Category Archives: Deconflictions

Sweden on the State Resilience Index

By Kristin Weis Sweden ranks second out of 154 countries in the most recent State Resilience Index (SRI), tying with Finland and Switzerland (8.3), above Denmark (8.2) and just below Norway (8.4). Sweden and its Nordic neighbors—Finland to the east, Norway to the west, and Denmark to the south—hold the top three overall highest SRI […]

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Lebanon’s Crumbling Resilience

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 […]

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African Governments need a shift in their counter-terrorism strategies

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 […]

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Bosnia and Herzegovina: Same Problems, New Decade

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 […]

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A chance for lasting peace in northern Mozambique: we must act now

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 […]

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Libya: State Fragility 10 Years After Intervention

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 […]

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Scotland’s Place in the World: Forward or Backward to Independence?

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 […]

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Mozambique has to balance military might with development initiatives

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 […]

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Early Warning and Conflict Prevention: can indexes play a role?

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 […]

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Escalation of Violence Deals a Major Setback to Previous Optimism on Palestinian-Israeli Relations

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 […]

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