Blogs & Opinions

Conflict Brews over the Nile

Jul 24, 2021 | Deepak Vohra

Sudan and Egypt are extremely wary of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam which, they believe, will limit their access to the life-giving waters of the…

Women, Peace, and Security: Moving Implementation Forward

Jul 23, 2021 | War on the Rocks

What will it take for the key national security agencies in Washington to prioritize the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) framework, rather than just pay…

Women, Peace, and Security: Moving Implementation Forward

Jul 23, 2021 | Joan Johnson-Freese

What will it take for the key national security agencies in Washington to prioritize the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) framework, rather than just pay…

The UK Has Been Linked to Congo’s ‘Conflict Minerals’ – Where Are the Criminal Charges?

Jul 21, 2021 | Vava Tampa

According to the Swiss federal criminal court last week, the corruption destroying the Democratic Republic of the Congo – where devastating conflicts over minerals used…

Reconciliation through Ecological Collaboration

Jul 14, 2021 | William F. Laurance

Last fall, Azerbaijan and Armenia fought the Nagorno-Karabakh war, which claimed several thousand lives in an escalation of a long-running territorial conflict between the two…

Explaining the Kyrgyz-Tajik Border Clash: Hypotheses in Search of Corroboration

Jul 14, 2021 | Richard Weitz

In late April 2021, fighting broke out along the frontier between Kyrgyzstan’s Batken province and Tajikistan’s Sughd province. The immediate dispute arose over management of…

At the UN, Climate Change & Security Must Be Tackled Together

Jul 13, 2021 | Beatrice Mosello and Adam Day

Could the next wars be triggered by climate change?

Until recently, the question might have seemed like science fiction, but now it is very real. Ethiopia…

Taking Action to Address Wildlife Crime’s Environmental, Health, and Security Risks

Jul 12, 2021 | Alice Chang

“This COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us, albeit in a devastating way, of the interconnected nature of things, most particularly between economies, the environment, human and…

The Climate Crisis Is Driving Global Conflict – Cop26 Is a Chance for Leaders to Rethink Security Threats

Jul 7, 2021 | Peter Laederach

It’s now established that one of the triggers of the Syrian conflict is related to the scarcity of natural resources, primarily pastoral land. New research…

The Irrefutable Link Between Climate Change and Conflict

Jul 7, 2021 | Global Risk Insights

The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Index measures a country’s climate change vulnerability against its capacity for resilience. War-torn states like Yemen, Mali, the Central…

One of Libya’s Power and Desalination Plants Keeps Leaking Oil into the Sea

Jul 7, 2021 | Eoghan Darbyshire

Following recent reports of coastal oil spills near the city of Derna in eastern Libya, Eoghan Darbyshire identifies the timeline and scale of the spills,…

At the Nexus of Participation and Protection: Risks and Barriers to Women’s Participation in Northern Ireland

Jun 28, 2021 | Aisling Swaine and Catherine Turner

Of its four pillars, participation and protection arguably predominate the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.  Growing gaps in women’s leadership across all spheres, exacerbated by…

Local Environmental Governance to Reduce Conflict and Deforestation in Afghanistan

Jun 28, 2021 | Mishkat Al Moumin and Anna Kasradze

How should the international community support the stabilization of Afghanistan after U.S. and NATO troops withdraw? Answers from President Biden, high ranking U.S. administration officials,…

The National Security Risks of the US Drought

Jun 26, 2021 | Erin Sikorsky

Each new report about this year’s western drought reveals another record-breaking development: Hoover Dam’s Lake Mead is at its lowest level ever. More acres have already…

Cultivating Cronyism: The Collapse of Agriculture in Post-War Iraq and Syria

Jun 24, 2021 | Chloé Bernadaux

Historically, Iraq enjoyed some of the world’s most productive soils. Agriculture represented more than 18 percent of the country’s economic output in 1995, but over the last…

Opinion: Perilous Future for Myanmar’s Pristine Forests after Coup

Jun 21, 2021 | Faith Doherty

On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s armed forces launched a coup d’état. The country’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested, along with senior members…

Peace Agreements with a Gender Perspective Are Still an Exception, Not the Rule

Jun 18, 2021 | Laura Wise

At the Political Settlements Research Programme, we track the frequency and detail of how peace agreements include references to women, girls and gender, and our…

Climate Security and the US-Russia Summit

Jun 18, 2021 | Steve Brock and Roger Ullman

When Presidents Biden and Putin meet today on the shores of Lake Geneva they won’t be short of contentious topics to discuss. With the bilateral…

Myanmar Junta Sells Resources to Neighbors in Exchange for ‘Legitimacy’

Jun 15, 2021 | Lin Htet Myat

The Myanmar military (also known as the Tatmadaw), since staging a coup on Feb. 1 against the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government, has…

How Does War Contribute to Climate Change?

Jun 14, 2021 | Eoghan Darbyshire and Doug Weir

Armed conflicts often halt or reverse economic development. Because of this, it is generally assumed that they lead to reductions in the emissions that contribute…

Stronger Together

Jun 14, 2021 | Hannah Elisabeth Kurnoth, Beatrice Mosello, and Janna Greve

What can climate security learn from the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda? The two agendas share the need for urgent, context-specific, interdisciplinary responses, suggesting…

Sustaining a Climate for Peace

Jun 14, 2021 | Wilson Center

After years of derision under the Trump administration, NATO members are no doubt looking forward to the summit today as a harbinger of closer and…

From Rhetoric to Response: Addressing Climate Security with International Development

Jun 14, 2021 | Daniel Abrahams

Over the past decade, our understanding of how climate change affects conflict and security has advanced considerably. Yet, how to best address the overlapping challenges of climate…

Territorial Disputes in Central Asia on the Threshold of the 30th Anniversary of Independence

Jun 14, 2021 | Ermek Baisalov

The latest armed conflict on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan was the bloodiest military clash in the region over the past 20 years. It…

Post-Covid-19, Women and the Green Economy

Jun 12, 2021 | Lalita Panicker

As we build back after Covid-19, the challenge of the climate crisis and its ecological, economic and social impact must be prioritised. There have been…

What’s at Stake for Women, Peace and Security Agenda?

Jun 12, 2021

On March 8, during the commemoration of International Women’s Day, the President launched the third National Plan (NAP) on the United Nations Security Council Resolution…

Gaza War Won’t Derail Arab-Jewish Cooperation in Israel’s Arava Valley

Jun 11, 2021 | Larry Luxner

At a remote desert outpost in Israel’s Arava Valley—far from the Hamas missiles and mob violence that shook this country last month—Jews and Arabs are…

If Not Us, Who? How States – With the Help of Civil Society – Can Implement the Legal Framework Protecting the Environment from Armed Conflict

Jun 10, 2021 | Doug Weir and Stavros-Evdokimos Pantazopoulos

The International Law Commission’s long-running project to codify and progressively develop the legal framework protecting the environment in relation to armed conflicts is nearing completion. But…

Peace Is Bad for the Environment

Jun 10, 2021 | Hank Campbell

In 2016, after over a half century of fighting, the communist group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) gave up. The revolutionaries had hidden in…

The Intertwined Futures of Climate Action, Fragility and Peacebuilding

Jun 9, 2021 | Anthony Navone

Crises are often described narrowly; clearly differentiated by the aspect of society they impact, such as the economy or national security. But the COVID pandemic…