The 'Ulaanbaatar Process: A Civil Society Approach to Building Peace in Northeast Asia' is a unique civil society dialogue for peace and stability in Northeast Asia, coordinated by the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Peace Boat, and Blue Banner. The process promotes effective regional Track 2 dialogue, and is the only standing platform […]

2022 has been a year of perpetual crisis in relations between Kosovo and Serbia, culminating in barricades and mass resignations by Kosovo Serbs in the north from Kosovo institutions. Whilst the EU and US believe there is an important window of opportunity to finalise an agreement on the normalisation of relations, recent tensions have undermined […]

Security discourses have traditionally been linked to the defence of the integrity and political stability of states. However, in recent decades, critical approaches have located the roots of insecurity in other issues – the unequal distribution of resources, discrimination based on sex or race, climate change, etc. Moreover, the traditional understandings of the discipline are […]

Malgré un engagement soutenu et des investissements importants de la part des partenaires internationaux et des États de la région, la situation au Sahel n'a cessé de se détériorer. La flambée des budgets pour les dépenses de sécurité n'a pas entraîné de sécurité ou de protection accrues pour les populations, tandis que des institutions faibles […]

Current interim leader of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, swept to power following the country’s second coup d’état within the space of eight months in September 2022. Since assuming the role of transition leader, Traoré has made addressing the deteriorating security situation in the country his principal priority. According to numerous reports, the Burkinabè government struggles to control up […]

For years, the peacebuilding, humanitarian and development sectors have grappled with how to decolonise attitudes and approaches across our work. Although there has been significant discussion and greater acknowledgement of the structural racism underpinning the sectors, it hasn’t been easy for all to identify what practical steps to take. Peace Direct has recently released a new […]

Foreign aid, be it humanitarian, peacebuilding or development support, frequently brings with it a range of unintended consequences. In his new book, ‘Foreign Aid and its Unintended Consequences’ Prof. Dirk-Jan Koch brings together his teams’ research and his personal experiences with the side effects of foreign aid. The book, which is aimed at development practitioners, […]

Illicit economies in opium and cocaine are generally regarded only as criminological problems to be solved mainly by law enforcement – which may be why sustainable solutions remain elusive. In his new book ‘Rethinking Illicit Economies in Opium and Cocaine: Policy Responses to Drug Crops in the Global South’, Dr Eric D. U. Gutierrez opens […]

Futures thinking and foresight refer to an ecosystem of approaches, methods, tools, practices, and processes aimed at creating a space to imagine the factors and forces shaping the future. In peacemaking praxis, these methodologies can enable participatory analysis of key issues and beliefs among conflict stakeholders, as well as the joint creation of alternative futures. The envisioned futures function as shared and […]

Date: Tuesday 7 May Time: 15:00 - 16:00 CEST / Brussels time Platform: Zoom In October 2023, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC), through its Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation program (GIJTR), launched its State of Truth in the World Report (SoTR) - the first report of its kind, written largely by civil society experts from 18 countries with […]