Join WIIS on September 16th at 11am ET for a Book Talk featuring Dr. Joyce Kaufman, Director of our Women, Peace and Security Program.
To find previously published materials, you can access our Publications Archive.
To find previously published materials, you can access our Publications Archive.
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 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.
Angola has one of the lowest levels of education in the world despite being a country richly endowed with natural resources. In this video conversation, education activist Rafael Marques de Morais explains how making education a human right can turn this situation around, empowering youth and contributing to the well-being of Angolans. As Executive Director of the Ufolo Good Governance Center, Rafael has been working with the private sector to build badly needed schools in Angola. He is also Senior Advisor to the Extractive Industries and Human Development Center at the Institute of World Affairs. Rafael is joined by Gregory Pirio, Director of the Extractive Industries and Human Development Center, who has studied the role of schools in the promotion of peace and social cohesion. Veteran journalist Paul Ndiho leads the conversation.
This video podcast is a collaboration between Ndiho Media and the Institute of World Affairs.
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.
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.
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.
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.