Blogs & Opinions
Water Wars: Known Unknowns in the South China Sea
May 13, 2016
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Chris Mirasola
The USS William Lawrence conducted a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) within 12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef on Tuesday, May 10th. Chinese-controlled Fiery…
Daesh (IS) and Criminal Syndicates after the Gold of Central Asia
May 10, 2016
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Douglas Green
Recent reports from various sides concerning the increasing lack of cash flow for Daesh (IS) in the Near East due to difficulties in its Turkish…
My Park Rangers Protect Congo’s People and Ecosystems as War Rages all Around
May 7, 2016
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Emmanuel de Mérode
A ranger in Virunga national park has a 44% chance of suffering a violent death during their career, the highest rate of service deaths for…
War, Peace and Water: The Increasing Threat of Drought-Fuelled Conflicts
May 6, 2016
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Laura Tuck
In the past, droughts of this severity have led to conflict and even wars between neighbouring communities and states. One of the first in recorded…
Behind the Headlines, Emerging Security Threats in the Middle East
May 4, 2016
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Anders Jägerskog & Ashok Swain
The Middle East as a whole has the lowest per capita water availability in the world. At the same time it has also one of…
OECD Issues New Edition of OECD Due Diligence Guidance on Conflict Minerals and Declassifies Report on Implementation of Guidance
May 4, 2016
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Cydney Posner
Just in time for those Forms SD and conflict minerals reports, due May 31, the OECD has posted a new edition of the OECD Due…
South Sudan’s Broken Oil Industry Increasingly Becoming a Hazard
May 2, 2016
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Wim Zwijnenburg
The environment has long been a factor in violent conflict in South Sudan, especially with respect to control over oil. The first oil was discovered…
Water Wars: Looming Arbitration Decision Tests Regional Partnerships
Apr 29, 2016
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Chris Mirasola
China embarked on a sustained charm offensive this week to rally countries around its interests in the South China Sea. On Sunday, PRC Foreign Minister…
Water as a Strategy of War
Apr 27, 2016
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Mara Tignino
In times of war, lack of access to safe water can kill as many people as bombing.Inequality in the distribution of water resources and risks…
Pathways to Resilience: Evidence on Links Between Conflict Management, Natural Resources, and Food Security
Apr 26, 2016
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Gracie Cook
In 2015, the NGO Mercy Corps released some surprising findings from conflict management programs in the Horn of Africa. Interventions from 2013 to 2015 focused…
The South China Sea Dispute Isn't about Oil, at Least Not How You Think
Apr 25, 2016
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Jeremy Maxie
The geopolitical context in the South China Sea has evolved considerably on the implications of the territorial disputes on upstream oil and gas development in…
This Is Not the Time for an Independent Kurdistan
Apr 22, 2016
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Dov Friedman
Many have wondered when Iraqi Kurdistan, which already enjoys broad autonomy from Baghdad, might finally declare independence. The present moment doesn’t seem particularly auspicious for…
The West’s Campaign against Conflict Minerals Is Doing More Harm Than Good
Apr 20, 2016
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Ben Radly
In recent years Western advocacy groups have achieved unprecedented success in mobilizing Europeans and North Americans behind a “conflict minerals” campaign to help end the…
Turning the Impending Mosul Dam Disaster into Opportunity
Apr 19, 2016
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Azzam Alwash
Iraq has seen its share of calamities in recent years, but none is as dangerous as the impending failure of the Mosul Dam. A breach…
New Documentary Inspires Collaborative Action for Peace in Congo
Apr 19, 2016
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Annie Callaway
On Thursday, April 14, a crowd gathered in Washington DC for a private screening of the new documentary, Merci Congo, hosted by the Enough Project…
Food Security and Climate Change: New Frontiers in International Security
Apr 13, 2016
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Tom Daschle and Michael Werz
In 2010, President Barack Obama’s National Security Strategy, or NSS—the periodic planning document that assesses the risks facing the country and outlines the United States’…
No Petition for Certiorari in Natl Assoc. of Manufacturers V. SEC, The Conflict Minerals Case
Apr 13, 2016
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Cydney Posne
No reason to keep checking the SCOTUS website for the SEC’s cert petition in Natl Assoc. of Manufacturers v. SEC, the conflict minerals case. According…
Myanmar Can Flourish by Sowing Seeds of Agricultural Prosperity
Apr 11, 2016
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Deirdre May Culley and Martha Baxter
On 30 March, Htin Kyaw, a long-time adviser and ally of Aung San Suu Kyi – whose National League for Democracy party achieved a historic…
Use It or Lose It: China's Grand Strategy
Apr 9, 2016
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Parag Khanna
In 2010, Canada hosted the G7 finance ministers in Nunavut, the country's frigid Arctic province that is home to a mere 30,000 Inuit people. Canada's…
Fishing Disputes Could Spark a South China Sea Crisis
Apr 7, 2016
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Keith Johnson and Dan De Luce
The simmering maritime disputes and land grabs in the South China Sea have long been seen as a battle over its potentially vast undersea deposits…
Land Grabbing Is Killing Honduras' Indigenous Peoples
Apr 5, 2016
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Andrea Reyes Blanco and Tim Shenk
In its February 21 report on the Situation of Human Rights in Honduras, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights or IACHR expressed concern about the high levels of…
How to Stabilize the Central African Republic
Apr 5, 2016
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Kasper Agger
Think the ultimate victor in the U.S. presidential race faces a tough task? The effort to unite a divided America pales in comparison to what…
Water Wars: Fishermen Again Steer China into Hot Water
Apr 1, 2016
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Chris Mirasola
Malaysia joined the ranks of countries taking issue with Chinese fishermen last Thursday, as 100 trawlers were detected within Malaysia’s claimed EEZ. On Friday, National…
What Myanmar Should Do about the Myitsone Dam
Mar 31, 2016
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Jared MacDonald
The issue of the Myitsone dam has been a thorny one. The Chinese project not only bears upon Myanmar’s foreign relations, economic development, and peace…
Susan Martin: Migration a Climate Adaptation Strategy, but Displacement More Dangerous
Mar 25, 2016
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Sean Peoples
“Migration is a risk management strategy,” says Susan Martin, the Donald G. Herzberg professor of international migration at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, in…
Water Wars: In the South China Sea, Beijing Faces Twin Threats of New U.S. Military Presence and Pushback from an Old Friend
Mar 25, 2016
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Zack Bluestone and Chris Mirasola
China suffered two major setbacks in the South China Sea this week. First, sparks flew between the PRC and its longtime ally, Indonesia, when the…
Will Peace Halt Colombia’s Coca Boom?
Mar 25, 2016
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Jim Wyss
Daniel Duarte has thick, rough hands and the burned scalp of someone who has spent more than two decades under the Andean sky tending coca…
Enhancing Women's Role in Land Management Decisions
Mar 24, 2016
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Thierry Berger
How can women's rights be strengthened when decisions are being made about large-scale agricultural investments that affect their livelihoods?
A recent IIED webinar examined how women's…
Pentagon Directive Quietly Makes Climate Change Long-Term Priority
Mar 24, 2016
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Wilson Center Staff
In the middle of January, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work signed off on one of the potentially most significant, if little-noticed, orders in recent…
Engineered Volatility in Kyrgyzstan
Mar 23, 2016
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Geopolitical Diary - Ghostwriter
Kyrgyzstan is a small yet strategically located country in Central Asia whose geopolitical significance has often outstripped its geographic size. March 23 marked the sixth…