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Titi Ajayi, West Africa Fellow, talks to Gabriela Keseberg Dávalos, Senior Communications Officer, about lessons learned from the last electoral process in Liberia and what the country should do to consolidate peace and democracy.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential and legislative elections, held in late 2011, were widely condemned as illegitimate, marred by fraud and violence. Thierry Vircoulon, Crisis Group's Central Africa Project Director, discusses the country's post-election dynamics and how the political system might be repaired. 

Marko Prelec, Crisis Group's Balkans Project Director, explains how to defuse tensions between Kosovo and Serbia in advance of Serbia's general elections.

Guerrilla group FARC released its last military and police hostages this week, raising hopes that progress might be made toward a negotiated end to Colombia's half century old internal armed conflict. Javier Ciurlizza, Crisis Group's Latin America Program Director, looks at how the administration of President Santos and the international community can build a model for negotiations, peace, and transitional justice.

West-African state Guinea-Bissau, known for its chronic instability, went to the polls on Sunday 18 March 2012. Early figures from some polling stations in the capital Bissau showed former prime minister and ruling party candidate Carlos Gomes Junior far ahead. Now five candidates have called for the cancellation of the polls, due to “massive rigging”. Vincent Foucher, Crisis Group’s West Africa Senior Analyst, looks at current developments.

North Korea and the U.S. recently struck a deal in which the DPRK will cease nuclear tests in exchange for nutritional food aid. Daniel Pinkston, Crisis Group’s Deputy Project Director for North East Asia, discusses whether this represents a real opening in efforts to denuclearise North Korea.

Alan Keenan, Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst and Sri Lanka Project Director, examines how de facto military rule and various forms of government-sponsored “Sinhalisation” of the Tamil-majority region are impeding international humanitarian efforts, reigniting a sense of grievance among Tamils, and weakening chances for a real political settlement to devolve power in Sri Lanka.

When Kim Jong-il died in December 2011, he left the leadership of North Korea to his son, Kim Jong-un. While some observers predicted that the transfer of power would destabilize the regime, the transition has apparently proceeded with no major upsets. Daniel Pinkston, Crisis Group’s Deputy Project Director for North East Asia, parses the succession and what it means for regional security.

The risk of war between Iran, Israel and the US has rarely been so high. Hugh Pope, Turkey/Cyprus Project Director for the International Crisis Group, lays out a plan to defuse tensions and points to Turkey as a potential model for engaging Iran. 

Georgia is in the midst of transitioning from a presidential to a mixed parliamantary system, in which much power will lie with the office of the Prime Minister. Elections later this year will determine whether current President Mikheil Saakashvili's party, United National Movement, will retain control of government. Medea Turashvili, Caucasus analyst for the International Crisis Group, discusses what implications this might have on Georgia's domestic and foreign policy.