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 Does Bangladesh’s Upcoming Election Mean for its Foreign Policy?
Bangladesh is getting more international attention for two very different reasons. Domestically, Bangladesh’s tumultuous political situation ahead of the January 7 parliamentary elections has elicited global scrutiny. The United States, through its rhetoric and actions, has led international actors pushing Bangladesh to improve its democratic processes and calling for dialogue to resolve the current political impasse, which has often received harsh retorts from the Awami League (AL) government. Countering Western pressure, Russia and China have condemned U.S. “meddling” while India has called the upcoming polls an “internal matter.”
La Transition politique du Tchad à un Tournant décisif
Le 17 décembre, les Tchadiens voteront lors d'un référendum visant à approuver une nouvelle constitution pour le pays, près de trois ans après le début d'un processus de transition politique prolongé, parfois agité. On s’attend à ce que le référendum constitutionnel ouvre la voie à la candidature du Président Mahamat Déby aux élections présidentielles de 2024, après avoir dirigé le pays depuis 2021, et un ajustement du système de gouvernance tchadien vers un État unitaire non-fédéral, avec en théorie une décentralisation et autonomie territoriale plus accrue.
Opposition Boycott Clears Path to a Fourth Term for Hasina in Bangladesh
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to win a fourth consecutive term in general elections on January 7. A boycott by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the South Asian nation’s main opposition party, will ensure the success of Hasina’s Awami League (AL) despite the grim economic state of the country.
Is the Middle East on the Verge of a Wider War?
Three months after the Hamas terror attack on Israel, reverberations from the ensuing conflict in Gaza threaten to engulf the region in a wider war.
Diplomacy May Not Be As Dead As It Seems
The Ukraine war has revealed changes in warfare that may give renewed purpose and utility to diplomacy as an instrument of statecraft in the modern era.
Conservation and African Rangelands: From Conflict to Coexistence?
Sub-Saharan Africa’s population will nearly double to more than 2 billion by 2050, surpassing Asia by 2070. African policymakers recognize this trend and have focused efforts on increasing economic productivity. Native rangelands — the uncultivated grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands and savannas where wild and domestic animals graze — cover 43% of the continent’s land area. But rangelands have often been perceived as undeveloped areas and centers of degradation, erosion, desertification, droughts, famine and conflict. These vast areas, and the people they support, tend to be pushed to the periphery of political agendas, allowing root causes of degradation of land and livelihoods to fester and ultimately contributing to a vicious cycle of tension and conflict.
The Myanmar Army’s War Against Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
After nearly 75 years of sustained conflict, Myanmar’s population has suffered devastating and compounding intergenerational trauma. But rather than address that collective trauma, successive military governments have terrorized the country while also disinvesting from systems of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).
A Preview of 2024 Elections Throughout Latin America
Anti-incumbent sentiment has gripped much of Latin America in recent years, swinging electoral results leftward in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and Brazil, upending the corrupt coalitions that have long ruled Guatemala, and handing the presidency of Argentina to a self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist.” But 2024 may prove to be a good year for establishment politicians. In the five countries with elections on the calendar — El Salvador, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Mexico — insider candidates are polling ahead, at least so far.
Six Dilemmas Facing Egypt
Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Egypt has been heavily involved in efforts to end the military confrontations and wars that have periodically broken out in Gaza. However, the scope, scale and stakes of the current war is unlike any prior round of hostilities. In response to the massacre and hostage-taking of mostly Israeli civilians by Hamas and other militant armed groups during their devastating attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has launched one of the most destructive wars in its history. Indeed, this war will be transformational in numerous ways, with ramifications for several stakeholders beyond the parties themselves.
Financially Weak Pacific Island States Are Vulnerable to China
The Pacific island nation of Nauru this week switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, a move that could seem of little consequence in a largely symbolic competition between Taipei and Beijing. But the move has a deeper significance for the United States.