It is unlikely that the military will support full democratization until there is a party that the military trusts.
It is unlikely that the military will support full democratization until there is a party that the military trusts.
The conflict has been propped up by blame games, ineffective diplomacy, recurring geopolitical tensions and proxy warfare in the Great Lakes region, and the Congolese state’s weak commitment to addressing grievances that drive armed group proliferation.
China will likely continue to shape peacekeeping along its preferences for a more technical and less overt political foreign policy tool.
UN mission transitions still result in gaps in the protection of civilians experiencing violent conflict.
Brad Cardinale, an ecologist who focuses on the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in natural systems discusses the scale and irreversibility of the biodiversity crisis.
The political role of the UN may not have diminished overall, but shifted.
One of the most enduring lessons learned over the past 75 years of peacekeeping is that peace cannot be imposed.
This spring marks 75 years since the UN first deployed a peacekeeping mission. Here are some of the challenges peacekeeping is facing, and opportunities for the future.
The ten-year anniversary of the historic trial coincides with a process of erosion in judicial independence in the country.
Major challenges remain in pursuing justice for peacekeepers who have been victims of attacks.
Left unaddressed, painful legacies of past political violence will continue to infiltrate the institutions, processes, and assumptions that inform definitions of peace and approaches to sustaining peace.
Greater sharing of the pen within the Security Council could help mend perceptions of partiality and facilitate more inclusivity.
The Russian government-affiliated Wagner Group has gained widespread attention for its brutal tactics in the Central African Republic and Mali.
For AI to be ethical and be a vehicle for the common good, it needs to eliminate any explicit and implicit biases, including on the gender front.
A stable peace deal requires the support of the Ukrainian people for both legal and political reasons.
Survey data does not reveal a major, widespread drop in the UN’s legitimacy over the past few years.
A peace deal between Tigrayan forces and the Ethiopian government signed in November 2022 raised hopes that the war in northern Ethiopia—one of the world’s deadliest conflicts in recent years—was finally drawing to a close.
A better understanding is needed of where the multilateral system is working, where it is not, and where it is headed.
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.
The agreement to establish a fund for loss and damage was a historic win for developing countries, but progress on mitigation stalled at COP27.
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.
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.
Actions to address the effects of climate challenges can contribute to sustaining peace, while peacebuilding initiatives can, at times, also strengthen the capacity of communities to adapt to climate change.
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.
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.