Institute of World Affairs

International Programs since 1924

Category: Articles

A Call for Greater US Government Leadership in Ensuring Human Security Outcomes

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On November 7, 2025

In Articles

The Case of the Export-Import Bank and the International Development Finance Corporation

In recent years, the United States government has adopted a geopolitical strategy of diversifying the sourcing of critical minerals in an effort to reduce dependence on China.  This objective gained considerable steam under the Biden administration and continues to be a priority of the second Trump administration.

Two US government trade support agencies – the Export Import Bank (EXIM) and the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) — are making sizeable loans, debt guarantees, and equity investments to aid extractive industries and the building of infrastructure required to bring minerals and petroleum to market.   These two agencies have become the centerpiece of US efforts to increasingly extract resources such as copper, cobalt, graphite, coltan, tantalum and lithium needed for the transition to more climate friendly economies, the growth of the Artificial Intelligence industry, and for national defense.[i]

These two agencies are in a position to play a leadership role in working with private sector partner companies to ensure highest standards for community development.  This will not only advance the US government’s development, economic growth, and foreign policy objectives, but will provide benefits to private sector firms through risk reduction and the enhancement of their brands.

IWA’s Extractive Industry and Human Development Center is committed to researching and publishing information about best practices by private and public sector actors in this domain to be used as models for approaches that while ensuring stable operations also promote human development.

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Using Simulation to “Test” Conflict Resolution Skills in At-Risk Youth

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On September 9, 2025

In Articles

Dr. Joyce Kaufman and Dr. Hrach Gregorian present findings from a project employing simulation exercises to provide at-risk youth in the District of Columbia with opportunities to test negotiation skills they learned in conflict resolution training workshops. Simulations can both test knowledge and provide instruction utilizing scenarios that challenge participants to formulate a response to “real-world” problems in which they play a stakeholder role. They also are used in academic settings to help students learn about the intricacies of international negotiations. However, seldom are they used to examine how effectively skills are applied in situations participants may actually confront. The program described in this article introduces young people from one of the most violence-prone wards in Washington, D.C. to conflict resolution skills of practical value to them. The capstone simulation provides an opportunity for participants to practice those skills and allows program administrators to evaluate the impact of instruction.

To access the full publication, click here.

The Retreat of American Soft Power in Africa: Why US Business Interests Should Be Concerned

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On July 27, 2025

In Articles

The Trump Administration has jettisoned so-called soft power foreign policy practices that for decades created goodwill toward the U.S. and increased American influence around the world at a relatively low cost. An inventory of soft power tools includes humanitarian assistance, investments in public health, conflict resolution and stabilization initiatives, democracy and free speech promotion, and the broadcasting of trustworthy news and information.

The weakening of U.S. soft power comes at a time when the U.S. and other Western governments are seeking to break China’s near monopoly on the mining and processing of strategic materials required by digital infrastructure critical to national defense and for achieving a sustainable energy future.

The massive up-front investment required in mining and related operations renders the current climate of heightened political and operational risk particularly problematic for business interests. The dramatic recent pullback from the use of so-called soft power by the United States has created a vacuum in the human security space that geopolitical rivals are capitalizing on to discredit western business activities in the developing world.

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Reflections on Women and the Persian (Arabian) Gulf

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On April 1, 2025

In Articles, Blog posts

In January, I had the privilege of spending two weeks in the Persian Gulf (although they call it the Arabian Gulf), touring Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). The trip was thanks to a Kuwaiti woman I met initially in 2008 when she was a Fulbright Scholar at Whittier College, where I was teaching at the time. I worked with another faculty colleague to apply for the Fulbright scholar as part of a new program created after 9/11 called “Outreach to the Islamic World.” The goal of the program was to foster better understanding between the United States and scholars in the Islamic world, broadly defined. We specifically requested a woman who could teach about Islam with a special focus on women and Islam. It turned out Alanoud Alsharekh was the perfect fit. Alanoud spent a semester on campus and then returned as a Visiting Scholar in 2017 under the auspices of the Center for Engagement with Communities at the College when I was the Director. Alanoud had often invited me to visit Kuwait, but the time was never right. This year, in January 2025, the stars aligned.

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No Better Friends than the Mountains: Reflections from Kurdistan

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On April 1, 2025

In Articles, Blog posts

After a (much too) long 15-hour flight and an eight-hour layover, I was finally on the last leg of my journey to Erbil from Washington, D.C. Among the handful of Americans onboard, I sat next to a young Kurdish man raised in the UK. His curiosity about my visit revealed how rare it is for people to travel to Kurdistan purely for tourism. Given Iraq’s turbulent history with war and, more recently, the brutality of ISIS, this was understandable. Iraqi Kurdistan remains largely unknown to most Americans and absent from many mainstream discussions. But I was excited to begin my trip, knowing that Iraqi Kurdistan would offer much more than just a narrative of violence or conflict.

Upon landing, entering the country was surprisingly seamless, with a quick passport stamp, a warm smile, and a “Welcome” from the customs officer. My journey would take me through Erbil, Duhok, Rawanduz, Choman, and Akre, where I experienced the food, people, history, politics, and peacebuilding community that shape Kurdistan today.

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Turning the 21st Century Mineral Rush into Opportunities for Human Development: The Potential of Schools as Instruments of Peace and Social Cohesion

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On January 9, 2025

In Articles

The drive to invest large sums of money in mining and infrastructure projects in lower- income countries can lead to negative consequences for local communities, for governments and for investors unless accompanied by meaningful projects to promote human-centered development and security. There are ample examples where large investments have led to negative social outcomes for local communities including violent responses.

US-led initiatives are mobilizing unprecedented amounts of capital from the public and private sectors to diversify the sourcing and processing of minerals critical to the creation of climate-friendly economies and meeting demand triggered by technological innovations.

To ensure communities impacted by these investments prosper, community members must be full participants in designing human-centered projects with the aim of improving their lives and livelihoods. The provisioning of quality healthcare and education are typically high in the priorities of local communities. If local educational needs are not addressed, capital investments in the extractive sectors run the risk of alienating youth. This article reviews the literature largely with a focus on African countries to highlight sound practices that enables schools to become instruments of peace, conflict resolution, social cohesion and healthy behaviors, highlighting the best practices for obtaining positive outcomes and avoiding negative consequences.

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Critique of UNSCR 1325: Intersectionality Matters

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On November 24, 2024

In Articles

Critique of UNSCR 1325: Intersectionality Matters[1]

UNSCR 1325 (and the numerous resolutions that followed) has been hailed as critically important for the ways in which it drew attention to the plight of women and girls in times of conflict, but also for its recognition of the important role that women can and do play in preventing conflict and then working toward peace in the event of conflict or war. Few would disagree with the importance of 1325 and the points it raises. Nonetheless, there are a number of issues or critiques that can be raised about UNSCR 1325 almost twenty-five years after it was passed. These are especially salient when reviewing UNSCR 1325 from an intersectional perspective.

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Resolution 1325 in Focus: Introduction

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On November 20, 2024

In Articles

On October 31, the anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 marked twenty-four years since its entrance into the international order. UNSCR 1325 was commemorated as the long-sought resolution to ensure women’s full participation in global peace and security (broadly defined). Its existence would not have been possible without the efforts of both civil society and the United Nations member states. This resolution[1] focused on addressing the significant gap in women’s participation in all levels of peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction, including combating gender-based violence. After twenty-four years, UNSCR 1325 has brought forth subsequent resolutions, nine in total, continuing to address sexual-based violence both in the conflict and post-conflict environment and barriers to women’s participation in peace processes from the most localized level to the extent of high-level decision-making processes. Others, such as Security Council Resolution (SCR) 2242[2], sought to highlight women’s role in preventing and countering terrorism, and the most recent, SCR 2467[3] in 2019, challenged member states in their commitment to the previous resolutions. One of the primary ways in which UNSCR 1325 and the subsequent resolutions were to be implemented was through countries adopting National Action Plans focused on the 1325 agenda in the context of their state.

Today, approximately fifty-six percent of the United Nations member states have adopted[4] one or more National Action Plans (NAPs) to further the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. Despite fifty-six percent of member states adopting NAPs, many countries have not consistently or successfully implemented them. National Action Plans require significant funding, governmental capacity, and cooperation, vital for their success and sustainability. Because of the challenges of adopting NAPs, some critical questions have been raised. For example, how can NAPs be implemented during a civil war, a country that recently emerged from violent conflict, or why do many global North countries primarily focus their NAPs on the Global South rather than gaps in their own country? The WPS agenda and National Actions Plans have continuously been scrutinized for not addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict through a gendered lens and instead focusing on the security aspects of WPS rather than peace.

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Humanizing the Demonized: The Untold Stories of Immigrants

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On September 30, 2024

In Articles

I have a confession to make. I am the child of immigrants, one of whom crossed our southern border a century ago, and so I am extremely sympathetic to the many people arriving at our southern border in search of a better life.

The demonizing of migrants for political ends by Donald Trump and other political figures angers me. The demonization needs to stop. This dehumanizing strategy is all about creating fear of others in an effort to manipulate people to support him as he promises to protect them from the demonized. It is a classic political manipulation technique. As a journalist, I witnessed how such demonization unfolded in the Rwandan genocide, and I wrote a book on Al Qaeda in eastern Africa, in which I recounted how Osama bin Laden and his subordinates used demonizing techniques to make people fearful, positioning them to commit violence against the “others.” We, Americans, can do better than this.

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Experiences of the Subsequent Generations: A Salvadorian-American Conversation

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On February 3, 2022

In Articles

Adrienne Castellón, Program Associate, IWA
Margaret Smith, Director of Trauma Healing and Community Resilience, IWA

  1. Executive Summary

This pilot project convened a group of subsequent generation Salvadorian-Americans (2nd generation and 1st generation who came over as children/adolescents) with strong ties to community work to discuss and better understand the experiences and needs of the Salvadorian-American and Salvadorian community in the DC Metropolitan area.

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