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Author: Hilary Matfess

  • Cameroon’s Worsening Anglophone Crisis Highlights Need for Dialogue and Inclusion

    July 5, 2018by Hilary Matfess

    The events of the past few years highlight the importance of inclusive governance measures and the ramifications of heavy-handed security responses.

    Analysisafrica
  • Bringing Back Chibok Girls Only Start of Nigeria’s Challenge

    April 25, 2016by Hilary Matfess

    The crisis has placed a clear strain on the limited resources of the Nigerian government and international humanitarian system.

    Analysisafrica, refugees
  • Amid Oil Crash, Could Farming Offer Nigeria a Lifeline?

    February 11, 2016by Hilary Matfess

    Historically low oil prices present a challenge to a country that derives more than 70% of revenue from oil, but there could also be an opportunity for Nigeria to achieve its long-sought and much-needed economic diversification.

    Analysisafrica, resources
  • Refugees and Regional Tensions: Notes from Northeast Nigeria’s Crisis

    January 19, 2016by Hilary Matfess

    Forced return of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon is a major violation of international law. Yet the practice appears to be growing, and threatens to reignite tensions between the two countries.

    Analysis
  • Is Burundi Inching Toward War?

    October 21, 2015by Hilary Matfess

    The normalization of brutal tactics by the state’s security forces suggests the possibility for systemic violence by state actors against perceived threats to Nkurunziza’s regime.

    Analysisafrica, conflict, rebel-groups
  • Tanzania’s Election Run-Up Suggests Backsliding Away From Democracy

    September 30, 2015by Hilary Matfess

    While much of the CCM is now mobilizing behind Magufuli, Lowassa has decamped to the opposition. The four main opposition parties in the country, Chadema, the NCCR-Mageuzi Party, the united Democratic Party, and the Tanzania Labour Party, have formed a coalition and have agreed to support him.

    Analysisafrica, elections
  • As Nigeria Seeks Security, Are More Weapons Really the Answer?

    August 27, 2015by Hilary Matfess

    Compared to neighboring Chad, whose military is regarded to be the most effective in the region at present, the Nigerian military looks flush with equipment.

    Analysisafrica, peace-and-security
  • Nigeria’s Justice System Needs Reform, Not Expansion

    July 22, 2015by Hilary Matfess

    Buhari must implement the domestic reforms necessary to reduce the appeal of anti-government movements and prevent the development of additional insurgencies in Boko Haram’s mold.

    Analysisafrica, terrorism
  • After Peace Agreement, Development Remains Key to Mali Progress

    June 30, 2015by Hilary Matfess

    A 2013 review by RAND Corporation of the Malian government’s development initiatives in the north found that much of the aid earmarked for the region had never reached its destination because of “corruption or plain bad faith.”

    Analysisdevelopment, mali
  • Responses Fall Short as Violence Displaces More Nigerians

    June 11, 2015by Hilary Matfess

    The Minawao camp is not far from the border with Nigeria and has swollen in recent weeks. Officially, there are 42,000 refugees living there, but residents estimate there are likely an additional 10,000 in the camp who are undocumented.

    Analysisafrica, humanitarian
  • Next →

This week

  • Why Congo’s M23 Crisis Lingers On

    May 30, 2023by Judith Verweijen and Christoph Vogel

    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.

    Analysisafrica, conflict
  • China’s Small Steps into UN Peacekeeping Are Adding Up

    May 24, 2023by Courtney J. Fung

    China will likely continue to shape peacekeeping along its preferences for a more technical and less overt political foreign policy tool.

    Analysispeacekeeping, unpkat75, united-nations

Trending

  • As UN Missions Draw Down, Strengthening Community-Led Approaches to Protection of Civilians

    May 23, 2023by Gay Rosenblum-Kumar

    UN mission transitions still result in gaps in the protection of civilians experiencing violent conflict.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • Human Survival Depends on Biodiversity: Interview with Brad Cardinale

    May 22, 2023by Jill Stoddard

    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.

    Interviewsbiodiversity, climate-change, ecology
  • Mediation in Peacekeeping Contexts: Trends and Challenges for Mission Leadership

    May 19, 2023by Sara Hellmüller and Flavia Keller

    The political role of the UN may not have diminished overall, but shifted.

    Analysispeacekeeping, unpkat75, united-nations
  • How Not to Do UN Peacekeeping

    May 17, 2023by Cedric de Coning

    One of the most enduring lessons learned over the past 75 years of peacekeeping is that peace cannot be imposed.

    Analysispeacekeeping, unpkat75, united-nations
  • 75 Years On, the Uncertain Fate of UN Peacekeeping

    May 16, 2023by Jenna Russo

    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.

    Analysispeacekeeping, unpkat75, united-nations
  • Ten Years After Genocide Trial in Guatemala, Justice System Suffering Trust Deficit

    May 10, 2023by Vaclav Masek

    The ten-year anniversary of the historic trial coincides with a process of erosion in judicial independence in the country.

    Analysisamericas, rule-of-law, transitional-justice
  • As Crimes against Peacekeepers Increase, How to Find Accountability

    May 4, 2023by Agathe Sarfati and Jill Stoddard

    Major challenges remain in pursuing justice for peacekeepers who have been victims of attacks.

    Analysispeacekeeping
  • A New Agenda for Peace: Making Peace Plural and Healing Historical Traumas

    April 27, 2023by Youssef Mahmoud

    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.

    Analysispeace-and-security, sustaining-peace, united-nations
  • Will it Be MINUSMA à la Carte, or Geopolitical Endgame in Mali?

    March 30, 2023by Arthur Boutellis

    Ten years after MINUSMA was established, the mission’s future is more uncertain than ever.

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping
  • Wagner Group Poses Fundamental Challenges for the Protection of Civilians by UN Peacekeeping Operations

    March 20, 2023by Dirk Druet

    The Russian government-affiliated Wagner Group has gained widespread attention for its brutal tactics in the Central African Republic and Mali.

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • Addressing Gender Bias to Achieve Ethical AI

    March 17, 2023by Ardra Manasi, Subadra Panchanadeswaran, and Emily Sours

    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.

    Analysistechnology
  • Future Peace Deal Not Just About Putin, Zelensky: Ukrainian People Get a Voice and a Vote

    March 8, 2023by William Partlett

    A stable peace deal requires the support of the Ukrainian people for both legal and political reasons.

    Analysisconflict, eastern-europe, peace-processes
  • Do People Trust the UN? A Look at the Data

    February 22, 2023by Albert Trithart and Olivia Case

    Survey data does not reveal a major, widespread drop in the UN’s legitimacy over the past few years.

    Analysismultilateralism, united-nations
  • After Agreement in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region, What Stands in the Way of Lasting Peace? 

    February 7, 2023by Hilary Matfess and Anne Lauder

    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.

    Analysisafrica, conflict, peace-processes
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Legal Avenues to Fight Climate Change

    November 18, 2022by Julia Almeida Nobre

    Climate change litigation is on the rise. More legal clarity will bring more action.

    Analysisclimate2022
  • A Crisis of Consent in UN Peace Operations

    August 2, 2022by Anjali Dayal

    Last week, at least 15 people died in protests demanding UN peacekeepers leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The week before, the military junta ruling Mali halted troop rotations for the UN mission there and ejected the mission’s deputy spokesperson. These incidents highlight…

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping, united-nations

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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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