From left: Prof. Michael Doyle, Teresa Whitfield, Edward C. Luck, and H.E. Mr. Peter Maurer
Panel Discussions - Friday, November 30, 2007
The United Nations, Groups of Friends, and the Resolution of Conflict
IPI held a book launch for Friends Indeed -- The United Nations, Groups of Friends, and the Resolution of Conflict (Washington, DC: USIP Press, 2007) by Teresa Whitfield, Director of the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum at the Social Science Research Council.
The book examines how groups of states work together to address violent conflict and broker peace. Referred to as "friends" of the UN Secretary-General, these groups have had a mixed record of success in engaging the UN and supporting peacekeeping missions. Whitfield, a former official in the UN Department of Political Affairs (1995-2000), explains why this has been the case and what can be done to remedy the situation in the future. In addition to Ms. Whitfield, panelists included H.E. Mr. Peter Maurer, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations, Michael W. Doyle, Harold Brown Professor of Law and International Affairs at Columbia University, and Dr. Edward C. Luck, IPI Vice President and Director of Studies.
The Global Observatory
Interview with John Prendergast, Co-Founder, Enough Project
Mr. Prendergast discusses the international justice system and the new ground forged by Invisible Children's Kony2012 campaign.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.