Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Peacebuilding Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on September 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on global peace and security. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Paul Currion Consultant
As part of his series “This Age of Migration,” humanitarian commentator Paul Currion examines why more states than ever are erecting walls in reaction to migration, and the dangerous emergence of a migration-industrial complex.
Melanie Smith Director, Conservation Science for Audubon Alaska
The Colville River is one of the Arctic’s largest and longest rivers. It empties into Harrison Bay in the Beaufort Sea in a massive alluvial fan and delta plain crowded with fish, birds and marine mammals, says Audubon Alaska’s Melanie Smith.
Christine Mahoney Director, Social Entrepreneurship Department of the University of Virginia
In this fourth installment of her series on refugee advocacy, University of Virginia professor Christine Mahoney draws from her observations in Nepal, Thailand and Colombia, where corruption and lack of capacity prevent effective advocacy.
When Ji-hyun Park fled North Korea for China, she was forced into marriage, separated from her child and imprisoned in a labor camp. Today, she uses her story to raise awareness of human rights abuses back home.
Technological tools are emerging to connect women with police in India – but the country’s overworked and understaffed force might not be able to respond effectively enough, say women’s advocates.
Despite half a century of efforts to reduce population growth, India faces challenges in delivering a family-planning program that goes beyond female sterilization to help couples delay and space out their children.
When California searches for relief from the drought, and explores different solutions, from conserving water to desalination, one avenue that often gets overlooked is what’s under our feet – soil.
HIGH NORTH NEWS: As the cost of shipping fuel has dropped, operators have been less interested in taking Arctic shortcuts. Shipping traffic along Russia’s Northern Sea Route is in decline. Will it bounce back?
Christine Mahoney Director, Social Entrepreneurship Department of the University of Virginia
In this second installment of her series on refugee advocacy, University of Virginia professor Christine Mahoney argues that the Western media’s famously short-term interest in displacement crises is driven primarily by geopolitics.
Hugh Stephens Executive Fellow, the University of Calgary School of Public Policy
OPEN CANADA: Northern sea routes are opening up, but the implications are more advantageous for Canada’s relations with Asia than for shipping, says Hugh Stephens, a fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.
In the second of a two-part interview, urban water expert David Sedlak, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, talks about technologies that are helping to fuel a new revolution in urban water systems.
Without access to safe toilets, finding places to go at night puts women and girls at risk in regards to their health and personal safety. But building lavatories is expensive and unfeasible in areas without water or sewage systems. Is there a sustainable alternative?
As thousands of ethnic Kokang refugees remain stranded in China, communities have been emptied and transformed into “ghost villages” on the Myanmar-China border, according to recent updates by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF).
Five years of near-continuous violence have pushed hundreds of thousands of people to flee Syria’s largest city, but not all of Aleppo’s residents have left. As Syria’s war drags on into its sixth year, we meet some of the residents who have chosen to remain.
Following refugee families and an aid worker fighting to keep the camp running, a new film produced by two young filmmakers and backed by Daily Show star Jon Stewart allows viewers to experience what it is like to live in Zaatari, the largest camp for Syrian refugees.
Researchers and policymakers from Arctic and fishing nations aim to make science-based decisions on fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean to prevent the depletion of newly navigable international waters.
Scott L. Montgomery Lecturer, Jackson School of International Studies at University of Washington
Russia’s multi-pronged energy strategy – from oil and gas to nuclear energy – “has geopolitical and economic implications that stretch from its neighbors in Europe to developing countries around the world,” writes Scott Montgomery.
Maribeth Murray, executive director of the Arctic Institute of North America, says a Pan-Arctic Observing Network could help fill gaps in our understanding of the Arctic and lessen the environmental, social and economic impacts of rapid Arctic change.
Jan-Gunnar Winther and Gunn Sissel Jaklin Director, Norwegian Polar Institute
Arctic change could lead to economic opportunities in shipping, fishing and bioprospecting, but we must avoid making decisions and investments based on yesterday’s circumstances, argues Jan-Gunnar Winther, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute. International interest in the Arctic can contribute to solutions with global benefits.
Who is behind the smuggling of refugees from Turkey to the Greek islands? How are these potentially deadly trips planned and organized? In the second installment of an ongoing investigation into dangerous routes to safety, Syria Deeply speaks with a people smuggler in Izmir.
Cindy Wallis-Lage President, Black & Veatch’s Water Business
World Water Day provides a reminder of how vulnerable water supply is in many places across the world, including California. But an increased focus on water infrastructure resiliency can help sustain a finite water supply even as population growth and climate change add additional pressures.
While many in Myanmar celebrate the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, for the country’s 1.2 million Rohingya, dubbed one of “the world’s most persecuted people” by the U.N., the harsh realities of life continue. Taking small steps toward recognition, they hope, will pave the way for justice.
Despite low commodity prices, a multinational minerals rush is reawakening Greenland’s dormant mining industry, stoking hopes for economic independence. But how many proposals will be able to brave low prices and a lack of infrastructure?
Timo Koivurova Director, Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland
The time has come for Arctic states to try to understand the European Union and acknowledge its investments in research, development and education in the region, and its contribution to Arctic governance. It should be formally accepted as an observer to the Arctic Council.
Farmers have been resilient in the face of drought conditions for the last four years. But each year of drought becomes more difficult. We talk to Richard Howitt, professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics at U.C. Davis about what farmers are doing to weather the drought.
Klaus Dodds Professor of Geopolitics, Royal Holloway
The term “global Arctic” is bandied about by a number of people and organizations, but what does it really mean? It’s time to stop and think a little harder about the impact those words have on us – and the sort of response it might provoke from Arctic stakeholders.
John Higginbotham Senior Fellow, Carleton University
Canada’s Arctic neighbours have developed impressive new Arctic plans and investments, but there is no sign yet of what Canada’s new Liberal government will do. Arctic development should be at the heart of its climate change strategy, infrastructure investment, defence and indigenous engagement priorities.
Perry Cammack
Five years of war in Syria have left large swathes of the country in ruin. And with the peace process on the brink of collapse, an end to the war is nowhere in sight. But with a reconstruction bill that is likely to run well over $100 billion, planning for Syria’s eventual rebuilding must start now.
Many water agencies are hiking water rates in response to declining revenue after customers began conserving water. Tom Ash talked to Water Deeply about how agencies can change their rate structures to increase conservation, cover their costs and make sure that their rates are equitable.
Zach Paikin PhD Candidate, International Relations at the University of Kent
All over the world, countries with shared interests are establishing deeper levels of cooperation, integrated economies and cultural exchanges through the creation of region-specific institutions. Why not do the same for the Arctic?
Researchers around the world are exploring how GMO technology might boost food production under hot, dry conditions. They aim to reduce global water demand – and also hope this new arena of research will ease consumer anxiety about genetic engineering.
Leadership at the Arctic Council rotates among its members every two years. In April, Canada passed the chairmanship to the United States. With the new year underway, we take a look back at what the Arctic Council has accomplished since the U.S. took over the role.
Marc Lanteigne Senior Lecturer, Centre for Defence and Security Studies
China has begun to refer to itself as a near-Arctic state. It is an observer at the Arctic Council and has a number of scientific endeavors in the Arctic. Although China has growing economic interests in the region, scientific diplomacy will continue to lead its interests in the Arctic.
Arctic indigenous peoples’ groups are in Paris to attend the climate change summit and to urge negotiators to adopt an agreement that recognizes and protects their rights, as well as their culture and traditions – and to provide funding to support adaptation.
After more than a century of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, the Earth is en route to record-high temperatures. But negotiators at this week’s climate talks in Paris will try to put the planet on a different path. Here’s what you need to know about COP21 – and why it matters to the Arctic.
Rashid Sumaila Professor and Director, Fisheries Economics Research Unit, the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia
If Arctic states and big fishing nations agreed to permanently close the Arctic high seas to all commercial fishing, it could have a wide range of benefits. Arctic coastal fisheries, indigenous peoples and the ecosystem as a whole might thrive under such an arrangement, writes Rashid Sumaila.
Although Ankara and Moscow have provided conflicting accounts on what led Turkey to shoot down a Russian jet along the Turkish border Tuesday morning, Turkey-Syria expert Gokhan Bacik says one thing is clear: the Syrian crisis is transforming Turkey’s foreign policy.
President Barack Obama authorizes the first sustained deployment of U.S. Special Forces in Syria to help out “local ground forces” in their fight against the Islamic State. The announcement came as key backers of Syria’s rival sides met in Vienna to find a political solution to the conflict.
Sharif Nashashibi Cofounder and Chairman, Arab Media Watch
It’s hard to fathom, writes political analyst Sharif Nashashibi, but the situation in Syria is about to get a lot worse.
Frederic C. Hof Director, Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Whether Bashar al-Assad has a political future in Syria may depend on Iran’s next move, writes author.
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