By Junko Nozawa Civil society actors—communities, victims’ rights groups, religious, and other authorities that follow traditional customs—have long been recognized as valuable partners in violence prevention and conflict resolution efforts. Recognition for their contributions to the field of preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) and terrorism has been more muted, despite the critical role that…

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By Diala Ghneim As COVID-19 spread across the world, media outlets focused on different countries’ responses to the pandemic and the differences in the number of deaths. While larger, more powerful countries have had difficulty tackling the current crisis, developing countries have been at the forefront of COVID-19’s battle and have seen ground-breaking results. One…

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By Bethan Saunders and Courtney Bale Dunlevie During this global public health crisis, leaders have used conflict-based language to describe the COVID-19 pandemic. From President Trump’s declaration of becoming a “wartime president” to Xi Jinping’s “people’s war,” they have cast the coronavirus as a metaphorical foe to be vanquished. Rhetorical flourishes aside, this public health…

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By Timothy Motte Noted by Paul Collier in his seminal work, The Bottom Billion, being landlocked, having bad neighbors, and suffering from a poorly educated population are just some of the obstacles countries face as they develop, and Botswana faces all three. Not only is the country bordered by Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, and Namibia,…

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By Daniel E. White What was once a last millennium weapon has reemerged in the American arsenal. It is not flamethrowers expelling soldiers from the trenches of World War One, nor is it the wanton destruction brought on by Agent Orange during the conflict in Vietnam, it is the weapon that indiscriminately maims children and soldiers alike—landmines. Today, President Trump…

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By Clara Cassan By the end of the 1800s, France controlled the second-largest colonial empire in Sub-Saharan Africa. During this time, the French extracted, most often through theft, African artifacts to add to French art collections and museums for “preservation purposes.” France ultimately believed these objects would be “safer” out of African hands. Although these past colonies have progressively reclaimed…

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By Moshe Klein Shortly after an Israeli airstrike killed Abu al-Ata, a senior commander of a Gaza militant group, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, rockets began firing from Gaza into Israel. Although Israel is no stranger to rocket attacks, the most recent barrage was different because unlike previous shellings, it was not Hamas. Instead, it was the organization’s smaller, Iranian-backed, regional companion the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Raining…

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By Gina Magliocco Sexual assault is a prominent issue in the U.S. military, with distinguished members speaking out. As of May 2019, sexual assault in the U.S. military has risen 38 percent from 2016 to 2018. And despite people becoming increasingly aware of the worsening situation within the military’s ranks—being an institution that prides itself on…

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