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Author: Colin Robinson

  • 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
  • Rising Politicization Risks Splitting Somali National Army

    Somalia Opposition
    March 17, 2021by Colin Robinson

    The developing electoral crisis over the past few months has led to greater misuse of forces.

    Analysis
  • State-Level Military Forces Can Potentially Turn Tide in War Against al-Shabaab

    Somalia al-Shabaab
    November 7, 2019by Colin Robinson

    A strong partnership between Mogadishu and the regions is vital to a unified counterinsurgency effort.

    Analysisafrica, somalia

This week

  • Climate Change in the Security Council: What New Council Members Can Achieve in 2023

    January 30, 2023by Adam Day, Janani Vivekananda, and Grazia Pacillo

    2023 could be a good year for advancing climate-related issues in the United Nations Security Council.

    Analysisclimate-change, peace-and-security, security-council
  • How Negotiations on Contingent-Owned Equipment Can Help “Green” UN Peacekeeping

    January 20, 2023by Emmanuelle Cousin and Daniel Forti 

    The UN General Assembly’s COE Working Group has a fork-in-the-road opportunity to advance UN Peacekeeping’s environmental goals.

    Analysisclimate-change, peacekeeping

Trending

  • How Useful Are the UN’s Broad Protection of Civilian Mandates?

    January 18, 2023by Alexander Gilder

    The UN should consider both the successes of the whole-of-mission approach and the pitfalls of its ever-burgeoning understanding of PoC.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • Investing in People and Enhancing Resilience for Sustaining Peace with Adaptive Peacebuilding

    January 17, 2023by Cedric de Coning, Rui Saraiva and Ako Muto

    Context-specific approaches to peacebuilding that empower local agency are key to the self-sustainability of peace processes.

    Analysispeacebuilding, sustaining-peace
  • The Multilateralism Index: Measuring Transformation in a Time of Crisis and Uncertainty

    January 9, 2023by Adam Lupel

    A better understanding is needed of where the multilateral system is working, where it is not, and where it is headed.

    Analysismultilateralism
  • Does the UN Need a More Coherent Approach Toward “De Facto” Authorities?

    January 6, 2023by Damian Lilly

    As a result of shifting dynamics in certain conflicts, as well as recent coups, the UN is having to engage with de facto authorities in a growing number of country contexts.

    Analysisunited-nations
  • The Nitty Gritty of Climate Policy: Taking Stock of COP27, Looking Ahead to COP28

    January 5, 2023by Olivia Fielding, Michael Franczak, Masooma Rahmaty, Aparajita Rao, Jimena Leiva Roesch, Michael Weisberg

    The agreement to establish a fund for loss and damage was a historic win for developing countries, but progress on mitigation stalled at COP27.

    Analysisclimate2022, climate-change
  • Milestone in the Security Council: What the New Humanitarian “Carve-out” Means for UN Sanctions Regimes

    December 16, 2022by Naureen Chowdhury Fink and Agathe Sarfati 

    Last week,  the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 2664, a cross-cutting humanitarian carve-out for all UN sanctions regimes–including the 1267 ISIL/al-Qaida regime–to safeguard the timely and effective conduct of humanitarian activities.

    Analysishumanitarian, security-council, terrorism
  • 2022 Editor’s Choice: Global Observatory Must Reads

    December 15, 2022by the Global Observatory

    The editors of the Global Observatory have compiled some of 2022’s notable and most-read articles that speak to both global events and new thinking on peace and security, United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, gender and security, and the climate crisis.

    Further Reading
  • Year in Review: Top International Peace Institute Reports of 2022

    December 15, 2022by the Global Observatory

    The International Peace Institute’s 10 most-read reports of 2022.

    Further Reading
  • Disinformation Is a Growing Threat for UN Peacekeepers

    December 14, 2022by Albert Trithart

    UN missions will need to address the root causes of misinformation and disinformation by proactively reshaping narratives about the UN.

    Analysispeacekeeping
  • In a Worsening DRC, How Can the Security Council Keep Focus on Protection of Civilians?

    December 13, 2022by Daniel Levine-Spound and Wendy MacClinchy

    MONUSCO’s mandate renewal is an opportunity for the UNSC to prove its relevance as a protection actor in the DRC.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • The East African Community Steps into the Crisis in the DRC. Will It Help?

    December 12, 2022by Jenna Russo

    While the current crisis is unlikely to be resolved without military force, any hope for success requires that operations remain closely tied to a political process, and that neighboring countries remain accountable to support the security and sovereignty of the DRC.

    Analysisafrica, conflict
  • New Avenues for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict: Addressing Weapons

    December 9, 2022by Hana Salama

    Thus far, few UN frameworks, policies, or guidance documents on conflict-related sexual violence mention arms control and disarmament measures in the context of prevention.

    Analysisconflict, sexual-violence, 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • How Permafrost Thaw Puts the Russian Arctic at Risk

    November 22, 2021by Katarina Kertysova and Akash Ramnath

    Permafrost thaw presents a major challenge to Arctic communities and ecosystems and has enormous potential to accelerate climate change and its global impacts.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2021
  • Beyond Triple Invisibility: Do Submarine Data Cables Require Better Security?

    September 15, 2021by Christian Bueger and Tobias Liebetrau

    The global submarine cable network needs to be governed and protected, but it also has risks and vulnerabilities, and the potential to spur new forms of tensions and conflicts.

    Analysismaritime-security, technology
  • 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

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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.

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