Scott Worden is a senior rule of law adviser at the U.S. Institute of Peace and observed the 2010 elections from Kabul, Afghanistan as a senior expert with the National Democratic Institute’s observation mission. Worden was one of three U.N.-appointed… Read more
This Peace Brief reviews the factors that continue to divide Ivorian communities and stall the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire and provides reflections of a meeting of Ivorian civil society and religious leaders in Washington, D.C.SummaryThe announcement… Read more
This Peace Brief was prepared by Louis-Alexandre Berg, a Jennings-Randolph Peace scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and a rule of law adviser at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It is based on research conducted by the… Read more
This report offers a framework for institutionalizing security sector reform (SSR) within the U.S. government. It is informed by the work of the Institute’s Initiative for Security Sector Governance and presentations at its June 29–30, 2010, conference, … Read more
The need for mental health services as part of emergency and long-term health development responses in regions of armed conflict is widely recognized. To date, responses have too often been fragmented, lack comprehensiveness, and based on assumptions… Read more
This brief is a report on a one-day civil-military roundtable to identify tensions, tradeoffs and opportunities found in the civil society–militaryrelationship in Afghanistan.SummaryThe intense challenge of coordinating government civilians with military… Read more
On July 22, 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its long-awaited advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence of February 17, 2008. The expectation had been that the ICJ would offer a mixed ruling that would… Read more
The need to engage local Afghan leaders and support community decision making has recently been promoted as a key element of both development and counterinsurgency strategies in Afghanistan. This Peace Brief supports the attempts to create a coherent… Read more
On July 1, 2010, the U.S. Institute of Peace organized an all-day conference entitled "Preventing Violent Conflict: Principles, Policies, and Practice." The goals of this conference were to spotlight the importance of conflict prevention, to foster… Read more
This Peace Brief highlights key issues that must be resolved to ensure Afghan women’s continued political participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections on September 18, 2010 and beyond.SummaryFree and fair elections in Afghanistan are a crucial… Read more
This report discusses informal justice in Afghanistan and its relationship to state institutions. It draws on a series of pilot projects sponsored and overseen by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and on work by other nongovernmental… Read more
Summary United Nations Security Council Resolution 1820 signals a new movement in the international community to recognize widespread sexual violence against women in conflict as a threat to international peace and security. Research on sexual and gender… Read more