Peace Talks

Girls attend their class at a school in Herat on May 9, 2021. A few wear face masks but many do not.

A Just Exit from Afghanistan

The US went to war to serve its own interests; it must acknowledge that those interests will only be served by an enduring peace.

May 12, 2021 Dipali Mukhopadhyay and Helen M. Kinsella

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar visits the construction site of a field hospital to house coronavirus patients in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 23, 2020.

Amid Palestinian Election Plans, Time to Challenge Hamas?

A new approach to longstanding Quartet conditions for recognizing any Palestinian government might incentivize Hamas to move away from violence.

Apr. 1, 2021 Nimrod Novik

Relatives and mourners perform funeral prayers over the coffin of one of the three female media workers shot to death in two separate attacks, in Jalalabad on March 3, 2021.

International Consensus Needed for the Taliban’s “Non-Return Through Force”

With a May 1 deadline looming for the withdrawal of the remaining U.S. troops in Afghanistan, stalled intra-Afghan “peace talks” in Doha, and a dramatic rise in violence across…

Mar. 9, 2021 Farkhondeh Akbari

Female Israeli and Palestinian members of the "Parents Circle Families Forum" association, an organisation made up of more than 600 families who have seen a family member die in the conflict, destroy a symbolic wall representing the Israeli security barrier that runs through the occupied West Bank, in Beit Jala near the biblical town of Bethlehem, on March 10, 2017.

New Aid for Israeli-Palestinian Peacebuilding Aims at Issues Underlying Security

The Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act provides an unprecedented $250 million over five years for economic and people-to-people projects.

Jan. 29, 2021 David Harary

Family members and relatives take part in the funeral procession of Afghan journalist Rahmatullah Nekzad at Khoja Omari district of Ghazni province, on December 22, 2020. The group appears to walk uphill and fills the span of the block.

Unprecedented Threats to Journalists & Civil Society Activists Are Threatening Afghanistan

Who benefits from the killing of journalists, human rights activists, and civil society members in Afghanistan? What purposes could it serve and for whom?

Jan. 29, 2021 J. Hamida Andisha

Head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee Abdulkader al-Murtada shakes hands with Head of the Yemeni government delegation Hadi Haig between ICRC Director for the Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths at the end of a week-long meeting on a Yemen prisoner exchange agreement on September 27, 2020 in Glion, western Switzerland. None of them wear face masks and they stand close to one another.

US Terrorist Designation for Houthis is Bad for Yemen Even Beyond Crippling Aid Efforts

The Trump administration’s labeling of the armed group in its dying days in office also imperils political prospects for peace.

Jan. 25, 2021 Sophie Haspeslagh

Libyan delegates, including Abdessalam Shuha, Abdallah Shibani, Hussein Mohamed Elansari, an unidentified participant and Abdel Majid Mlayqtah attend the opening of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum hosted in Gammarth on the outskirts of Tunisia's capital, on November 9, 2020. They stand side by side not socially distanced and wear face masks, though two of them do not wear the face masks properly, ie. not covering their noses.

Libya: Subnational Governance as a Potential Anchor of Stability

As the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum proceeds, a government structure that genuinely responds to legitimate grievances will be key to sustainable peace.

Dec. 2, 2020 Simona Ross and Stefan Wolff

A Russian peacekeeper gestures in the yard of the 12th-13th century Orthodox Dadivank Monastery on November 16, 2020, after the monastery was put under Russia's protection as part of the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Ceasefire Terms: A Tenuous Hope for Peace

Is the agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh sufficient to create a bridge to a lasting peace, or will its weaknesses reignite the fighting?

Nov. 27, 2020 Noah Ringler

Russian troops check their equipment in their Armoured Personnel carrier (APC) stationed in front of the 12th-13th century Orthodox Dadivank Monastery, outside the town of Kalbajar on November 15, 2020, after the monastery was put under their protection during the military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

After Russia’s Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire, Could Turkey Step Up Next for a Lasting Peace?

Despite his confrontational approach, Erdoğan has a pragmatic streak and knows he needs to adjust his politics to address the country’s international isolation.

Nov. 16, 2020 Kemal Kirişci and Behlül Özkan

A young child has their temperature taken by a medical professional using a no-touch forehead thermometer as part of a COVID-19 screening conducted at a Military Police checkpoint in central Yemen (Ta’izz Governorate) in April 2020. The child does not wear a face mask.

Could the Coronavirus Put an End to the War in Yemen?

The prospects, however difficult, may be more promising now than at any time in this grinding, five-year conflict. But it will require more US diplomacy.

May 11, 2020 Charlotte Kamin

A fighter with Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) wears a face mask while manning a checkpoint in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on April 30, 2020, during the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis.

“Corona Ceasefires”: An Opportunity for Negotiated Agreements?

The historical record shows that transforming unilateral declarations into effective and durable ceasefire and humanitarian agreements is possible, and today’s “corona ceasefires”…

May 4, 2020 Asli Ozcelik Olcay

US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell (C), the Presidents of Kosovo Hashim Thaci (L background) and Serbia Aleksandar Vucic (R background) watch the signing of an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia for railway and street projects.

US Burns Credibility in Grenell Quest for Foreign Policy Win, as Kosovo Government Falls

Amid COVID19 crisis, Special Envoy Richard Grenell's pressure on Kosovo precipitates collapse of popular and promising reformist government.

Apr. 2, 2020 Kurt Bassuener and Bodo Weber