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Author: Lesley Connolly

by Lesley Connolly

Lesley Connolly is a Senior Policy Analyst in the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations at the International Peace Institute.
More articles by this author →

  • Connecting the Work of Local Actors to Global Reporting Critical for HLPF 2019

    May 29, 2019by Lesley Connolly

    As national actors prepare to report on progress at the 2019 HLPF, it is vital that all the work of actors at the local level towards building peaceful, just, and inclusive societies is examined and connected.

    Analysishlpf, sustainable-development
  • Peacebuilding, Prevention, and Sustaining Peace: Q&A with Susanna Campbell

    October 16, 2018by Lesley Connolly

    Susanna Campbell discusses her new book and how international peacebuilding organizations can learn from the experience of those in Burundi and implement and support more effective peacebuilding initiatives on the ground.

    Interviewspeacebuilding, sustaining-peace
  • The Local in Peacebuilding: What We Can Learn From Community-led Organizations

    September 21, 2018by Lesley Connolly

    In the search for new approaches, community-led peacebuilding networks may have a key role to play.

    Analysispeacebuilding, sustaining-peace
  • The Critical Peace and Security Issues Driving the Upcoming UN-AU Meeting

    July 17, 2018by Daniel Forti and Lesley Connolly

    At a moment where multilateral institutions for peace and security confront enormous responsibilities, a more effective partnership is in the interest of both organizations and African member states.

    Analysisafrica, african-union, united-nations
  • Local Peacebuilders Share Views on Challenges to Sustaining Peace 

    April 20, 2018by Lesley Connolly and Sapna Considine

    Nearly two years after the resolutions, questions remain as to whether discussions on sustaining peace are reaching beyond UN headquarters, and above all, how this new term resonates with local peacebuilders

    Analysispeacebuilding, sustaining-peace
  • Why Do We Need Sustaining Peace? Examining the Vision That Ties the UN Together

    March 27, 2018by Lesley Connolly and Laura Powers

    To successfully implement the vision of sustaining peace, research and evidence on what works in peacebuilding and sustaining peace is still needed.

    Analysispeacebuilding, sustaining-peace
  • The Gambia: An Ideal Case for Prevention in Practice

    October 4, 2017by Lesley Connolly

    The Gambia’s fragile transition since national elections in January this year provide considerable room for studying and responding to the root causes of conflict by pursuing both peace and development in a holistic manner.

    Analysisafrica, sustainable-development, sustaining-peace
  • Can the AU and UN Work Together to Reform African Peace Operations?

    September 19, 2017by Gustavo de Carvalho and Lesley Connolly

    The appointment of a head and a deputy head of the AU’s newly formed Institutional Reforms Unit this month is an important step forward in increasing the organization’s effectiveness.

    Analysisafrican-union, peacekeeping
  • A Year of “Sustaining Peace”: What Was Learned from Burundi and The Gambia?

    April 27, 2017by Lesley Connolly

    Both Burundi and The Gambia offer a chance to connect prevention to elections in particular, and to adapt new thinking around the role of prevention to build up democratic institutions and permit smooth, legitimate transfers of power.

    Analysisconflict, elections
  • Sustaining Peace in Security Transitions: The Liberian Opportunity

    January 30, 2017by Gizem Sucuoglu and Lesley Connolly

    Political transitions are typically a period of heightened risk of instability at the best of times, and the current downsizing to around 1,000 personnel could make it harder to ensure safety during the polls.

    Analysispeace-and-security, united-nations
  • 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
  • Small Changes, Big Impacts: WPS Achievements in Contingent Owned Equipment Manual Negotiations

    April 18, 2023by Phoebe Donnelly

    Updates to the COE manual addressing some of the particular obstacles faced by women peacekeepers are a tangible step toward meeting gender parity goals in UN peacekeeping operations.

    Analysispeacekeeping, women-peace-and-security
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

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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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