crafted to be useful to (and ideally shared by) all the actors involved in post-conflict stability and state-building operations (i.e., military, government, NGO, IGO, private sector, and host nation leaders).
Forensic Training for Human Rights and Humanitarian Investigations
Physicians for Human Rights, with support from USIP, developed this web-based distance-learning course in the forensic sciences. It targets a wide audience, from less experienced volunteer human rights investigators to expert international professionals. In addition to collecting physical evidence, the course also covers working with families and communities affected by violence. Regular 'quizzes' and exercises encourage trainees to reflect on the material that they have been exposed to and h...
Model Codes for Post-Conflict Justice
Model Codes for Post-Conflict Justice is an invaluable tool for both international and national actors involved in reforming criminal laws in societies emerging from conflict. Drawing on many of the best legal systems worldwide, it is designed to help ensure laws meet international standards, while realistically responding to the exigencies and needs of local post-conflict environments. The volumes includes a Model Criminal Code, Model Code of Criminal Procedure, Model Detention Act, and Mode...
Combating Serious Crimes in Post-Conflict Societies: A Handbook for Policymakers and Practitioners
Post-conflict societies often suffer from a breakdown of law and order, resulting in varied forms of criminal activity that can have a profoundly destabilizing impact on the society. Drawing on firsthand experience in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and elsewhere, Combating Serious Crimes in Post-conflict Societies: A Handbook for Policymakers and Practitioners distills practical, hard-won knowledge into guidance for policymakers and practitioners who are facing the challenge of addressing...
Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes
As nations move from repression to democracy, or from war to peace, the legacy of past abuses can be a heavy burden. How can a society peacefully integrate both the personnel and the victims of the former regime? How can it achieve both justice and reconciliation? USIP helped shape the field of "transitional justice" and its three-volume collection Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes is a path breaking resource for practitioners and policymakers grappling...
DVD: State of Fear
This one-hour documentary, supported by USIP, examines how a society recuperates from the trauma of mass violence. The trajectories of four characters linked to Peru's truth and reconciliation commission are featured in the film, which won the 2007 Overseas Press Club Award for "Best Reporting in Any Medium about Latin America."
DVDs: Genocide
USIP supported the production of two films about reconciliation after the Rwandan genocide:
On the Issues: North Korea
The White House said North Korea had taken "a serious step in the wrong direction" when the regime expelled international inspectors from the country and announced it would restart its nuclear program. USIP’s John S. Park provides regional context to the latest developments.
On the Issues: Somalia
Raymond Gilpin, Associate Vice President and director of USIP’s Sustainable Economies Center of Innovation, talked about this new development, factors fueling Somali piracy, and offers policy options to address the problem.
Land, Property, and the Challenge of Return for Iraq’s Displaced
Iraq today is faced with a multilayered displacement crisis that is massive in both size and complexity. It is estimated that 3.8 million Iraqis were displaced from their homes from 2003 to 2008, with the majority of them becoming displaced in 2006 and the first half of 2007