Category Civil Society

Africa, Civil Society, Security & Conflict

Assessing Twenty-Five Years of Democracy in Nigeria

September 3, 2024

Twenty-five years ago, the Federal Republic of Nigeria transitioned from military rule to a democratic system. During a colorful event in Abuja attended by leaders worldwide on May 29, 1999, the military transferred power to Olusegun Obasanjo, the democratically elected…

Civil Society, Middle East, Photo Essays

Freefalling Afghanistan: A Pictorial Journey Through Two-and-a-Half Years of Taliban Rule

April 28, 2024

February 2020 Doha Accord holds the secret of the Taliban’s freedom and rule in Afghanistan. This picture was taken when the Taliban fighters were cruising through Kabul’s streets, triumphing over the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and celebrating…

Civil Society, Middle East, Security & Conflict

Sifting Facts from Fiction: The Underpinnings of the Taliban’s ‘Islamic Emirate’

February 15, 2024

Even after the Taliban have assumed power in Afghanistan twice, their ideology remains poorly understood, evident from the misconceptions surrounding it. Some believe this ideology is reflective of Islam while others attempt to find its basis in the Pashtun culture.…

Africa, Civil Society, Security & Conflict

Limits to Inclusion: Explaining the Inclusion-Effectiveness Dilemma with the 2020 Libyan Political Dialogue Forum

January 26, 2024

In most conflict-afflicted countries, the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic aggravated civil war, political divisions, economic collapse, and humanitarian suffering. Most people predicted that Libya would suffer the same fate as conflict escalated in and around Tripoli in early 2020 and the…

Civil Society, Energy & Environment, Middle East, Policy & Politics

A Proposal to Manage Human Migration

November 16, 2023

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) last fall focused the world’s attention on the many climate-related crises to come, including floods and droughts; inhospitable heat; saltwater intrusion and inundation; the loss of biodiversity; the loss of agricultural regions; and more violent storms.…

Asia Pacific, Civil Society, Regional, Security & Conflict, Topical

The Palestinianization of the Rohingya Crisis: No Money, No Love

September 4, 2023

Evidently, for quite a long time, the protracted Palestinian refugee crisis has not only condemned millions of Palestinians to a life of indescribable suffering but also kept the Middle East destabilized and much more volatile than any other region across…

Africa, Civil Society, Economics, Policy & Politics, Regional, Security & Conflict, Topical

The Gendered Impact of Displacement in East African Refugee Camps

March 8, 2023

Kyilah Terry is a Princeton in Africa Fellow in Nairobi, Kenya. She previously worked as a Policy Fellow with the Office of the Vice President. Kyilah holds a B.A. from UCLA, a M.A. from Georgetown University, and is matriculating into…

Asia Pacific, Civil Society, Economics, Europe, Middle East, North America, Policy & Politics, Regional, Security & Conflict, Topical

Johns Hopkins SAIS Faculty and Fellow Reflections: The War in Ukraine at One Year

February 24, 2023

One year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) faculty and SAIS Foreign Policy Institute fellows explain the current state of the war, the varying international responses to it, and…

Africa, Civil Society, Policy & Politics, Regional, Security & Conflict, Topical

Reunification monument in Yaounde, Cameroon

Global Responses to Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: The Inadequate International Efforts to End the World’s Most Neglected Conflict

November 8, 2022

Jude Mutah is a program officer for Africa at the National Endowment for Democracy. Background The conflict in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon is a civil war that started in 2017 between Cameroonian security forces and non-state armed separatist groups…

Africa, Civil Society, Governance & Law, Policy & Politics, Regional, Security & Conflict, Topical

Civil Society, Coups, and the Future of Burkina Faso

August 25, 2022

Burkina Faso’s rich history has been marked by violent fluctuations between military juntas and pushback from civil society, resulting in a state that lies somewhere in between. Modern Burkina Faso’s leadership nominally supports civil liberties and political freedoms but has…

Civil Society, Governance & Law, Policy & Politics, Regional, Security & Conflict, South America, Topical

Colombia sunset viewing the green surroundings of Minca

Can the Government Police Itself? Colombia’s False Positives Scandal and its Lessons for Atrocity Prevention

August 5, 2022

Introduction In April of 2022, a Colombian general and ten other servicemembers admitted that they had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.[1] It was the first time that senior Colombian military officials admitted to wrongdoing since the systemic killing…

Civil Society, Europe, Policy & Politics

Image of protestors holding Ukrainian flag and a sign that says "I am Ukrainian. And so are you! The whole world is Ukraine today!"

We All Are Ukrainians

March 23, 2022

Diplomacy[1] failed to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine, leaving tens of millions at grave risk of losing their lives, independence, and freedom. The tragedy of war is upon Ukrainians, with its effects being felt around the world. Many are asking…