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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

  • 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

Trending

  • 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
  • How Weapons and Ammunition Management Can Enhance Women, Peace and Security

    March 17, 2022by Hana Salama and Emma Bjertén-Günther

    The proliferation of weapons and ammunition presents a major obstacle in the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

    Analysiswomen-peace-and-security
  • 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
  • Ugandan and Congolese Troops Are Conducting Joint Operations: What Could that Mean for MONUSCO?

    December 20, 2021by Daniel Levine-Spound

    The joint operations against the Allied Democratic Forces in the Beni territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo raise critical legal, operational, and reputational challenges for MONUSCO.

    Analysisafrica, 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
  • 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
  • The Exclusion of Women’s Voices from Afghan Peace Talks Remains the Norm

    March 30, 2021by Masooma Rahmaty

    As the peace talks gain momentum again, ensuring that women’s voices are sufficiently represented in peace efforts should be a top priority.

    Analysisafghanistan, asia, peace-processes
  • Rising Politicization Risks Splitting Somali National Army

    March 17, 2021by Colin Robinson

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

    Analysis
  • 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 Can Artificial Intelligence Help Curb Deforestation in the Amazon?

    November 23, 2020by Adriana Erthal Abdenur

    Some of the most promising innovations for enhancing the monitoring of forests involve artificial intelligence.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2020

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