Conflict Analysis and Prevention

Ambassador Donald Booth is completing almost two and half years as the U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. He will discuss the lessons learned from recent international initiatives to end violent conflict in both countries, and the road ahead for that effort and for the U.S. role.

More than 130 million people worldwide require humanitarian assistance to survive because of crises or disasters, including violent conflict, according to the United Nations. The World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May focused on how development and humanitarian institutions can cooperate to bring meaningful change for the world's most vulnerable people. Continue the discussion on November 14 with the U.S. Institute of Peace and leaders of the World Bank and the International Committee of the Red Cross, as they consider possible approaches such as flexible and multi-year funding, strengthening compliance with international humanitarian law, and working more closely with local communities.

Read the event coverage, World Bank Seeks Crisis Flexibility for Long-Term Impact.

International attention toward Myanmar has focused largely on the country's transition from a half-century of military rule toward democratic governance. But ending nearly 70 years of civil conflict among the country's ethnic nationalities remains essential to the country's stability and success. In its first eight months, the elected government of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has invited more of the country’s ethnic armed groups to join new peace talks. Still, fighting has continued and in some places worsened. On November 4, the U.S. Institute of Peace will gather specialists on the peace process to examine its current state and highlight ways that the international community can help.

Read the event coverage, Myanmar Peace Process: Slow Progress, Delicate Steps.

The new U.N. Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security calls for organizations around the globe to involve young women and men more in peacebuilding. Join the U.S. Institute of Peace, Search for Common Ground and other partners on Sept. 13 for a Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum including USAID Agency Youth Coordinator Michael McCabe. Speakers, including youth leaders, will discuss how young women and men are leading such work and what policymakers can do to ensure that the largest generation of youth the world has ever known is not left on the sidelines.

More than 100,000 peacekeepers deployed in Africa make up three-quarters of such United Nations troops worldwide, and they illustrate the frequent response of the African Union to defuse violent conflict with military forces. But the AU has another strength: political power. On September 12, researchers Alex de Waal and Mulugeta Gebrehiwot of the World Peace Foundation offered recommendations from their new report on how the AU can harness its unique advantage to advance peace and security.

Much of today’s regional disorder and global upheaval is driven by fragile states—those with a frayed social compact between their people and government. State fragility fuels problems from the unprecedented refugee crisis to turmoil in the Arab world, and from pandemic diseases to some of humanity’s deepest poverty. To meet this challenge, three Washington foreign affairs institutions made recommendations to the next administration and Congress to produce a more strategic, disciplined, and sustained U.S. approach. The study’s chairs—William Burns of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Michèle Flournoy of the Center for a New American Security, and USIP’s Nancy Lindborg—publicly launched their report.

Read the event coverage, Burns, Flournoy, Lindborg Press Urgency of Fragile States.

As U.S. troops help Iraqi armed forces in their offensive against ISIS militants, Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton recently made a recent fact-finding visit to Iraq and returned to Washington arguing that the United States should broaden and energize its efforts in the country. Moulton-a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a former Marine infantry officer in Iraq-has urged a broader U.S. policy of support for political reforms and political rapprochement among Iraq's communal factions. USIP hosted a discussion with Congressman Moulton and USIP President Nancy Lindborg on Iraq, ISIS and the broader Middle East.

Read the event coverage, Ex-Marine Lawmaker Seeks Diplomatic ‘Surge’ in Iraq.

On Wednesday June 29, Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of President Obama’s Cabinet, addressed an audience at the U.S. Institute of Peace on the urgent need for a concerted, global response to the current refugee crisis. She also previewed the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees that President Obama will convene at the U.N. on September 20.

Read the event coverage, Refugee Crisis Threatens Global Stability, Power Says.

Burma’s evolution away from five decades of military rule has offered the United States its most significant opportunity in years to engage with the country’s people and government in the pursuit of democracy, development, peace, and human rights. In countries undergoing political transitions, U.S. policy coordination, decision-making and traditional development tools often struggle to keep pace with the challenges. Experts and U.S. officials discussed lessons learned recently in Burma, also known as Myanmar—and of ways they may be applicable to the U.S. role in similar environments.

Read the event coverage, U.S. Eyes Military Ties With Myanmar, Official Says.