The violence in the Middle East obfuscates the fact that there exists also a story of peace efforts across the region—a story of small successes, big frustrations, setbacks, and failures. Through these efforts, UN mediators have sought to achieve the often irreconcilable goals of ending violence while facilitating a political transition and reconciling the parties.
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After nearly thirty years without peace, the conflict over the region of Karabakh, which pits Azerbaijan and Armenia against one another, has been called a “frozen conflict.” But with deadly fire across the line of contact every year, it is more accurate to say that the settlement process, rather than the conflict, is frozen. International […]
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Kofi Annan and Lakhdar Brahimi appeared to be the perfect candidates to find a way out of the Syrian civil war. The odds, however, were stacked against them. The Syrian regime was prepared to do whatever necessary to survive, whatever the cost to the country. At the same time, the opposition was unwilling to accept […]
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Discussing her new book The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran at IPI on December 15th, author Nazila Fathi said that 35 years after the revolution, Iran is divided between hardliners and a large moderate middle class, but admitted that it is still unclear which of the two sides will […]
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As two rival parliaments and administrations in Tripoli and Tobruk currently vie for control of the government in Libya, a new UN-brokered initiative is attempting to renew a national dialogue process.
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Yemen remains the only site of an Arab Spring uprising that ended in a negotiated agreement and an internationally supported transition process. In light of the recent conflict in the North of Yemen and Sana’a, with a constitution-drafting process underway, a referendum to approve a draft constitution, and coming elections all within the next year, […]
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This issue brief examines the current state of women’s involvement in formal peace processes, focusing on the role of lead mediators. While traditional approaches to international conflict mediation are falling short in the face of 21st-century violence, one possible source of fresh perspectives and alternative approaches remains largely untapped: women.
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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has festered for decades, with periodic outbursts of violence, as negotiations mediated by the United States have produced no viable solutions. In Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East, author Rashid Khalidi examines what he calls the failure of the U.S.’s role as the impartial broker […]
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The UN Secretary-General’s good offices on Myanmar, now in their twentieth year, have been one of the longest such diplomatic efforts in the history of the organization. With Myanmar now in the midst of major political, economic, and social reforms, and questions invariably being raised about the future of those “offices,” it is an opportune […]
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Mozambicans’ focus on local ownership, aided by the Community of Sant’Egidio’s facilitation efforts, transformed Mozambique from a country ravaged by civil war into a possible model for sustainable peace. This was the main reflection of an IPI roundtable discussion on October 23rd, which was co-organized with George Mason University. Download this as a meeting brief
Read moreHuman rights activist and lawyer, Razia Sultana, describes her work with the Rohingya population in Myanmar and Bangladesh, relating vivid stories of the brutal violence in the region in recent years, and what she shared with the UN Security…
Desalination in GCC countries cannot be a long-term solution to water scarcity. Rather than primarily focusing on securing supply, GCC governments should also emphasize sustainability of…
AMISOM’s lack of civilian protection and unwillingness to be held to account for collateral civilian casualties has…
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The International Peace Institute is an independent, international not-for-profit think tank with a staff representing more than 20 nationalities, located in New York across from United Nations headquarters. IPI is dedicated to promoting the prevention and resolution of conflicts between and within states by strengthening international peace and security institutions. To achieve its purpose, IPI employs a mix of policy research, convening, publishing and outreach.
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