By Ziad Al Achkar[1] The crumbling of Lebanon’s State Capacity has been the defining feature of the country over the past few years amidst an unprecedented financial and economic crisis. The political class has been passive in reacting to the cascading crises and unwilling to conduct meaningful structural reforms. The international community and international monetary […]
Category Archives: Deconflictions
African Governments need a shift in their counter-terrorism strategies
- 15 April 2022
BY NKASI WODU On the 21st of March, Mali witnessed two devastating terrorist attacks, resulting in the death of over 16 members of the Malian Armed forces. This was just the latest in a string of attacks this month. In early March, it was reported that 27 soldiers were killed in an attack against an […]
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Same Problems, New Decade
- 20 December 2021
BY RÉJEANNE LACROIX The Balkan state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has struggled to achieve a sense of national unity and economic prosperity since the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. Over the years, discord between the regions that compose BiH has been routine as the federal entities of the Federation of Bosnia […]
A chance for lasting peace in northern Mozambique: we must act now
- 11 November 2021
BY LILLA SCHUMICKY-LOGAN, Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and RICHARD RANDS With recent military successes resulting from multinational force operations against the violent extremist organization (VEO) in Cabo Delgado (known locally as al-Shabab), and the initiation of multistakeholder dialogue, there is a clear window of opportunity for peace in northern Mozambique. By building […]
Libya: State Fragility 10 Years After Intervention
- 02 November 2021
BY LANGDON OGBURN This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 2011 NATO-led intervention in Libya—a decade that has included terrorist control, degraded civil services, and a civil war characterized by allegations of war crimes within the country. Libya rated as the Fragile State Index’s “most-worsened” country for the 2010 decade. Recent Libyan history offers […]
Scotland’s Place in the World: Forward or Backward to Independence?
- 05 October 2021
BY THOMAS HINKEL How would Scotland fare as an independent country? This question is not only the unavoidable issue in Scottish politics today, but the answer is intertwined with the broader question of the place of the United Kingdom within Europe—and the world as a whole—in a post-Brexit era. As former member of parliament and […]
Mozambique has to balance military might with development initiatives
- 27 September 2021
BY NKASI WODU This article was originally published by The Cable. Rwandan and Mozambican forces recently recaptured the port town of Mocímboa da Praia in northern Mozambique. The gain is just the latest in a series of wins by military forces to push back an Islamist insurgency in the country that has led to nearly […]
Early Warning and Conflict Prevention: can indexes play a role?
- 21 September 2021
BY ANNE-ELÉONORE DELEERSNYDER and FRANCESCA BATAULT Since the 1990s, conflict prevention has gained increasing prominence in academic research and practice, with the goal of decreasing the human toll and economic costs of violent conflicts.[1] The foundational text of the European Union (EU) – the Maastricht Treaty (1992) – identifies conflict prevention as one of the […]
Escalation of Violence Deals a Major Setback to Previous Optimism on Palestinian-Israeli Relations
- 06 May 2021
BY DANIELLE BATTERMAN Since their democratic election in 2006, and military takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas’ lack of international legitimacy has served as a major obstacle for advancing the Palestinian national project. As the non-secular party option to Fatah, Hamas’ electoral win signaled the triumph of a hardline stance against Israel among […]
PIND: Humanizing Intervention for the Good of All
- 04 May 2021
BY HADLEY CHRISTMAN The short film For the Good of All is an illustration of the importance and success of community-centered intervention when reducing violence and poverty in developing countries. In America, areas such as the Niger Delta are often perceived by the layman as helpless without Western intervention and aid, and are thereby branded […]