Skip to content

IPI Global Observatory

Daily analysis in your inbox
  • Analysis
  • Interviews
  • Series
  • Features
  • About
  • Follow Us
    • Subscribe to our newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter
    • Join us on Facebook
    • Flux RSS
    • Live Audio and Video
  • Daily analysis in your inbox
  • Topics & regions

    Most Popular

    • Arab Spring | 57 articles
    • Central Asia | 35 articles
    • Climate Change | 46 articles
    • Conflict | 119 articles
    • Democracy | 45 articles
    • Development | 60 articles
    • Elections | 120 articles
    • Fragile States | 74 articles
    • Health and Security | 35 articles
    • Humanitarian Affairs | 101 articles
    • Justice | 46 articles
    • Mali | 36 articles
    • Mass Protest | 40 articles
    • Peace and Security | 86 articles
    • Peace Processes | 89 articles
    • Peacebuilding | 57 articles
    • Peacekeeping | 176 articles
    • Rebel Groups | 38 articles
    • Resources | 40 articles
    • Rule Of Law | 33 articles
    • Somalia | 34 articles
    • Southeast Asia | 49 articles
    • Statebuilding | 57 articles
    • Syria | 81 articles
    • Technology | 35 articles
    • Terrorism | 126 articles
    • United Nations | 195 articles
    • Women Peace and Security | 110 articles
    Explore All Topics & Regions

    Regions

    • Africa | 357 articles
    • Americas | 90 articles
    • Asia | 95 articles
    • Europe | 95 articles
    • Middle East | 208 articles

Author: Virginia M. Bouvier

by Virginia M. Bouvier

Virginia M. Bouvier is Senior Advisor for Latin America Programs at the United States Institute of Peace. Dr. Bouvier is editor of Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War and blogs at Colombia Calls (vbouvier.wordpress.com).
More articles by this author →

  • Will Colombians Embrace Their New Peace Deal?

    August 26, 2016by Virginia M. Bouvier

    There is no other peace process in the world in which victims have occupied such a central role as they have in Colombia.

    Analysisamericas, peace-processes
  • Creative Compromises Put Colombian Peace in Sight

    May 25, 2016by Virginia M. Bouvier

    While there are hurdles to overcome at home on the mechanisms for endorsing a final accord, the latest pact on that contentious issue appears to satisfy the needs and interests of both parties—as a good agreement should.

    Analysisamericas, peace-processes
  • Confidence in the Air as Colombia Peace Talks Resume

    August 25, 2015by Virginia M. Bouvier

    Many Colombians are hoping that the Pope’s visit to Cuba will offer an opportunity for him to lend concrete support to the peace process.

    Analysisamericas, peace-processes
  • Peace in Colombia Falters in Critical Area: Public Opinion

    May 6, 2015by Virginia M. Bouvier

    A Gallup poll released on April 29 revealed that the popularity of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who has staked his presidency on achieving a peace deal, dropped from 43% to 29% in the past two months.

    Analysisamericas, peace-processes
  • Colombia-FARC Peace Talks on Hold After Kidnapping of Army General

    November 17, 2014by Virginia M. Bouvier

    Just after midnight on November 17, as the government of Colombia and the FARC-EP were preparing to resume their 31st round of conversations in Havana, President Juan Manuel Santos ordered his negotiators not to travel to Havana today as planned, and announced the temporary suspension of the peace talks.On Sunday, November 16, an Army major in […]

    Analysispeace-processes, rebel-groups
  • FARC-Colombia Talks Advance and Then Halt in Havana

    November 12, 2014by Virginia M. Bouvier

    Prior to the kidnapping of a general on November 17, the peace talks had been advancing, with the parties addressing simultaneously the final two remaining substantive items on the peace agenda—victims and the end of the conflict.

    Analysisamericas, peace-processes
  • As Colombia’s Elections Approach, Peace Process Finds Itself in Race Against Time

    June 13, 2014by Virginia M. Bouvier

    With Colombia’s run-off presidential elections approaching, the question is whether an accelerated Havana peace process can give Santos the victory he seeks.

    Analysisamericas, elections, peace-processes

This week

  • 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
  • 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

Trending

  • 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
  • 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
  • Africa, Ukraine, and the New Geopolitics

    March 10, 2022by Rita Abrahamsen

    When the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the African vote split right down the middle. The vote must have sent shivers down the African Union’s spine.

    Analysisconflict, europe, united-nations
  • 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
  • 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
  • Preventing Violence or Harming Peace and Rights? What the UN Can Learn from Counterterrorism in the Philippines

    June 10, 2021by Aries Arugay, Marc Batac, and Jordan Street

    The roll-out of counterterrorism and P/CVE policies, plans, and projects in the Philippines is having a significant negative impact on peace, security, and the fulfillment of human rights in the country.

    Analysisctat20, terrorism
  • 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

Latest tweets:

@ipinstGO

Follow Us:

Facebook Twitter Youtube RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter:

Subscription page

About the Global Observatory

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.

About the International Peace Institute

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.

© 2022 IPI International Peace Institute | Privacy Policy