Blogs & Opinions
Unraveling the Oil Geopolitics Intertwined in the Kurdish Independence Referendum
Oct 6, 2017
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Amy Myers Jaffe
For over a decade, U.S. efforts to promote stability across the Middle East have run afoul of many complexities. The recent independence referendum in the…
Overlooked and Misunderstood: Stories about Climate, Conflict, and Migration
Oct 6, 2017
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Bethany N. Bella
Barbuda—an island once full of people—has been rendered completely uninhabitable by Hurricane Irma. Every single resident was evacuated from the island, and some are not planning to return.…
Peace Consciousness and Food Security
Oct 6, 2017
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Louie Divinagracia
As the country celebrates national peace consciousness month, we are reminded about the role of peace in food security. Sometime last year, the Food and…
China’s Water Grab in Tibet Risks Regional Devastation and Conflict
Oct 6, 2017
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Nithin Coca
China’s unchecked mining expansion and dam construction across the Tibetan plateau, compounded by climate change melting glaciers, are threatening the Yellow, Yangtze, Ganges and other…
The Arctic: In the Face of Change, an Ocean of Cooperation
Oct 6, 2017
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Wilson Center Staff
“The United States and Russia… have found ways to continue to cooperate in the Arctic—particularly, but not only—through the Arctic Council, despite the difficulties on other issues relating…
Kurdish Independence: It’s All About the Oil
Oct 5, 2017
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Amy Myers Jaffe
For over a decade, U.S. efforts to promote stability across the Middle East have run afoul of many complexities. The recent independence referendum in the…
Cordaid Confronts the Challenges of Conflict and Climate Change
Oct 2, 2017
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Marcelin Ridja
Cordaid’s technical teams (Food Security, Water, and Sanitation, Community Mobilization and Protection) are working together in order to provide assistance to the displaced populations who…
Everyone Wants Cobalt, but Few Want to Get Tangled up in the World’s Largest Producing Nation
Oct 2, 2017
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Lynsey Chutel
For too long, the Democratic Republic of Congo has known no competition in the cobalt market, to its detriment. The metal, which used to be…
The FARC, Land Reform, and the Future of Colombia’s Security
Oct 1, 2017
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Nicola Bilotta
The historical ceasefire, signed in La Habana on June 23th 2016, was the first step to bring peace in Colombia after fifty-two years of conflict.…
All in a Generation: Stopping Conflict, Building Peace, and Saving the Environment
Oct 1, 2017
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Anuj Krishnamurthy
Today, world leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly will celebrate the International Day of Peace, observed annually since 1981. This year’s…
The Struggle for Kurdistan’s Oil: Past, Present and Future
Sep 27, 2017
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Leo Kabouche
On Monday, September 25, the government of Iraqi Kurdistan held an independence referendum. Although the vote will not trigger any immediate change to the nature…
How Oil Wealth and Terrorism Can Lead to Kurdistan’s Secession
Sep 27, 2017
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Mirna Khaled Abdulaal
State building is a difficult and expensive task, and in a region currently gripped by perpetual conflict, the possibilities of creating a new state come…
All in a Generation: Stopping Conflict, Building Peace, and Saving the Environment
Sep 24, 2017
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Anuj Krishnamurthy
Today, world leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly will celebrate the International Day of Peace, observed annually since 1981. This year’s…
Peace and the Environment
Sep 24, 2017
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Janet Edmond
Today is International Peace Day and my mind is filled with thoughts of the many conflicts over natural resources around the world, many in critically…
The Assault on the Rohingya Is Not Only about Religion — It’s Also about Land
Sep 24, 2017
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Saskia Sassen
Religion and ethnicity have been the major focus in local and international news coverage of the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar. Such persecution is…
Can Renewable Energy Pay a Peace Dividend?
Sep 24, 2017
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Justin Guay
What if the hundreds of millions of dollars spent each and every year burning fossil fuels to power peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts could instead create…
Boko Haram: Exacerbating and Benefiting from Food and Water Insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin
Sep 22, 2017
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Mervyn Piesse
The Lake Chad basin suffers from multiple security stressors, including widespread unemployment, poverty and conflict. Rising food and water insecurity exacerbates the tensions that arise…
What Is at Stake in Iraqi Kurdish Vote for Independence?
Sep 18, 2017
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Michael Knights
On 25 September, the residents of Kurdish-controlled areas inside Iraq will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum on their preference for the future…
Destabilizing Egypt; Ethiopia’s Nile River Dam
Sep 14, 2017
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Thomas C. Mountain
Ethiopia’s new “ Grand Renaissance Dam”, scheduled to be completed next year, will take close to half (40%) of the Nile River’s water every year…
Is the Military Prepared for Climate Crisis?
Sep 13, 2017
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Sharmini Peries
If you live in the U.S., it is not news that we have been hit by two devastating hurricanes in the last two weeks. First,…
Tomorrow May Be Too Late: Military Leaders Testify on National Security Challenges of Climate Change
Sep 13, 2017
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Amanda King
As the Senate returns from recess, passing the annual National Defense Authorization Act will be one of its top priorities—and this year it could include…
A New Film, Silas, Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, Highlights the Struggle to Fight Liberian Land Grabs
Sep 11, 2017
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Jonathan Gant
In 2012, while working for my anti-corruption NGO Global Witness, I sat down with a tribal chief in an isolated region of Liberia called Dugbeh.…
Climate Variability, Water, and Security in El Salvador
Sep 10, 2017
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Herman Rosa, Chelsea Spangler
Water-related challenges in El Salvador have acquired far greater significance over the past decade as they have intersected with other social problems including migration, criminal…
Whither Peacebuilding Initiatives? The Escalation of Herder-Farmer Conflicts in Nigeria
Sep 10, 2017
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Akachi Odoemene
There is a growing trend towards episodic, low-intensity conflicts across Nigeria, particularly in its north-central and southern zones. These conflicts often involve nomadic Fulani herdsmen…
How to Free Children Like Samira from Somalia’s Cycle of Drought, Conflict & Hunger
Sep 7, 2017
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Kevin Watkins
Humanitarian action in Somalia has saved lives. Six months ago, a full-blown famine was in prospect as the worst drought in living memory tightened its…
Big Data’s Big Role in Reducing Water Stress
Sep 6, 2017
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Nitin Donde
Water stress is not an arcane term just used by hydrologists. It is defined as the inability to meet the ‘human and ecological demand for…
Reforming Women's Property Rights in Afghanistan
Sep 6, 2017
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Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Becky Allen
On paper, the law is clear: men and women enjoy equal property rights under Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution. But on-the-ground reality says otherwise as a combination…
Liberia: How Lack of Knowledge of Our Soils Hamper Agriculture Productivity in Liberia
Sep 5, 2017
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Solomon C. Hedd-Williams
The soil is a farmer's silent partner and the basis of farming. It is the basic resource of the agricultural development of any nation. Its…
Why Should the UN Security Council Deal with Climate Security Risks?
Sep 5, 2017
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Amiera Sawas, Florian Krampe
Over 600,000 people have been displaced in recent floods in Sri Lanka. Drought is bringing starvation and famine to 11 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia…
Rethinking Hydropower in Myanmar
Sep 1, 2017
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Michael Spolum
Electricity demand has surged past available supplies by a factor of 15 percent annually and is expected to more than double by 2020. Rolling brownouts…