South Sudan’s Stalled Path to Peace

In early May, South Sudan’s ruling and opposition parties agreed to extend the pre-transitional period of the South Sudan peace agreement leading to the formation of a unified Government for an additional six months. The extension of this period presents an opportunity to reflect on the progress and challenges to establishing a just peace in the country. South Sudanese citizens are desperate for peace, but many are asking what channels exist to support a meaningful reduction of violence. Between January and March alone, 25,000 people fled the country, adding to the already two million South Sudanese refugees worldwide. Without full implementation of the peace process, national- and local-level conflicts will continue to threaten hard-won development gains and require greater investments in lifesaving humanitarian aid.

This live-streamed discussion examined South Sudan’s peace agreement and the measures required to build peace in the young nation. Experts from USIP, the Enough Project, and Democracy International offered concrete, evidence-based recommendations for how to mitigate conflict, promote peace and advance accountability. Take part in the conversation on Twitter with #USIPSouthSudan. 

Speakers

David Acuoth
Founder, Council on South Sudanese-American Relations

Brian Adeba 
Deputy Director of Policy, Enough Project
@kalamashaka

Mark Ferullo
Senior Advisor, The Sentry

Morgan Simpson
Deputy Director of Programs, Democracy International
@democracyintl

Susan Stigant 
Director of Africa Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace 
@SusanStigant

Third Annual U.S. Georgia Strategic Partnership Conference

The United States Institute of Peace, Embassy of Georgia, and the Heritage Foundation conducted the third annual U.S.-Georgia strategic partnership conference. The conference offered look at how the United States and Georgia can further strengthen the ties between the two nations. It also provided a unique chance for U.S. decision-makers, experts, scholars, and journalists to focus on geopolitical regional trends and challenges, and explore bilateral opportunities from both the regional and international perspective.

Speakers: 

Welcoming Remarks, Ms. Nancy Lindborg, President, United States Institute of Peace

Keynote Address, The Honorable Mamuka Bakhtadze, Prime Minister of Georgia

Session 1: Geopolitics and Security: Ensuring Regional Peace and Stability

H.E. David Zalkaliani
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

Mr. Michael J. Murphy
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian AffairsDr.

James Jay CarafanoVice President, Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy and the E.W. Richardson Fellow, The Heritage Foundation

Mr. Peter Doran, moderator
President and CEO, Center for European Policy Analysis

Session 2: Trade and Commerce: Regional Hub for Growth

Mr. Alexander Benard
Co-Head of Cerberus Frontier and Senior Managing Director, Cerberus (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Ms. Cynthia Huger
Vice President, Administration and Finance and Agency Head, The Millennium Challenge Corporation

H.E. Natia Turnava
Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

Mr. Anthony Kim, moderator
Research Manager and Editor of the Index of Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation

After India’s Vote - Prospects for Improved Ties with Pakistan

India’s just-completed parliamentary elections pose new questions: How will the next government in New Delhi engage Pakistan, and how might Islamabad respond? To share assessments of the likely trajectory of India-Pakistan relations following India’s election and the necessary steps to improve ties, USIP hosted a panel including two USIP senior fellows leading the Institute’s research on the best current options for reducing and resolving the 70-year-old India-Pakistan conflict.

Participants:
Ambassador Jalil Jilani
Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace
Former Pakistani Ambassador to the United States

Tara Kartha
Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace
Former Director of Indian National Security Council Secretariat

Josh White
Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Johnny Walsh, moderator
Senior Program Officer, Afghanistan, U.S. Institute of Peace

#CyberspaceIRL - Rule of Law Approaches to Virtual Threats

A $600 billion black market, cybercrime has transformed the digital world into a sophisticated platform to steal and profit from personal data, undermine civil rights, manipulate elections, disseminate anti-democratic propaganda, and steal intelligence. Yet, cyberspaces remain largely unregulated.

The U.S. Institute of Peace and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative brouht together representatives from academia, national security, and the private and public sectors, to identify rule of law strategies to more effectively address this ever-changing landscape.

Welcome and Introductions:

David Yang
Vice President, Applied Conflict Transformation, U.S. Institute of Peace

Alberto Mora
Director, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative

Judge Margaret McKeown
Board Chair, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative

Keynote: “Setting the Stage for the Clash of Norms in Cyberspace”

Sujit Raman
Associate Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice

Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue - Diplomacy and Development in a Complex Global Landscape

America’s capacity to manage global challenges and advance its interests—amid pandemics, record levels of displacement, terrorism emanating from fragile states and a connected global economy—requires effective use of U.S. national security tools. To meet the challenges posed by the growing influence of China and Russia, U.S. diplomatic and development efforts must evolve and adapt to a complex 21st Century world while ensuring the effectiveness of resources and methods.

Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, will discuss how U.S. diplomacy and development are working to achieve America’s goals and adapt to the changing global landscape at USIP’s eighth Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue. 

Speakers:
Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA)
U.S. Representative from California

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY)
U.S. Representative from New York

Nancy Lindborg, moderator
President, U.S. Institute of Peace

China’s Role in North Korea Nuclear and Peace Negotiations

Despite high hopes after the first summit in Singapore, U.S.-North Korea negotiations remain deadlocked after a failed second summit in Hanoi. China, as North Korea’s largest neighbor and main trade partner, has played an important role in previous negotiations and should be encouraged to play a constructive role in moving talks forward. The United States hopes Beijing’s economic and diplomatic leverage with North Korea can help bring Pyongyang back to the negotiation table.

USIP’s China-North Korea Senior Study Group convened over several months to consider how Washington can best engage Beijing to advance progress on denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Speakers:
Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy
Founding Director Emeritus, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States
Former U.S. Ambassador to China
Co-chair, USIP China-North Korea Senior Study Group

Ambassador Joseph Yun
Senior Advisor, USIP
Former U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy
Co-chair, USIP China-North Korea Senior Study Group

Daniel Russel
Vice President, International Security and Diplomacy, Asia Society Policy Institute
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Member, USIP China-North Korea Senior Study Group

Ambassador Kathleen Stephens
President, Korea Economic Institute of America
Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea
Member, USIP China-North Korea Senior Study Group

Jennifer Staats
Director, East and Southeast Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace
Executive Director, USIP China Senior Study Group Series

After Doha, What’s Next for Afghan Peace Talks?

A peace process to end the 18-year war has gathered steam, with talks between the U.S. and Taliban appearing to make substantial progress on foreign troop presence and counterterrorism. Negotiations among Afghans on the country’s political future have not begun, however, and last week’s conference in Doha that might have launched these discussions collapsed at the last minute.

During this moment of rapid developments, rare opportunity, and considerable uncertainty, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a distinguished panel of experts examine what’s next for the Afghan peace process.

Speakers:
Scott Worden, welcoming remarks
Director, Afghanistan and Central Asia Program, U.S. Institute of Peace

Belquis Ahmadi
Senior Program Officer, U.S. Institute of Peace

Jarrett Blanc
Senior Fellow, Geoeconomics and Strategy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Lotfullah Najafizada
Director, TOLOnews TV

Scott Smith
Technical Advisor, Afghanistan, U.S Institute of Peace

Johnny Walsh, moderator
Senior Expert, Afghanistan, U.S. Institute of Peace

Instability and Opportunity in North Africa

Across North Africa, instability is at its highest level since 2011. In Algeria, President Bouteflika’s resignation was a necessary step to democratization, but it remains to be seen if the political structure can survive protesters’ demands for reform and ensure a peaceful transition of power.

On May 1, USIP hosted a conversation with the Tunisian Minister of Defense Abdelkrim Zbidi, where he discussed the dynamics of North Africa and how the U.S. and Tunisia are working together to promote regional security.

Speakers:
Abdelkrim Zbidi
Minister of Defense, Republic of Tunisia

Thomas Hill
Senior Program Officer, North Africa, U.S. Institute of Peace

Michael Yaffe
Vice President, Middle East and Africa, U.S. Institute of Peace

China’s Belt and Road Initiative at Year Six

China will host its second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on April 26-27, two years after hosting its inaugural forum that was attended by dozens of world leaders and put a spotlight on Beijing’s massive signature initiative and its global leadership ambitions.

This conference features two panels: The first discusses cross-regional trends and concerns about BRI, alternatives to the Chinese model of investment and development, and strategies for increasing the sustainability of international development efforts. The second panel examines the on-the-ground impact of BRI in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa and implications for conflict dynamics in these regions.

Panel 1: Toward High-Quality Projects: Comparing BRI’s Implementation to Global Standards

Samantha Custer
Director of Policy Analysis, AidData

Scott Morris
Senior Fellow and Director of the U.S. Development Policy Initiative, Center for Global Development

Pauline Muchina
Public Education and Advocacy Coordinator, Africa Region, American Friends Service Committee

Fei Yu
Deputy Representative, North American Representative Office of the Asian Development Bank

Patricia Kim, moderator
Senior Policy Analyst, China Program, U.S. Institute of Peace

 Panel 2: BRI’s Impact on Local and Regional Dynamics: Force for Stability or Driver of Conflict?

Brian Harding
Deputy Director and Fellow, Southeast Asia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee
Lead Researcher, Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar

Paul Nantulya
Research Associate, Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Andrew Small
Senior Transatlantic Fellow, Asia Program, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Jacob Stokes, moderator
Senior Policy Analyst, China Program, U.S. Institute of Peace

A New Approach to Preventing Extremism in Fragile States - International Prevention Efforts

Congress charged the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent, bipartisan leader in reducing and preventing conflict, with convening The Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States. The Task Force has developed a proposal for a new cost-effective, evidence-based, and coordinated preventive approach. Modest U.S. investments—if they are strategic, coordinated, well-timed, and sustained—can empower communities over time to better resist extremism on their own and motivate international donors to support this cause.

Panelists:

Ambassador Diane Corner
Counsellor of Foreign and Security Policy, British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Ambassador Martin Dahinden
Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States of America

Habib Mayar
Deputy General Secretary of the g7+

Ulrika Modéer
UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy

Sam Worthington
President and CEO, InterAction

Raj Kumar, moderator
Founding President and Editor-in-Chief, Devex