Events at USIP

On April 17, Representative  Steve Pearce (R-NM)  and Representative  Jim Himes (D-CT)  discussed the growing threat of illicit exploitation of online terrorist financial networks and steps the U.S. should take to improve security and reduce global conflict. Both members serve on the  House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance , where Rep. Pearce serves as chairman. Spe...

While threats of violence marred recent legislative campaigns in Colombia, the March 11 election was Colombia’s most peaceful in decades. Although the FARC’s new political party underperformed, its comprehensive demobilization was palpable and the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country’s second-largest rebel group, respected a temporary unilateral ceasefire. For the first time in 50 years, ba...

The role of the United States is seen as indispensable throughout the Middle East, and many are looking to understand new directions in U.S. policy in the region in the wake of the counter-ISIS military campaign. U.S. administration and military leaders will discuss the stakes, challenges and requirements of bringing stability to a region in which violence persists and gains against terrorists han...

Beyond Iraq’s domestic post-ISIS challenges, the region is faced with continued conflict and instability, particularly in Syria. This panel will explore developments among Iraq’s neighbors amid continuing tensions in the region. Regional experts will discuss developments in Syria, Turkey, the Arab Gulf states, Iran and Russia and their impact on the region’s post-ISIS landscape. Panelists: Kevin B...

Following Iraq’s defeat of ISIS, the country must manage a web of internal challenges and conflicts, many deepened by the war. As the country prepares for a critical national election, its social fabric is torn by sectarian tensions, the ongoing displacement of over 2 million citizens, and the Kurdistan region’s 2017 independence referendum. The economy is stagnant; corruption is pervasive. Yet Ir...

Women’s participation in drafting constitutions leads to more equitable legal frameworks and socially inclusive reforms, laying the groundwork for sustainable peace. Yet new research from Inclusive Security reveals that while 75 conflict-affected countries oversaw significant reform processes between 1995-2015, only one in five constitutional drafters in these environments have been women. While t...

As Co-Chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and Rep. James P. McGovern (D-MA) play a leading role in advancing international human rights in Congress. The two Members of Congress will draw on their experiences promoting human rights in authoritarian and violent, conflict-affected countries at USIP’s Inaugural Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue. Panelists: Rep....

In this discussion, we’ll ask how the United States and the international community can address these national security challenges. How should U.S. assistance be prioritized and allocated? What is the difference between stabilizing a country versus nation building? How can the international community help a country like Syria? What lessons can be learned from efforts in countries, such as Nigeria...

President Ghani’s announcement at last week’s Kabul Process Conference of a peace offer to the Taliban was a potential watershed in the Afghan peace process, and arguably the most forward-leaning plan for peace with the Taliban the Afghan government has ever put forward. Ambassador Alice Wells, the Senior Bureau Official in the Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, leads...

Every March 8th, International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide as a time to reflect on the achievements and contributions of women. In 2018, USIP will celebrate the day by hosting an event where filmmakers and policy advocates discuss how film has been an innovative tool for translating policy frameworks into social change. Documentaries and movies can take the tenets of policy frameworks and...

The U.S. Institute of Peace is honoring Nelson Mandela’s life, work, and passion for peace by establishing the Nelson Mandela Lecture series. His deep commitment to peace continues to inspire our work and imbues us with a spirit of hope that it is possible to overcome all obstacles standing in the way of a better world. As Mandela said, “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to li...

As governments and societies grapple with violent extremism, experts in the field continue to consider how to counter extremists’ use of ideologies. For a world in which more than 80 percent of people identify themselves as religious, the role of religious leaders, ideas, and institutions is critical to countering the many strains of violent extremism. On January 17 USIP held a discussion of the l...

United Nations peacekeeping operations are vital to global stability, with over 100,000 troops and police deployed to 15 missions, serving 125 million people across the world. But these missions lack sufficient numbers of well-trained troops and a sustainable political plan to resolve complex mandates. Additionally, several missions have been rocked by accusations of sexual exploitation and abuse....

What should we make of the Middle East’s upheavals? In recent weeks, the Islamic State (ISIS) “caliphate” collapsed. Syria’s Assad regime all but won the six-year war, thus consolidating Iranian and Russian influence. Saudi Arabia purged parts of its royal family. Lebanon’s prime minister abruptly resigned. Iraq’s Kurds voted for independence, triggering confrontation with Baghdad. Years of U.S. a...

After months of escalating confrontation between North Korea and the United States, President Trump used his November visit to Asia to reinforce a policy of “maximum pressure” against the North Korean government. But he also hinted at the possibility of a diplomatic off-ramp in the dispute over North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons development. North Korea and the United States have offered si...

The European Union recently has added a new priority to its foreign and defense policies: Help countries vulnerable to crisis build their resilience against catastrophic events, notably violent conflict, which has uprooted 65 million people worldwide. The EU’s shift is part of a growing global focus on the importance of preventing civil war and its devastation. The United Nations, World Bank and U...

With the self-proclaimed Islamic State’s hold on Syrian territory vastly diminished, the campaign to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) enters a new phase. The fall of Raqqa—the capital of ISIS’ self-proclaimed caliphate—marked a powerful strategic and symbolic loss for the extremist group. Yet the success of the counter-ISIS campaign will ultimately be determined not by battlefield wins, but instead...

Osama al-Nujaifi is one of Iraq’s three vice presidents. Hailing from Mosul, a city recaptured this year from the ISIS extremist group, he is secretary general of the United for Iraq Party, and the leader of the Sunni political coalition Muttahidoon. Vice President al-Nujaifi’s address at USIP was his only public appearance during his visit to Washington.

The new U.S. effort to stabilize Afghanistan includes a more confrontational approach toward neighboring Pakistan. What are the advantages and costs of that approach, and how should the United States now calibrate its engagement with Pakistan? On October 18, USIP held this discussion. Four senior American officials, who collectively have worked through decades of turbulent U.S.-Pakistan relations,...

President Trump’s August 21 announcement of a new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia has unsettled U.S.-Pakistan relations, with serious implications for U.S. interests in Afghanistan, nuclear non-proliferation, and stability in the region. On October 5, USIP held a discussion with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif—Pakistan’s first public, high-level engagement with the U.S. policy comm...

After eight months of fighting for Mosul, Iraqi troops are closing in on the last of ISIS’s forces in the city. The government’s recovery of the main ISIS stronghold in Iraq will open a new phase in the country’s struggle for stability. Iraq must resolve longstanding domestic conflicts that contributed to ISIS’ rise in the first place and avert new cycles of vengeance arising from the terrorists’...