Skip to content

IPI Global Observatory

Daily analysis in your inbox
  • Analysis
  • Interviews
  • Series
  • Features
  • About
  • Follow Us
    • Subscribe to our newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter
    • Join us on Facebook
    • Flux RSS
    • Live Audio and Video
  • Daily analysis in your inbox
  • Topics & regions

    Most Popular

    • Arab Spring | 57 articles
    • Central Asia | 35 articles
    • Climate Change | 46 articles
    • Conflict | 119 articles
    • Democracy | 45 articles
    • Development | 60 articles
    • Elections | 120 articles
    • Fragile States | 74 articles
    • Health and Security | 35 articles
    • Humanitarian Affairs | 101 articles
    • Justice | 46 articles
    • Mali | 36 articles
    • Mass Protest | 40 articles
    • Peace and Security | 86 articles
    • Peace Processes | 89 articles
    • Peacebuilding | 57 articles
    • Peacekeeping | 178 articles
    • Rebel Groups | 38 articles
    • Resources | 40 articles
    • Rule Of Law | 33 articles
    • Somalia | 34 articles
    • Southeast Asia | 49 articles
    • Statebuilding | 57 articles
    • Syria | 81 articles
    • Technology | 35 articles
    • Terrorism | 126 articles
    • United Nations | 195 articles
    • Women Peace and Security | 111 articles
    Explore All Topics & Regions

    Regions

    • Africa | 357 articles
    • Americas | 90 articles
    • Asia | 95 articles
    • Europe | 95 articles
    • Middle East | 208 articles

Author: Alex Thurston

by Alex Thurston

Alex Thurston is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati.
More articles by this author → Follow @sahelblog

  • The International Community’s Soft Acceptance of the Coup in Mali

    Mali Coup
    September 3, 2020by Alex Thurston

    The soft acceptance of the coup is ultimately a soft acceptance of the status quo in Mali.

    Analysismali, sahel
  • Why Do Political Challenges in Mali Persist?

    December 12, 2018by Alex Thurston

    Given that ordinary Malians would have so many reasons for resenting and overthrowing these figures, the question is particularly acute there—why has so much of the status quo persisted for so long?

    Analysisafrica, mali
  • Boko Haram’s New Tactics Imperil Nigeria’s Countryside

    Military Training
    November 17, 2017by Alex Thurston

    In recent months, Boko Haram has attacked rural military bases and convoys in the northeastern part of Nigeria and in surrounding countries, acquiring weapons in the process. Since spring 2015, when regional militaries chased most of its members back underground, the sect had been focused on survival and terrorism. While the group is far from their high point of 2014-2015, when they controlled a territory estimated at 20,000 square miles, these raids show a new strategic acumen.

    Analysisafrica, extremism
  • As Chad Leads in Regional Security, Its President Seeks More Western Support

    July 19, 2017by Alex Thurston

    The transactional nature of the relationship between Chad’s President Deby and the Western powers—regional security in exchange for funding, with little criticism—is not limited to Chad. Other leaders in Africa and beyond, watching how Deby manages this period of crisis, will take clear lessons about their own options and incentives.

    Analysisforeign-aid, peace-and-security
  • Speaking with Jihadists: Mali Weighs Its Options

    May 25, 2017by Alex Thurston

    There are several reasons why the idea of negotiations still appeals to some Malians, even as France continues to view Mali’s problems in black and white terms.

    Analysis
  • Two Legal Battles Test Key West African Democracies

    March 22, 2017by Alex Thurston

    In two key Western African democracies—Senegal and Niger—ongoing legal battles raise serious questions about whether elected incumbents are using the courts to reshape the political playing field.

    Analysisafrica, rule-of-law
  • Buhari’s Absence Poses Familiar Questions for Nigerians

    February 27, 2017by Alex Thurston

    In contrast to the secrecy surrounding the ailing Yar’Adua, Buhari’s team has sought to broadcast that their man remains in charge.

    Analysiseconomics, nigeria
  • Mali Violence Mars Cautious Progress on Joint Patrols

    January 18, 2017by Alex Thurston

    The patrols are meant to be a key step toward the goal of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration—in other words, they should convince people to set down their weapons and pursue peace.

    Analysismali, peace-processes
  • The Heavy Cost of Misreading Nigeria’s Crisis

    September 1, 2016by Alex Thurston

    The securitized approach takes a risk in arguing that camps around Lake Chad could become breeding grounds for terrorists.

    Analysisafrica, humanitarian
  • Kenya’s Threat on Camp Closures Exposes Some Hard Truths

    May 17, 2016by Alex Thurston

    The question of funding leads into a broader argument from the Kenyan government about Western hypocrisy on refugees.

    Analysisafrica, refugees
  • Next →

This week

  • The Role of Peacekeepers in Protecting Civilians from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

    May 25, 2022by Jenna Russo

    There are a number of reasons why it is difficult for peacekeepers to protect civilians from sexual and gender-based violence, particularly those forms that fall outside of conflict-related sexual violence.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians, women-peace-and-security
  • Protecting Peace? How the Protection of Civilians Contributes to Peace Processes

    May 23, 2022by Jenna Russo

    Without a corresponding political process, UN protection activities are an ineffective bandaid in situations of widespread violence.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians

Trending

  • Russia, NATO, and International Organizations

    May 23, 2022by Kseniya Oksamytna

    As Finland and Sweden begin the process of applying for NATO membership, misleading narratives about the role of NATO’s so-called eastward expansion in “provoking” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to hold sway.

    Analysisconflict, eastern-europe
  • Sanctions and the Costs of Russia’s War in Ukraine

    May 12, 2022by Erica Moret

    The sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine mark a new page in global sanctions practice yet lessons from earlier cases could help increase efficacy and minimize costs.

    Analysisconflict, europe, ukraine
  • A4P+ and Uniformed Women’s Participation in Peacekeeping

    April 26, 2022by Gretchen Baldwin and Jake Sherman

    The UN, in its implementation of A4P+, must address the heavily masculine, exclusionary, and militarized structures which often preclude women (and anyone outside of a very particular gendered profile) from deploying.

    Analysisa4p, peacekeeping, women-peace-and-security
  • Despite Constraints, MINUSMA Remains the Legitimate International Partner to Mali

    April 21, 2022by Rida Lyammouri

    Facing its most difficult period since its inception in April 2013, MINUSMA, and the Security Council, now need to acknowledge that their biggest problems in Mali are political.

    Analysisafrica, mali, peacekeeping
  • While Afghans Wait, States and Banks Decrypt the Humanitarian Exception in the Taliban Sanctions Regime

    April 14, 2022by Agathe Sarfati

    Amid mounting pressure to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council took the rare step of creating a humanitarian exception for the 1988 Taliban sanctions regime.

    Analysisafghanistan, humanitarian
  • What Are the International Military Options for the Sahel?

    April 12, 2022by Nina Wilén and Paul D. Williams

    The complex, and not always coordinated, ecosystem of military operations across the Sahel has been aptly labeled a security traffic jam. Why are external forces in the Sahel? Can they help resolve any of the region’s crises? And, if so, what configuration of external forces makes the most sense?

    Analysismali, peacekeeping, sahel
  • NATO, the EU, and the War in Ukraine: Interview with Paul Poast 

    April 8, 2022by Eimer Curtin

    It has been six weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine and the conflict is devolving into a stalemate. Paul Poast discusses the responses of NATO, the shifts in EU defense policies, and how this war might end.

    Interviewsconflict, europe
  • Climate Governance, Reform or Perish—The Future of the UNFCCC

    April 6, 2022Jimena Leiva Roesch and Eimer Curtin

    As the need for stronger commitments toward the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees grows, the voices and interests of the most vulnerable people and countries are not being given precedence in global climate talks.

    Analysisclimate-change, united-nations
  • By Invitation Only: Including Women Briefers at the UN Security Council

    April 1, 2022by Louise Olsson and Anna Marie Obermeier

    While briefing the Security Council has always been a male-dominated affair, more women have been included over the years, a development which came at the same time as an overall increase in the number of briefers.

    Analysissecurity-council, women-peace-and-security
  • The Benefits, Challenges, and Limitations of Criminalizing Ecocide

    March 30, 2022by Rachel Killean

    The campaign to introduce a new international crime of “ecocide” at the International Criminal Court is long-standing but has received increased support over the last couple of years.

    Analysisenvironment
  • Putin’s “Peacekeepers”

    February 23, 2022by Paul D. Williams

    Putin has ordered Russian soldiers to conduct what he called “peacekeeping operations” in Donetsk and Luhansk, a clear violation of international law and a perversion of the important international concept of peacekeeping.

    Analysisconflict, europe
  • ECOWAS Sanctions Against Mali Necessary, but May Be Counter-Productive

    February 2, 2022by Festus Kofi Aubyn

    The new sanctions were triggered by months of growing tensions between ECOWAS and the military-dominated transitional government over the timetable for Mali’s return to civilian rule after two successful coups d’état.

    Analysisafrica, sanctions
  • New Name, but Little Sign of Change: The Revised Agreement on the African Union Mission in Somalia

    January 27, 2022by Colin Robinson

    The AU mission’s success relies on the handover of military responsibilities to an effective Somali replacement. But the Somali National Army remains as politicized and clan-divided as it has ever been.

    Analysisafrica, african-union, peacekeeping
  • New Climate Data Visualizations, 2021

    December 15, 2021by Noemi Florea

    Noemi Florea has compiled some key data visualizations from 2021 for the Global Observatory that highlight progress on climate change, from expanded research on the global environment to emerging developments for climate adaptation.

    Further Readingclimate-change, climate2021
  • COP26 Left the World with a Climate To-Do List for 2022

    December 3, 2021by Rachel Kyte

    There are five key elements to watch over the coming year as countries move forward on their climate promises.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2021, cop26
  • Is the Global Climate Governance System Working?

    November 23, 2021by Jimena Leiva Roesch, Julia Almeida Nobre, and Eimer Curtin

    In the wake of COP26, there is a need to examine the current structures and dynamics of global climate governance.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2021
  • The Pitfalls of UN Peacekeeping in Afghanistan

    September 1, 2021by Paul D. Williams

    Neither local nor international politics are currently right for a UN peacekeeping deployment in Afghanistan.

    Analysisafghanistan, peacekeeping
  • Preventing Violence or Harming Peace and Rights? What the UN Can Learn from Counterterrorism in the Philippines

    June 10, 2021by Aries Arugay, Marc Batac, and Jordan Street

    The roll-out of counterterrorism and P/CVE policies, plans, and projects in the Philippines is having a significant negative impact on peace, security, and the fulfillment of human rights in the country.

    Analysisctat20, terrorism
  • Regional Special Forces Pose Threat to Peace and Security in Ethiopia

    February 22, 2021by Bereket Tsegay

    The peace and security arrangement between federal and regional states has allowed special forces to instigate conflicts in unique ways.

    Analysisafrica, peace-and-security
  • How to Do a Gender Analysis: Practical Guidance for the UN Community

    February 12, 2021by Phoebe Donnelly

    Many within the UN community are not clear on what a gender analysis entails.

    Analysiswomen-peace-and-security

Latest tweets:

@ipinstGO

Follow Us:

Facebook Twitter Youtube RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter:

Subscription page

About the Global Observatory

The Global Observatory provides timely analysis on peace and security issues by experts, journalists, and policymakers. It is published by the International Peace Institute. The views expressed here represent those of the contributors and not IPI.

About the International Peace Institute

The International Peace Institute is an independent, international think tank located in New York and Manama, dedicated to the settlement and prevention of armed conflict.

© 2022 IPI International Peace Institute | Privacy Policy