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    • Arab Spring | 57 articles
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Tag: democracy

  • Myanmar’s Military Coup and the “Age of Impunity”

    Police officers Yangon
    February 24, 2021Damian Lilly and Richard Bennett

    There is an urgent need to rethink how to hold to account those responsible for human rights violations not only in Myanmar, but also in other countries.

    Analysisdemocracy, southeast-asia
  • View From Caracas: Anarchy, Poverty, and Uncertainty in Venezuela

    February 15, 2018by Margarita Lopez Maya

    Without a political change, the population will continue to suffer. However, it is hard to imagine that the current situation can continue over time without undermining the support base of Maduro’s regime.

    Analysisamericas, democracy
  • New Protests in Tunisia, But Is the Government Listening?

    January 26, 2018by Lisa Watanabe

    While the political and social reality that demonstrators are responding to does require serious attention, there are also reasons to hope that the current juncture is an opportunity to build on Tunisia’s successes.

    Analysisdemocracy, north-africa
  • A Series of Miscalculations: The Kurdish Referendum and its Fallout

    Iraq Kurds
    December 19, 2017by Katie Klain and Lisel Hintz

    Despite nearly universal regional rebuke of the Kurdish referendum before the September 25 vote, Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pushed forward on what it seemed to believe would be a path to independence. Why did former KRG President Masoud Barzani hold a referendum vote despite immense pressure not to do so?

    Analysisdemocracy, middle-east
  • Kurdistan Votes “Yes,” but What Comes Next?

    September 28, 2017by Arsla Jawaid

    Barzani has worked to establish himself as the figurehead who will lead the Kurdish people toward independence. The danger is that unfulfilled expectations may reduce his political mileage in the near future.

    Analysisdemocracy, middle-east
  • The Venezuelan Crisis and Fragmented Multilateralism in the Americas

    August 23, 2017by Stefano Palestini

    It is futile to blame the crisis for the shortcomings of multilateral instruments; at the end of the day, were these mechanisms not designed precisely to solve complex crises?

    Analysisamericas, democracy
  • A Tale of Two Illiberalisms: Why Is Poland Failing Where Hungary Succeeded?

    August 2, 2017by Anna Grzymala-Busse

    In both Poland and in Hungary, conservative social policies have sought to restrict abortion, declared conservative Christian teaching to be the guiding principle behind state policy (despite low religiosity in Hungary, and the constitutional separation of Church and state in Poland), and attempted to criminalize individual ties to the former communist regimes.

    Analysisdemocracy, europe
  • Is DRC’s Democracy Headed for a Kabila Coup de Grace?

    July 18, 2017by Ryan Cummings

    With DRC President Kabila becoming increasingly emboldened in his actions to extend his political longevity, it would be difficult to believe that travel and financial embargoes alone will sway the incumbent from delivering the coup de grace to his country’s hopes of achieving a democratic transfer of power in the near-term.

    Analysisdemocracy, democratic-republic-of-the-congo, justice
  • Time Running out for OAS on Venezuelan Crisis

    June 6, 2017by Stefano Palestini

    With more than 60 deaths in the last two months of protests, the risk for Venezuela to fall into a spiral of violence is high.

    Analysisamericas, democracy
  • Risky Political Maneuvers Seek an End to Guinea-Bissau Impasse

    June 2, 2017by Ryan Cummings

    ECOWAS has issue a stern warning to the country’s paralyzed polity, voicing its grave concern regarding what it sees as “a deteriorating socio-political situation in the country.”

    Analysisafrica, democracy
  • Next →

This week

  • Climate Change in the Security Council: What New Council Members Can Achieve in 2023

    January 30, 2023by Adam Day, Janani Vivekananda, and Grazia Pacillo

    2023 could be a good year for advancing climate-related issues in the United Nations Security Council.

    Analysisclimate-change, peace-and-security, security-council
  • How Negotiations on Contingent-Owned Equipment Can Help “Green” UN Peacekeeping

    January 20, 2023by Emmanuelle Cousin and Daniel Forti 

    The UN General Assembly’s COE Working Group has a fork-in-the-road opportunity to advance UN Peacekeeping’s environmental goals.

    Analysisclimate-change, peacekeeping

Trending

  • How Useful Are the UN’s Broad Protection of Civilian Mandates?

    January 18, 2023by Alexander Gilder

    The UN should consider both the successes of the whole-of-mission approach and the pitfalls of its ever-burgeoning understanding of PoC.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • Investing in People and Enhancing Resilience for Sustaining Peace with Adaptive Peacebuilding

    January 17, 2023by Cedric de Coning, Rui Saraiva and Ako Muto

    Context-specific approaches to peacebuilding that empower local agency are key to the self-sustainability of peace processes.

    Analysispeacebuilding, sustaining-peace
  • 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 Nitty Gritty of Climate Policy: Taking Stock of COP27, Looking Ahead to COP28

    January 5, 2023by Olivia Fielding, Michael Franczak, Masooma Rahmaty, Aparajita Rao, Jimena Leiva Roesch, Michael Weisberg

    The agreement to establish a fund for loss and damage was a historic win for developing countries, but progress on mitigation stalled at COP27.

    Analysisclimate2022, climate-change
  • 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
  • 2022 Editor’s Choice: Global Observatory Must Reads

    December 15, 2022by the Global Observatory

    The editors of the Global Observatory have compiled some of 2022’s notable and most-read articles that speak to both global events and new thinking on peace and security, United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, gender and security, and the climate crisis.

    Further Reading
  • Year in Review: Top International Peace Institute Reports of 2022

    December 15, 2022by the Global Observatory

    The International Peace Institute’s 10 most-read reports of 2022.

    Further Reading
  • Disinformation Is a Growing Threat for UN Peacekeepers

    December 14, 2022by Albert Trithart

    UN missions will need to address the root causes of misinformation and disinformation by proactively reshaping narratives about the UN.

    Analysispeacekeeping
  • In a Worsening DRC, How Can the Security Council Keep Focus on Protection of Civilians?

    December 13, 2022by Daniel Levine-Spound and Wendy MacClinchy

    MONUSCO’s mandate renewal is an opportunity for the UNSC to prove its relevance as a protection actor in the DRC.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • 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
  • New Avenues for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict: Addressing Weapons

    December 9, 2022by Hana Salama

    Thus far, few UN frameworks, policies, or guidance documents on conflict-related sexual violence mention arms control and disarmament measures in the context of prevention.

    Analysisconflict, sexual-violence, women-peace-and-security
  • The Many, Varied Violences Behind the Central American Exodus

    November 15, 2022by Nathaniel Morris and Gema Kloppe-Santamaría

    We need to fully recognize the multifaceted character of the “violences” impacting Central American countries and the political, economic, and social precursors that drive them.

    Analysisamericas, migration
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

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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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