THEMATIC ISSUES

Drawing upon regional programs in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Crisis Group on occasion has undertaken and published original research on general issues related to preventing or containing deadly conflict, cutting across Crisis Group’s individual field-based projects.

Reports published from time to time under the “Issues” heading draw on lessons from Crisis Group’s in-country experience in crisis zones around the world as well as existing studies by research institutions and think tanks. In addition, Crisis Group necessarily covers many thematic issues in its regular regional reporting. The pages linked below collect relevant reporting by issue and highlight additional resources.

Islamism, Violence and Reform

Drawing on experts in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central, South and South East Asia, Crisis Group’s reports frequently deal with the role of Islamist movements in Muslim societies and the relationship between Islamism, violent conflict and pressure for reform. The emergence of al-Qaeda as a defining terrorist threat has tended to cloud the origins, trajectories, variety and complexity of Islamism. Far from being homogenous, Islamism (which may be loosely defined as Islam in political rather than religious mode) is the subject of internal debate in the Muslim world and takes a variety of different forms with a variety of different agendas. Crisis Group’s reports assess both the differences and similarities, putting the current high visibility of Islamism into political, social and historical context.

Energy Issues

Energy issues are among the root causes of both civil and interstate conflict. As part of its regular research and reporting on conflict around the world, Crisis Group examines how competition over energy resources and the distribution of revenues affects both regional and global security and recommends ways to manage those risks.

The Responsibility to Protect

In its efforts to help prevent conflict worldwide, Crisis Group has consistently drawn upon the doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which holds that sovereign states, and the international community as a whole, have a responsibility to protect civilians from mass atrocity crimes. Crisis Group President Gareth Evans served as co-chair of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty that first fully articulated the R2P concept in 2001.

Peace and justice

Peace and justice are both of fundamental importance when it comes to ending conflicts. But reconciling them in the context of a peace process can present significant challenges. Peace negotiations often bring together parties that have committed atrocity crimes and are eager to absolve themselves of responsibility. Those parties also often have the ability to perpetuate the conflict and commit further crimes. Yet justice issues, and the demands of the local and international communities, cannot be ignored, particularly because holding past perpetrators to account is vital to deterring future atrocities. Crisis Group regularly analyses tensions between peace and justice in its reporting and advocacy.

Gender and Conflict

When social order and rule of law break down, it is women who suffer most. They are often subjected to gender-based violence; they become the single heads of households; and they are displaced and forced to travel to camps for refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs). But women are far more than victims: they are often the key to preventing violence from emerging, resolving ongoing conflict, and rebuilding societies once the guns go silent. Crisis Group aims to incorporate gender-based concerns into its reporting, addressing women’s rights and security needs, and issues such as women’s roles in peace negotiations and in the power structure in general.

Climate Change and Conflict

The consequences of climate change could be disastrous, particularly for developing societies. In the coming decades, environmental changes are expected to contribute to significant shortages of food, water and productive land. Such conditions, combined with others, may sharply increase the risk of deadly conflict. Yet the relationship between climate change and conflict is complex, and violence is far from inevitable. Effective management of increasing environmental and resource pressures is essential. Crisis Group has prepared a brief overview of this important issue and collected relevant resources.

Democratisation

The transition to a representative, democratic political system is an important aspect of both conflict prevention and post-conflict peace building.  Many of Crisis Group’s reports and briefing papers consider various aspects of democratisation. This page brings together our most useful resources on this topic.

The European Union and its crisis response capability

In two papers (June 2001) on the EU’s crisis response capability, Crisis Group provided a snapshot of the rapidly changing EU institutions and processes responsible for conflict prevention and management, and examined the specific role in this area played by the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO).

A subsequent (April 2002) short briefing paper provided an update on developments in EU foreign policy and related structures. The paper paid special attention on the EU’s response to the threat of terrorism in a post-11 September context and the evolution of the EU’s military and civilian crisis management capacities.

In a 2005 paper Crisis Group reviewed and evaluated the EU’s crisis response capabilities and its foreign policy structures, including a brief review of some recent EU operations.

HIV/AIDS as a security issue

In advance of the UN General Assembly Special Session on AIDS on 25 June 2001, Crisis Group published a special report on AIDS as a security issue. The paper argues that, in addition to the many public health reasons for greater international action, AIDS constitutes a threat to security - internally, nationally and internationally. HIV/AIDS affects the personal security of individuals, undercuts family and national economies, weakens police and military forces and increasingly raises international security questions.