Training

Education

Countering Violent Extremism

International Education: What Place in U.S. Diplomacy?

Mon, 11/14/2016 - 14:00

Mon, 11/14/2016 - 16:00

Subtitle:

A Strategy on Study Abroad Can Boost Foreign Policy and Peacebuilding

More than 300,000 American students study abroad each year, and in 2015 nearly 1 million international students were enrolled at U.S. universities. These flows of students are a resource for America’s diplomacy and its efforts to build peace abroad. Still, diplomats and scholars on the issue say the United States should do much more to promote international education and more effectively integrate it into broader foreign policy. On November 14, scholars and diplomats will examine how the role of international education is changing, and steps that can be recommended to the next U.S. administration.

In 2005, a congressional commission on study abroad underscored America’s need for citizens with international educational experience to provide the skills for future U.S. security and global leadership. The commission’s report proposed a goal of 1 million Americans studying abroad by 2017. The numbers of such students remain perhaps a third of that level.

Experts:

Jeffrey Helsing

Maria J. Stephan

Issue Areas:

Education

Type of Event or Course:

Events

Education and Training in Nonviolent Resistance

Civil society around the world has demonstrated the ability to bring about change without violence. Critical to civil society’s success is preparing communities to undertake safe and strategic nonviolent action (NVA) movements. Previous research on NVA has focused on three broad methodologies: protest and persuasion, noncooperation, and intervention. This Report contributes to the knowledge on NVA by highlighting key strategic functions and outcomes of education and training–a fourth and critical methodology for movements around the world.

Nadine Bloch

Summary

The three nonviolent methodologies identified in seminal works are protest and persuasion, noncooperation, and intervention. Somewhat overlooked is a focus on organization or capacity building, which includes education and training.
Education and training fulfill a critical strategic function in capacity building by helping build certain key components of successful movements: planning, unity, and discipline.
Historical examples from Germany, the Philippines, Serbia, and the United States demonstrate this instrumental role.

Wed, 10/05/2016 - 09:46

Issue Areas:

Countries:

Key Links:

Partners (HTML):

Featured (HTML):

Peace Efforts Cannot End After 24 Hours

For 35 years, the International Day of Peace on September 21 has served as a rallying point for governments, organizations and ordinary people working to help end violent conflict around the world.

This year, in spite of the violence and terrorism that dominate our news, it is critical that we remember that the world is also seeing great feats of peace. Colombians have signed a peace accord to end a 52-year-old war, and will vote on ratifying it in just a few weeks.

Nancy Lindborg

Wed, 09/21/2016 - 19:42

Issue Areas:

Countering Violent Extremism

Mediation and Facilitation

Security Sector Governance

Religion

Rule of Law

Science and Technology

Center for the Middle East and Africa

Youth

Type of Article:

News Release

Understanding the Informal Security Sector in Nigeria

Informal security actors such as vigilantes play a variety of roles in African communities. Research has tended to focus on the negative impact of informal security providers, but these groups have an essential role in a community’s safety and security. This report provides an analysis of the informal security actors in the Nigerian states of Plateau, Kaduna, and Kano and in the capital city of Abuja.

Summary

Informal security actors such as vigilantes play a variety of roles in African communities. Research has tended to focus on the negative impacts of informal security providers, including the perpetration of human rights violations, rather than on the essential roles these groups play in a community’s safety and security.

Ernest Ogbozor

Thu, 09/15/2016 - 15:45

Issue Areas:

Countries:

Nigeria

U.S. Leadership and the Challenge of ‘State Fragility’

The new administration, a coming change in leadership at the United Nations, and an emerging global consensus about the fragility challenge make this an opportune moment to recalibrate our approach. The United States cannot and should not try to “fix” every fragile state. Nor can we ignore this challenge; all fragility has the potential to affect U.S. interests to some extent, especially when left to fester. There is simply too much at stake for our interests, our partners, and the global order. A sound and realistic policy framework is urgently needed to help our policymakers determine where, when, and how to invest scarce resources and attention to maximum effect.

William J. Burns, Michèle Flournoy, Nancy Lindborg

The report is the product of a nine-month study of Fragility Study Group led by William J. Burns of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Michèle Flournoy of the Center for a New American Security and Nancy Lindborg of the U.S.

Mon, 09/12/2016 - 15:44

Issue Areas:

Countering Violent Extremism

Economics

Education

Gender

Mediation and Facilitation

Security Sector Governance

Rule of Law

Countries:

Lelia Mooney

Lelia

Mooney

Senior Program Officer, Global Practice and Innovation

Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.

For all other inquiries, please call 202.457.1700.

@Lelia_Mooney

Lelia Mooney is a senior program officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the director of the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law (INPROL), a community of practice of over 3,000 members that promotes coordination and collaboration in the rule of law field through research, innovation and support to rule of law experts on the ground.

Issue Areas:

Mediation and Facilitation

Gender

Rule of Law

Security Sector Governance

Role:

Expert

Africa Peacekeeping: Lessons from a Ghanaian Commander

Carla Koppell

Carla

Koppell

Vice President, Applied Conflict Transformation

Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.

For all other inquiries, please call 202.457.1700.

Carla Koppell is the vice president for the center for Applied Conflict Transformation at the United States Institute of Peace. She previously was chief strategy officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) where she focused on increasing Agency-wide transparency, accountability, collaboration and communications. Prior to serving as CSO, Koppell served as USAID’s first senior coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and as a senior advisor to the USAID Administrator.

Issue Areas:

Gender

Center for the Middle East and Africa

Role:

Countries:

The Future of Peacekeeping in Africa: Lessons From Ghana

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 10:00

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 11:30

Subtitle:

Insights on Policy, Planning, Training and Conduct

Peacekeeping missions today face some of the most complex environments in their history. In September 2015, President Obama reaffirmed U.S. support for United Nations peace operations and directed a range of actions to strengthen them for a new era. Ghana, with its long history of contributing to peacekeeping and with soldiers in 12 of 16 U.N. missions, provides lessons in effective training, policymaking and non-violent conflict resolution.

Understanding the political, operations and conflict environment is key to successful peacekeeping. That’s a priority for the United States, which provides almost 30 percent of the annual peacekeeping budget and, in 2014, pledged $110 million a year for three to five years to build the capacity of the continent’s militaries for rapidly deploying peacekeepers in response to emerging conflict.

Type of Event or Course:

Events

Countries:

Ghana

Issue Areas: