Peaceworks

Derived from interviews across three Kenyan counties, this report explores the relationships between resilience and risk to clan violence and violent extremism in the northeast region of the country. The research was funded by a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development through the United States Institute of Peace, which collaborated with Sahan Africa in conducting the study.

Focusing on six urban neighborhoods in Kenya, this report explores how key resilience factors have prevented or countered violent extremist activity at the local level. It is based on a one-year, mixed-method study led by the United States Institute of Peace and supported by Sahan Research.

Based on research and a series of working group meetings hosted by the United States Institute of Peace, this report explores the concept of resilience in the context of peacebuilding and conflict-affected states and how socioecological systems respond to violence. 

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s reputation is weakened by his unwillingness to leave office: he was elected for a fifth term of office in February 2016 in an election that drew international criticism. This report, a joint publication of USIP and the Institute for Security Studies, explores key elements of Uganda’s domestic politics and foreign policy as well as the impact they have in the region and internationally.

يتناول هذا التقرير نظام السجون في اليمن من منظور النظم العامة ذات الصلة. وحظيت الدراسة، التي تُعد جزءًا من مشروع الممتد على مدار ثلاث سنوات (PISU) معهد السلام الأمريكي بشأن سيادة القانون خلال الفترة الانتقالية لمرحلة ما بعد الربيع العربي في اليمن، بدعم من مكتب شؤون المخدرات وإنفاذ القوانين الدولية التابع لوزارة الخارجية الأمريكية. وبموجب تصريح من وزارة الداخلية ومصلحة السجون اليمنية، قام فريق البحث - المكون من المؤلفتين فيونا مانغان وإيريكا غاستون التابعتين لمعهد السلام الأمريكي، وأيمن الإرياني وطه ياسين التابعين للمركز اليمني لقياس الرأي العام، والاستشارية لميس الحميدي -بزيارة سبعة وثلاثين مقر احتجاز في ست محافظات لتقييم الأداء التنظيمي والبنية التحتية ووضع السجناء والأمن.

English version available.

This report examines the prison system in Libya. With the permission of the Libyan Ministry of Justice and Judicial Police, United States Institute of Peace (USIP) research teams conducted two assessments of the Libyan prison system, visiting detention facilities throughout the country in 2012 and again in 2015–16 to evaluate organizational function, security, infrastructure, and prisoner well-being. This report combines and compares the findings of the two assessments, discussing the broader context of detention issues in Libya, with analysis centering on prisons under the authority of the Ministry of Justice and operated by the Judicial Police. 

After the 2011 revolution in Libya that toppled Gadhafi and destroyed many state institutions, tribes and armed groups stepped in to fill the vacuum. The trend increased after the collapse of central state security in 2014. This report examines the renewed role of tribes as guarantors of social stability and providers of security and justice services in the country during the period and today.

This report examines the different directions that policing in Libya has taken since the fall of Gadhafi in 2011. Using two cities, Tobruk and Sabha, as representative case studies, the report examines how competing and overlapping groups have assumed policing functions and traces the social and political inclinations of those groups. Acknowledging that local variation prevents countrywide generalization, the report identifies features and tendencies of the Libyan landscape that are relevant to future reform. 

Since 2001, Afghanistan’s political and social landscape has changed dramatically. However, international state-strengthening interventions have arguably had mixed results. Unprecedented aid and assistance has helped the country transition to a nascent democracy, attain a greater level of security, rebuild some of its infrastructure, and open more space for civil society participation. 

In the past fourteen years, the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have developed into a collection of professional institutions that are both committed to their mission and highly respected. However, they still face major challenges in key areas of capacity, such as logistics, air power, and intelligence. This report assesses the ANDSF’s structure and capabilities and the conditions needed for their long-term financial and operational sustainability.