Blogs & Opinions

New Security Beat Finds a New Home

Jul 8, 2025 | Lauren Herzer Risi

In the wake of last week’s devastating floods in Central Texas, and with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on the horizon, new data underscores…

Extreme Weather and War: How Climate Change Fuels Global Tensions

Jul 5, 2025 | Shah Fahad

When we think of climate change, melting glaciers and rising sea levels may come to mind. But climate change does more than just affect the…

Lesotho Highlands Water Project: Centre Local Voices in the Climate Change, Conflict and Peacebuilding Nexus

Jul 5, 2025 | Kgomotso Komane

The rise of conflicts in societies has been attributed to a multitude of factors ranging from political, socio-economic grievances to ethnic and religious hostilities. Poverty,…

Minerals for Peace? How to Make the Rwanda-DRC Deal Stick.

Jul 4, 2025 | Lewis Mudge

A US-brokered peace deal, signed on June 27 between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, will link economic integration and respect for territorial…

Legal Pluralism in Practice: Colombia’s New Framework for Indigenous Territorial Self-Government

Jul 3, 2025 | Marzia Genovese

In May 2025, the Colombian government took a historic step toward realising a long-delayed constitutional promise: by means of a decree, it recognised the right…

Who’s Blowing up Oil Tankers That Carried Russian Oil?

Jun 30, 2025 | Jim Geraghty

Limpet mines are explosives placed on the side of ships, usually attached with magnets. At least four, and perhaps five oil tankers getting damaged by…

Red Lines of the Indus

Jun 27, 2025 | Alexander Limansky

India’s decision to impose a water blockade on Pakistan threatens to destabilise the region once again. What are the reasons behind this latest hostile move…

Could Trump's Congo-Rwanda Mineral Deals Actually Save Lives?

Jun 27, 2025 | Dan M. Ford and Kenya Sanchez

There may be a light at the end of the tunnel as representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are hoping to end…

Critical Minerals, Fragile Peace: The DRC-Rwanda Deal and the Cost of Ignoring Root Causes

Jun 27, 2025 | Mvemba Phezo Dizolele

On Friday, June 27, in Washington, DC, the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda are set to sign the…

Experts React: The DRC and Rwanda Agreed to a US-backed Peace Deal. Can Critical Minerals Help End This Conflict?

Jun 27, 2025 | Atlantic Council

On Friday, the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a US-brokered peace deal aimed at ending a brutal…

Chocolate Hope: A Mission to Develop Sustainable Agriculture in Colombia

Jun 27, 2025 | Diana Drake

Olivia Ospina-Lerner is working with farmers to improve cacao production in La Argentina, a small, isolated community, and to provide infrastructure, fertilizer, and education. She…

DRC’s Peace Deal with Rwanda Risks Swapping War for Resource Exploitation

Jun 26, 2025 | Lindani Zungu

The United States-mediated peace agreement to be signed between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda on June 27 – a development ostensibly…

Building a Climate-Resilient Viet Nam: Strengthening Women’s Role in Agriculture and Leadership

Jun 20, 2025 | Caroline Nyamayemombe and ITO Naoki
UN Women

As one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, Viet Nam is facing an escalating climate crisis. Rising sea levels and increasingly severe disasters…

Powering the Future: Striking Deals to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains

Jun 19, 2025 | Joseph Boudreau

Despite an administration change at the beginning of the year, key US defense priorities have remained the same. Among these priorities is the revitalization of…

Suspending the Indus Waters Treaty: What It Means and Why It Matters

Jun 18, 2025 | Jiedine I.A. Phanbuh

On April 23, 2025, India announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following an attack that killed more than 20 tourists in Indian-administered…

Governance Failure: The Root of Nigeria’s Farmer-Herder Crisis

Jun 16, 2025 | Thomas Samuel

The failure to address systemic issues, such as outdated land-use policies like the 1978 Land Use Act, exacerbates tensions by fostering ambiguous land tenure systems…

Will the Surge in Renewable Energy Spark a New Era of Global Conflict?

Jun 13, 2025 | Syed Raiyan Amir

While promising a cleaner future, the shift to green energy is also generating new sources of competition and conflict, from critical mineral rivalries and infrastructure…

Liberia: Rethinking Capital Growth in Liberia: A Path Toward Equitable Resource Distribution

Jun 13, 2025 | Austin S. Fallah

Liberia, a nation rich in natural resources, stands at a pivotal crossroads as it approaches the mid-21st century. Harnessing these resources for sustainable internal growth…

A Governance Framework for Africa’s Critical Minerals

Jun 13, 2025 | Clarence Tshitereke

There is a need for a governance framework to regulate Africa’s trade in critical minerals through a standard register of reporting — particularly regarding exports.…

Water, War, and Peace: The Indus Treaty Crisis and the Quest for Sustainable Solutions in South Asia

Jun 12, 2025 | Rao Farman Ali

The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by India has transformed water from a shared resource into a weapon in the Kashmir conflict, creating existential…

Climate Security: Key to Lasting Stability in the Sahel

Jun 12, 2025 | Jad Zammarieh

Climate. Peace. Security. Three words which, in the Sahel, no longer belong to separate fields of action. They are superimposed and intertwined, redrawing the lines…

Harnessing NIC Surveillance for Better Climate Security Outcomes

Jun 10, 2025 | Isabelle Bond

Australia’s National Intelligence Community could substantially enhance Australia’s climate security response. It could do so by applying its surveillance resources to the task.

Sushi Wars: Maritime Food Security, Criminal Networks and Geopolitical Risk

Jun 10, 2025 | Masaaki Yoshimori

Global fisheries, particularly the sushi supply chain, are entangled with rising geopolitical tensions, climate change and transnational crime. China’s use of distant-water fishing fleets as…

Rivers as the New Frontlines of Geopolitics

Jun 8, 2025 | Samirul Ariff Othman

We are used to thinking of power grids, trade routes, and semiconductor fabs as the terrain of 21st-century power competition. But now add rivers—yes, rivers—to…

Key Changes to the DRC Mining Code: A New Era for Investors and National Development

Jun 6, 2025 | Amani Cibambo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), home to some of the world’s richest deposits of cobalt, copper, and other critical minerals, enacted major revisions to…

Minerals for Recognition: The Taliban’s Shadow Diplomacy

Jun 6, 2025 | Islomkhon Gafarov

Since the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan’s mineral and extractive industries have assumed growing strategic importance in the broader context of sustaining the country’s fragile…

Securing Women’s Land Rights: A Pathway to Food Security

Jun 5, 2025 | Sunaina Kumar
Observer Research Foundation

Despite playing a central role in food systems, women lack secure land rights in more than half of all countries, posing serious implications for food…

Sierra Leone Charts a New Diamond Story

Jun 5, 2025 | Jill Newman

Sierra Leone is historically rich in diamond deposits. They are found largely in alluvial mines, where miners sift through layers of mud and gravel for…

Protecting the Environment Is Protecting Civilians, Key Take-aways

Jun 2, 2025 | PAX

In conflict zones across the globe, civilians continue to suffer the devastating environmental consequences of armed conflicts, which directly and indirectly affect their health, safety,…

Give Peace a Chance? Why Sustainability Requires More Than Stability

Jun 2, 2025 | Richard Marcantonio

Conflict and environmental risks are both on the rise around the world, and they’re often connected in complex ways. In the past five years, the…