Panel Discussions - Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Peace Operations Seen from Below: UN Missions and Local People
IPI was pleased to launch a new book on UN peacekeeping entitled, Peace Operations Seen from Below: UN Missions and Local People by Dr. Beatrice Pouligny.
Cambodia, Somalia, Mozambique, El Salvador, Bosnia, Haiti, Sierra Leone: all have been the subject of UN peacekeeping interventions designed to stabilize societies torn by armed conflict. Yet, there is surprisingly little research on how local communities interact with and respond to peacekeepers in their midst. Drawing on extensive field research and first-hand observation, Dr. Pouligny investigates how local populations interact with UN blue helmets and civilian personnel. She argues that much of what is at stake in societies emerging from war lies in the "ordinary" lives of local populations, which are deeply affected by interactions with UN peacekeepers. This impressive new study sheds light on a neglected but crucial dimension of international peace operations.
Our distinguished panel included Beatrice Pouligny, Senior Research Fellow at the French Centre for International Studies and Research(CERI -- Sciences Po) and Visiting Professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Michele Brandt, Director, Interpeace, and Dirk Salomons, Director, Humanitarian Affairs Program, School of International and Public Affairs Columbia University Office.
John L. Hirsch, Adjunct Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University and Former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone served as the Chair.
The Global Observatory
Interview with John Prendergast, Co-Founder, Enough Project
Mr. Prendergast discusses the international justice system and the new ground forged by Invisible Children's Kony2012 campaign.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.