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Author: Youssef Mahmoud

by Youssef Mahmoud

Youssef Mahmoud is a Senior Adviser at the International Peace Institute.
More articles by this author →

  • In Tunisia’s March Toward Women’s Rights, Finish Line Is in Sight

    August 17, 2017by Youssef Mahmoud

    The question of equality of inheritance between men and women has been a thorny and sensitive issue for decades and the reactions to the president’s speech ranged from support to indignation.

    Analysisnorth-africa, women-peace-and-security
  • Tunisia’s New Protections for Women: A Legislative Revolution and Missed Opportunity

    August 9, 2017by Youssef Mahmoud

    While it is unanimously hailed as a revolutionary piece of legislation, some voices feel that the Tunisian government and parliament missed a unique opportunity to abrogate other antiquated laws and decrees that still treat women as second-class citizens.

    Analysisnorth-africa, women-peace-and-security
  • “Distress Migration”: Moving Beyond Vulnerability-Based Paradigms

    July 24, 2017by Youssef Mahmoud and Ameya Naik

    It remains under-appreciated that the decision to escape, rather than participate in conflict or otherwise exploit weaknesses of governance, makes displacement a non-violent self-protection strategy.

    Analysismigration, refugees
  • Acting Locally on Preventive Diplomacy: Q&A with Miroslav Jenča

    March 31, 2017by Youssef Mahmoud

    Miroslav Jenča, UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, discusses the need for a strong on-the-ground presence when engaging in preventive diplomacy.

    Interviewscentral-asia, united-nations
  • What Would It Take to Make a “Surge in Diplomacy for Peace” Work?

    January 19, 2017by Youssef Mahmoud

    Whether it is strategic analysis, conflict prevention, or simply prevention for sustaining peace in the pursuit of a surge in diplomacy for peace, none is achievable without adequate and predictable resources.

    Analysispeacebuilding, united-nations
  • Will 2017 Be a Watershed Year For Prevention at the Service of Peace?

    January 5, 2017by Youssef Mahmoud

    Sweden and other like-minded countries are well equipped to ensure that 2017 becomes a watershed year for putting prevention in the service of sustaining peace.

    Analysispeace-and-security
  • Toward a New “Agenda for Peace”

    September 23, 2016Adam Lupel, Barbara Gibson and Youssef Mahmoud

    Too many states and peoples have responded to problems by unilaterally using force or by turning inward, building barriers instead of bridges, and stifling dissent, under the guise of fighting external threats.

    Analysismultilateralism, peace-and-security
  • With New Resolutions, Sustaining Peace Sits at Heart of UN Architecture

    April 29, 2016by Youssef Mahmoud and Andrea Ó Súilleabháin

    During the General Assembly debate following the adoption of the resolution, most member states hailed the conceptual shift from peacebuilding to sustaining peace as transformative and forward-looking.

    Analysispeacebuilding, united-nations
  • Freeing Prevention From Conflict: Investing in Sustaining Peace

    April 21, 2016by Youssef Mahmoud

    One of the main reason positive peace is judged as better strategy for moving the prevention agenda forward is its universal applicability and the fact that it is not confined to conflict-ridden countries. More importantly, it calls on the responsibility of all the world’s citizens to act as its proactive agents.

    Analysispeacebuilding, united-nations
  • A Ripe Moment for Change at the UN?

    March 9, 2016by Youssef Mahmoud

    Three major peace and security reviews conducted in 2015 have taken stock of the changing global environment; analyzed UN responses; and come up with several key policy messages, as well as a number of complementary recommendations which, if implemented, could help the UN peace and security architecture be better fit for purpose.

    Analysisdevelopment, human-rights, peace-and-security, united-nations
  • ← Previous
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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
  • 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
  • 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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