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.
![Jason Tower on the Dangerous Proliferation of Scam Compounds in Southeast Asia](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/2018-02/usip-sirius-on-peace-podcast-logo.jpg?itok=P6tKk4cz)
Jason Tower on the Dangerous Proliferation of Scam Compounds in Southeast Asia
Chinese crime syndicates have set up sophisticated online scamming operations throughout Southeast Asia that rake in an estimated $64 billion a year. Relying on forced labor, the scam compounds “look almost like penal colonies,” says USIP’s Jason Tower, adding: “This is happening on an industrial scale.”
![Dean Cheng on China’s Expanding Space Capabilities](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/2018-02/usip-sirius-on-peace-podcast-logo.jpg?itok=P6tKk4cz)
Dean Cheng on China’s Expanding Space Capabilities
China’s successful trip to the far side of the moon — the first nation to accomplish the feat — is not only “great advertising” for potential technology partnerships, it’s “part of the larger Chinese space effort” that seeks to expand China’s own dual-use capabilities in space, says USIP’s Dean Cheng.
![Dean Cheng on China’s New Military Force](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/2018-02/usip-sirius-on-peace-podcast-logo.jpg?itok=P6tKk4cz)
Dean Cheng on China’s New Military Force
China’s military structure is not prone to change. But in a shocking move, Chinese leader Xi Jinping recently established a new military entity focused on “information dominance” in future wars, with many observers “left wondering what this is going to mean and why they did it,” says USIP’s Dean Cheng.
![Asfandyar Mir on Balancing Counterterrorism and Strategic Competition](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/2018-02/usip-sirius-on-peace-podcast-logo.jpg?itok=P6tKk4cz)
Asfandyar Mir on Balancing Counterterrorism and Strategic Competition
As terror threats emanating from Afghanistan and Pakistan rise, many may see counterterrorism as a distraction from other U.S. priorities, such as competition with China and Russia. But investment in counterterrorism can work “preventively, to shield the strategic competition agenda,” says USIP’s Asfandyar Mir.
![Keith Mines on the Latest from Haiti](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/2018-02/usip-sirius-on-peace-podcast-logo.jpg?itok=P6tKk4cz)
Keith Mines on the Latest from Haiti
While Haiti’s Transitional Council has appointed a prime minister to lead a temporary government and the Kenyan-led international security mission is expected to deploy soon, “[Haiti’s] gangs are still pretty strong,” says USIP’s Keith Mines. “There’s really going to be a fight for power … over the coming months.”
![Mary Glantz on Russia and North Korea’s Deepening Cooperation](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/2018-02/usip-sirius-on-peace-podcast-logo.jpg?itok=P6tKk4cz)
Mary Glantz on Russia and North Korea’s Deepening Cooperation
Putin’s trip to North Korea wasn’t just about securing more weapons for his war on Ukraine — Moscow and Pyongyang signed a mutual defense pact, which could be “potentially very destabilizing for the Korean Peninsula” and “smacks a little of desperation” on Russia’s part, says USIP’s Mary Glantz.
![Joseph Sany on the U.S. Withdrawal from Niger](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image/public/2018-02/usip-sirius-on-peace-podcast-logo.jpg?itok=P6tKk4cz)
Joseph Sany on the U.S. Withdrawal from Niger
The U.S. reached an agreement with Niger’s military junta to close two military bases in the country in what amounts to a “tactical setback” for counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel. But the closure also “forces the U.S. to review its military posture in the region,” says USIP’s Joseph Sany, adding “there may be other options.”