Blog

By Madison Beltz COVID-19 has had a considerable impact on every economy in the world, but for many women in Latin America, personal security has been the price. The Latin American and Caribbean regions have the highest levels of income inequality in the world, with wide gaps in living standards across regions, countries, and socioeconomic […]

By: Dr. Eleanor Gordon, Ciara McHugh, Jane Townsley Building Inclusive and Responsive Security Sector Institutions Given that effective security and justice sector institutions are fundamental to sustainable peace, Security Sector Reform (SSR) – the reform or (re)construction of security and justice sector institutions – remains central to peacebuilding endeavors. A central principle of SSR is […]

By Maeve Murphy In May 2020 I met with Dr. Yolande Bouka, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University in Canada, to discuss several issues regarding academia and race, the relationship between white supremacy and IR, and her solutions for creating a more egalitarian, holistic discipline. As a scholar-practitioner, her […]

By Susan McLoughlin and Rachel Sedehi Under the Trump administration, equal rights to health care are diminishing. Two recent Supreme Court decisions show why this is not surprising. The 2012 Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that all employers provide birth control coverage for their workers.[1] Previously, only faith-based organizations were eligible to be excused from this. […]

By Dr. Katelyn Jones, Women, Peace and Security Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs & Nicole Mattea, Women, Peace and Security Intern, Chicago Council on Global Affairs COVID-19 has sent most of the world into isolation, causing unemployment rates to skyrocket and the global economy to reach unprecedented lows. With over 9 million cases worldwide […]

By Sanaa Alvira, WIIS Member On the first anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s death in August 2019, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid homage to the former Prime Minister in Pokhran, the site of India’s first nuclear detonation. Addressing the media, and subsequently reiterating his statements in a tweet, Singh said, “…India has strictly adhered to […]

By Roxana Allen Although envisioned by many philosophers in the 18th and 19th century, only after the carnage of World War I did diplomats begin to create the structures of a united Europe. These first proposals on European unity, like those after them, were challenged by the idea of national sovereignty. In the interwar period, […]

WIIS Global’s March book club read, Half the Sky, is a nonfiction book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn regarding what they call “a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.” It touches on a variety of issues including education […]

By Susan McLoughlin, Program Assistant, WIIS Global Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault and Violence  After gaining vast amounts of national and global attention, Delhi’s “Nirbhaya” gang rape case became a pivotal turning point for India’s feminist movement. In the time since this case, India’s government has taken important steps to advance laws and policies regarding violence […]

By Hannah Proctor, Research Fellow, WIIS Global March is Women’s History Month and the month of the International Day of the Woman (March 8). It’s an important month to celebrate the often-forgotten contributions of women to society throughout history. This month is also replete with many empty promises and slogans, including those calling for the empowerment […]

By Scott Weiner, Policy Analyst, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Saudi Arabia’s approach to women’s rights prioritizes form over function. The changes it has implemented are not insignificant, but they fail to address a legal system premised on the treatment of women as second-class citizens. That system of religious guardianship treats women as legal […]

By Kelsey Brennan, Rachel McGrath, and Jessica Sprouse  WIIS Members, Co-Founders of WIIS-Pitt November 5, 2019 International security does not just happen in Washington or New York. It is happening right here in Pittsburgh. Issues such as refugee resettlement, cybersecurity, terrorism, and human trafficking directly impact our community. Drawing on the University of Pittsburgh’s emphasis […]

WIIS member Jean Schindler interviewed Dr. Catherine Lena Kelly about her recent book, Party Proliferation and Political Contestation in Africa: Senegal in Comparative Perspective. The book explores components of democratization and party competition in West Africa with a focus on Senegal – a country with one of the longest histories of multiparty elections in sub-Saharan […]

By Dr. Swadesh M Rana, WIIS Member* Reliable data is still missing on how many more women may have become game changers if their lives were not cut short as collateral damage or indirect casualties of the post World War Two armed conflicts across the globe. Fought largely by men, the nature of these conflicts […]

By Hannah Proctor, Research Fellow, WIIS Global September 9, 2019 The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda was created with the intention of acknowledging and counteracting the disproportionate effects of conflict on women and girls. This has resulted in an emphasis on the need to protect women and girls from suffering those effects, especially those of […]

By Hannah Proctor, Research Fellow, WIIS Global August 29, 2019 Throughout 2019, conservative states in the U.S. have been adopting increasingly restrictive abortion laws in an effort to undermine, and eventually abolish, the Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed the right to abortion based on the right to privacy. These laws and the mindsets that […]

By Sarah Kenny, Senior Program Assistant, WIIS Global August 1, 2019   During the summer of 2017, violent activists associated with the “Proud Boys” twice terrorized the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. This organization’s second visit to my college town took place in conjunction with neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and far-right activists from across the United States […]

The WIIS Global team — Kayla McGill and Zi Xue — were thrilled to meet and interview Dr. Angela Stent, a long-standing member and supporter of WIIS. Dr. Stent is the Director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Her 2019 book, […]

Written by: Hannah Lynch, Kayla McGill, Hannah Proctor The United States Strategy on Women, Peace and Security (the Strategy) was released in June 2019 to replace the 2016 US National Action Plan (NAP) and is the mandated outcome of the 2017 Women, Peace and Security Act. The Strategy details four “Lines of Effort” outlining the […]

Author of The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism The early twenty-first century has been defined by a rise in Islamist radicalisation and a concurrent rise in far-right extremism. This book explores the interaction between the ‘new’ far right and Islamist extremists and considers the consequences for the global terror threat. Julia […]

Written by Kathyrn Urban (Excerpted from the full article originally published on New Atlanticist on April 4, 2019.) For generations, NATO has defended against conventional enemies, promising its member countries solidarity in the face of adversity. That promise survived its first major test in 2001, but in a globalizing and technologically changing world, NATO risks being left […]

Written by Roxana Allen It took thirty years, two generations, fifteen prime ministers, and numerous elections to appoint the first woman Prime Minister in Romania.  With the introduction of the Membership Action Plan twenty years ago, NATO requested that Romania implement a 25 percent quota for women in Parliament and public service.  Consequently, there are […]

This blog was originally published on The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs March 26, 2019 Written by Federiga Bindi and Mimosa Giamanco   Women in International Security (WIIS), an organization committed to advancing women in the field of international peace and security, recently issued a policy report analyzing the presence of women in D.C. think […]

Carnegie Corporation’s recent article by Noelle Pourrat and Carl Robichaud examines issues of gender equality in nuclear security, and cites the WIIS’ 2018 think tank scorecard report. The article highlights the value of diversity while noting the relative lag in the nuclear security field. It examines the gender breakdown of Carnegie Corporation nuclear security grantees. […]

Women In International Security (WIIS) has opened applications for the 2019 Next Generation Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) Symposium, and we are looking forward to selecting a cohort of graduate students and young professionals interested in examining international security challenges from a GPS perspective. (Read more about the 2019 Next Generation Symposium.) In our last […]

Sandra Pepera is the Director for Gender, Women and Democracy at the National Democratic Institute. Sandra is a British professional woman of African descent and a single parent. Integrity is at the cornerstone of her personality. Sandra describes her pride in being the second generation of educated women in her family from the Ashanti region. […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec. 3, 2018 WIIS President, Chantal de Jonge Oudraat, Recognized as Gender Champion Dr. de Jonge Oudraat Pledges to Further Gender Parity as a Gender Champion WASHINGTON, D.C.— Women In International Security (WIIS) President, Chantal de Jonge Oudraat, was honored as a Gender Champion at The Future of US Nuclear Policy: National […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, November 14, WIIS President Chantal de Jonge Oudraat was honored as a Gender Champion at the annual Ploughshares Fund conference on nuclear policy. The concluding presentation at the 2018 Ploughshares Fund Conference, “The Future of US Nuclear Policy,”was titled “Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy.” Ploughshares Program Director Michelle Dover introduced Ambassador […]

Written by John Arnold, Sarah Kenny, Hannah Lynch and Nadia Crevecoeur View the PDF: Women and the 2018 US Mid-term Elections When the 116th Congress is sworn into office this winter, there will be a record 121 women and counting ready to take their seats.[1] The 2018 midterm elections showed America countless firsts, giving voice […]

November 16, 2018 By John Arnold, Nadia Crevecoeur, Sarah Kenny, and Hannah Lynch* Download the PDF here.  When the 116th Congress is sworn into office this winter, there will be a record 121 women and counting ready to take their seats.[1] The 2018 midterm elections showed America countless firsts, giving voice to groups who previously […]

Written by Nadia Crevecoeur In recent years, many think tanks have begun to recognize the importance of diversifying their staff and recruiting and retaining more women. Think tanks have added programs that highlight women’s leadership and their experiences. However, a new report by Women In International Security (WIIS), WIIS Gender Scorecard: Washington, DC Think Tanks […]

By Karin Johnston, WIIS Blog Editor  The topic is “Is the Future Democratic? Democracy, Security, Technology,” the gala conference in Berlin a celebration of fifteen years of WIIS activities and support for over 400 members. For its November 15 conference, WIIS.de has assembled an impressive array of speakers representing the German government and Parliament, foundations, and other organizations. […]

When discussing women in predominantly Islamic societies, the prominent narrative in the Western media tends to focus on oppression: the lack of opportunity, of advancement, and of freedom experienced by women in these communities. I admit that I myself often subscribed to this notion, reading about policies throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) […]

WIIS President, Chantal De Jonge Oudraat, visited Australia last month to deliver a keynote address at the Women In National Security Conference. She also spoke at Macquirie University at the Women In International Security-Australia Seminar. Dr. de Jonge Oudraat delivering her speech at the Women In National Security Conference in Australia on October 25,2018. Dr. de […]

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about how many women are presently working in the cyber security field. A figure of eleven percent has been used for several years and only recently appears to have increased. In 2017, (ISC)² found that the eleven percent figure was still unchanged[1]. In a study from summer […]

In Support of Equity By Sarah Kenny Montanasuffragettes. 2018 Women’s March in Missoula, Montana. Red sign with white letters, “Equal means equal.” To best support female experts and leaders, we should commit to gender equity in pursuit of gender equality. While equality is a paramount priority among activists and academics of many causes and identities, the […]

Stabilizing U.S.-Chinese Relations Written by: Amanda Spencer The relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China is more fragile than at any time since the normalization of relations in 1979. Bilateral tensions continue to rise as disagreements loom over potential trade wars, growing strategic competition, and cyber espionage. Re-establishing a strategic partnership […]

Women In International Security (WIIS) and the Women’s Foreign Policy Group (WFPG) hosted “Taking the Next Step to Leadership: Advancing Your Career in International Security.” The event mixed traditional mentoring formats having an informal networking hour, a structured panel, and two intimate break-out sessions with the six panelists. The panelists ranged from mid-level to senior level positions in the public and private sector.

By  Phoebe Donnelly When we read or hear about Somalia’s Al-Shabaab, we rarely learn about women inside the group. [1] When we envision a member of Al-Shabaab we envision a man, and the group is seen as composed only of men. Women are not primarily in combat or leadership roles, and yet Al-Shabaab relies heavily […]

By Grace Ndirangu and Pearl Atuhaire The Missing Peace Young Scholars Network (MPSN) is an initiative of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Women in International Security (WIIS), the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO), and the University of California, Berkley Human Rights Center. The MPSN is a platform for scholars to discuss, learn, […]

By: Soraya Kamali-Nafar In 1995 the United States (US) Congress adopted the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Act, which made the performance of FGM on anyone under the age of 18 a felony. The US Government considers FGM a “serious human rights abuse, and a form of gender-based violence and child abuse.”[1] There are four different […]

By Margaret Monyani In the last decade, Kenya has experienced numerous terrorist attacks. Initially, it was assumed that a terrorist is typically a ‘Muslim foreigner,’ which is why much of government counter-terrorism efforts focused on securing borders and adopting stringent immigration policies and measures. However, since 2003 it was apparent that even local non-Muslims as […]

WIIS is proud to announce a new partnership with the WFPG. On June 28th, 2018, Women In International Security (WIIS) and the Women’s Foreign Policy Group (WFPG) signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on programmatic activities in the professional development and mentoring sphere. WIIS sponsors leadership training, mentoring, and networking programs, as well as substantive […]

Amy Frumin, President of WIIS Florida, and Brooke Stedman, WIIS Global Program Manager, were featured in a radio interview with the American Heroes Network at 11:00am EDT on March 31. Ms. Frumin and Ms. Stedman discussed the significance of WIIS, highlighting the mission and activities of the global […]

Alistair Millar, Founder and Director of the Global Center on Cooperative Security Alistair Millar is Founder and Director of the Global Center on Cooperative Security. He teaches graduate-level courses on counterterrorism and U.S. foreign policy at The Johns Hopkins University, where he received the 2010–2011 Excellence in Teaching Award for Advanced Academic Programs. He is […]

How is being a WIIS member valuable to you? I learned about WIIS when I was in graduate school.  I was very fortunate to have mentors who were very involved in the organization.  One of the first events I attended was a conference on women in peacebuilding. This was at the very beginning of my […]

Sarah Yerkes, Visiting Foreign Policy Fellow- Center for Middle East Policy at The Brookings Institution 1. How is being a WIIS member valuable to you? I first joined WIIS about a decade ago when I was just starting out in my career and at that point it was incredibly valuable as a networking tool. I remember […]

By Sahar Khan Gina Haspel was sworn in as the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) first female director on May 21, 2018 following a controversial nomination period and a contentious Senate confirmation hearing. While Haspel is qualified for her new role—she is a career intelligence officer with 33 years of service in the CIA—her appointment is troublesome because of […]

The U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security (U.S. CSWG) recently released a video on their overall mission and the 2017 Global Forum on Preventing Violent Extremism. The U.S. CSWG is a non-partisan network of civil society organizations with years of experience working on the issues involving women, war, and peace. The […]

By Chelsea Costello About the Author The Art of War, by the Chinese general and military strategist, Sun-Tzu, was one of the first books assigned to me in graduate school. I remember leaning back in a rickety wooden chair begrudgingly eyeballing a ten-page syllabus. My attention was drawn to the front of the room when […]

By: Weronika Grzebalska, Next Generation Symposium Fellow (2017)   Russia recently held one of the largest “war games” since the Cold War, on its Western borders. The drill exercised combat scenarios recently used in Ukraine and tested the compatibility of the Belarusian army with Russian forces. Politicians from Poland, Ukraine and Baltic states viewed the exercise […]

By Jumana Kawar   “I love my country and the forces, and in the future if I have children, I will encourage them to join the military especially my girl,” says First Lieutenant Safaa Altahat in an interview about the role of Jordanian women in the military.[1] As the Jordanian Air Force prepares for the first […]

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/134051601@N04/18636815068/   By Scott Weiner   Gun culture alone cannot explain mass shootings in America. If simply having guns really meant having more mass civilian gun attacks, Israel is one country that ought to see frequent such attacks. In reality, mass civilian gun attacks by and against Israeli civilians are rare. The difference between […]

  Photo Credit: World Policy Blog By Fauziya Ali   International actors from the United Nations to the European Union are increasingly recognizing the role of women and women’s organizations in efforts to counter and prevent violent extremism. Still, much of the international debate focuses on the small number of women who join violent extremist groups, rather than […]

On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed an air, land, and sea blockade against the tiny Gulf nation. Shortly thereafter, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, the Maldives, the Hadi government in Yemen, and the Haftar government in Libya followed suit, joining the Saudi-led bloc against Qatar. Despite […]

   On Monday, June 12, 2017 Women in International Security (WIIS) partnered with the Women’s Foreign Policy Group (WFPG) and the Department of Field Support for UN Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) to co-host an event on the newly relaunched Talent Pipeline with the aim of drawing the interest of senior-level women interested in working in […]

By Kathy Crandall Robinson In this blog post, WIIS Senior Fellow Kathy Crandall Robinson examines the legacy of the Women’s Strike for Peace and its vital impact on peace and civil and human rights movements since the early 1960s. She also draws promise and lessons to be applied to today’s efforts for peace. Find the […]

By Claudia Major This blog post by Claudia Major, WIIS Berlin member, examines Germany’s responsibility, as a central European power, to contribute to the military stability and security of Europe. It situates Germany’s role within the rapidly changing security landscape in Europe and globally. Please find the full article on the Carnegie Europe website here.

 Jolynn Shoemaker, Senior Consultant- Global Business Strategy and Gender Equity at The LcHoesGroup How is being a WIIS member valuable to you? I learned about WIIS when I was in graduate school.  I was very fortunate to have mentors who were very involved in the organization.  One of the first events I attended was a conference on […]

Sarah Yerkes, Visiting Foreign Policy Fellow- Center for Middle East Policy at The Brookings Institution 1. How is being a WIIS member valuable to you? I first joined WIIS about a decade ago when I was just starting out in my career and at that point it was incredibly valuable as a networking tool. I remember […]

By Alicia Luedke The incident at Terrain Hotel in the capital of South Sudan, Juba in July of this year, in which a number of aid workers were raped by government soldiers highlighted the risks that aid workers, particularly female aid workers face in high-risk areas. This is by no means intended to overshadow the horrific […]

By: Kristen Cordell Here in Pakistan, Mossarat Qadeem, founder of Paiman Trust, is working at the grassroots level with women, such as mothers, and Madrassa teachers, empowering them to take a stand against violent extremism in their communities. She is advocating for a preventative approach to the type of violent tragedy that recently unfolded in Lahore, where the majority […]

By Clara Fisher, Paige Harland, Kat Ilich, and Erin McGown  For two weeks in March, thousands of women and men from every country, culture, and social group imaginable flocked to New York City to take part in the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women. Their common goal: gender equality. Our George Washington University graduate […]

By: Clara Fisher, Paige Harland, Kat Ilich, and Erin McGown In October 2000, after years of lobbying by women’s rights activists, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). UNSCR 1325 brought the WPS agenda to the UN system’s attention for the first time, calling on all actors to take women’s […]

By: Constance Baroudos As security threats increase in Europe, NATO must show it stands behind each of its members. President Barack Obama quadrupled funding for the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) from almost $800 million in 2016 to $3.4 billion in the White House’s fiscal year 2017 budget request. Congress should approve the ERI not only to deter […]

(Photo: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters) By: Bushra AL-Huthi As the war in Yemen continues to tear the country apart, the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, set December 15, 2015 as the start date for a new seven-day series of peace talks in Geneva. The talks brought together representatives of the Houthis, the General People’s […]

  By Elizabeth Pond “An exclusive report on the inner workings of Russian intelligence in Ukraine, from the Berlin Policy Journal’s network of highly placed (fictional) intelligence operatives.” The full article was published in the Berlin Policy Journal on December 15, 2015 and can be found here.

By Elizabeth Pond Ukraine has miraculously fought the Russian military behemoth to a standstill and fighting has ceased in the Donbas.  With Russian pressure off, Ukraine’s oligarchs are turning complacent and sliding back into corruption as usual.  The question now becomes whether they will block real reform and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. […]

By Elizabeth Pond With the heavy guns suddenly silenced on the Donbass “truce” line for a month, a new era has begun. The reading of many Ukrainians (I agree) is that Sphynx Putin has finally realized that his undeclared war on Ukraine is hurting Russia itself more than Ukraine or the West and is trying […]

By Alex Paul The Netherlands has long been at the forefront of women, peace and security issues. A Security Council member when Resolution 1325 was adopted in 2000, it will launch its third National Action Plan (NAP) for 1325 by the end of 2015. However, strong support for the principles and objectives of 1325 has […]

Written by Ellen L. Haring Last month the Marine Corps began prepping the battlefield for their request for an exception to policy to keep women out of infantry occupations and units. On 10 September, the Marines released a 4-pague summary outlining findings from their gender integrated experimental task force which provided data that, not surprisingly, […]

  Photo credit: Nicolas Raymond / freestock.ca¹ By Elizabeth Pond Elizabeth Pond argues that Putin’s undeclared war on once-fraternal Ukraine has destroyed Moscow’s influence on Kiev, forged genuine Ukrainian identity in resistance and ended in a roughly stable stalemate in the eastern 3{5f0f57c44bc297437706deade099e6516fe1db1b31ab604b564d60e47f160dcd} of Ukraine that Russia now controls. However bitter that stalemate is to […]

by Anna Powles and Jacqui True Anna Powles and Jacqui True analyze New Zealand’s draft National Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. They take a deeper look at the five focus areas of the National Action Plan: (1) ensuring women’s involvement in decision-making within conflict and post-conflict […]

  Written by Elizabeth Pond No, the West has not (yet) lost Ukraine in Vladimir Putin’s Russian roulette, and the fragile Minsk truce and Western sanctions on Moscow over its land grab in Ukraine have not failed. A more nuanced reading of the current state of affairs in the Ukraine crisis would stress that we are […]

Written by Elsa B. Kania Elsa Kania is a rising senior at Harvard College and was a 2014-2015 Boren Scholar in Beijing. She is currently an intern on the threat intelligence team at FireEye. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of FireEye, Inc.  The Chinese Ministry of National […]

By Elizabeth Pond In a two part series, “What Next for Ukraine?” and “A Farewell to Arms?,” Elizabeth Pond evaluates two opposing trends of analysis regarding the situation in Ukraine: Alexander Motyl and Angela Merkel vs. John McCain and John Mearsheimer. She argues that Motyl and Merkel believe Russia is losing the battle, which gives […]

  By Kelsey Campbell On April 9, Facebook Chief Operating Officer and thought leader Sheryl Sandberg gave a version of her Lean In presentation to employees of the Department of Defense at the Pentagon. It was a fitting time for her visit, as more and more women are reaching the ranks of general and flag officers […]

by Elizabeth Pond Hawks in Washington are arguing that the West should deliver lethal defensive weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces. At a moment of political uncertainty in Moscow, their view is that the NATO alliance should show the Kremlin it is not feckless when faced with Vladimir Putin’s aggression. Such a policy would certainly […]

  by Gabe Dayley Last September, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon established a High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations to undertake a comprehensive review of UN peacekeeping and political missions. The review is both timely and much needed, given that 15 years has passed since Lakhdar Brahimi conducted the last major review of UN […]

  by Stephanie Breitsman The meeting on February 10, 2015, between Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, presented an opportunity to reshape the international community’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sweden’s relationship with Palestine should not be seen as a stance against Israel, but instead recognized as an invitation for global […]

by Elizabeth Pond An abridged version of this essay was published in NEW STATESMAN on 5 MARCH 2015, under the title “Russia vs the west: the consequences of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.” A year after Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked Europe by annexing Crimea and fomenting rebellion in Ukraine’s previously quiet Donbas region, his undeclared war […]

by Andrea Little Limbago Photo: Philip Jean-Pierre, Endgame As the government shutdown loomed large in 2013, Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, introduced a budget plan that she believed would garner bi-partisan support. Within a few days, two other female Republican Senators signed on, as did two female Democratic Senators. Eventually, the bipartisan group reached 13 members, […]

by Katey van Dam Katey van Dam identifies, assesses, and refutes the validity of arguments against the full integration of gender into the Untied States armed services. She calls attention to the abundance of emotional arguments against opening combat positions to women and the dearth of evidence supporting these claims. Drawing from the experiences of women service […]

by Ellen Haring On January 24, 2013, then Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced the repeal of the Combat Exclusion Policy. The discriminatory policy prevented servicewomen from filling so-called ground combat positions or being assigned to units below the brigade level whose primary mission was to engage in direct ground combat. The repeal rescinded a […]

by Ellen Haring Photo: Flickr CC, Kenny Holston Two years ago, then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made the historic decision to eliminate the military’s exclusionary policy that kept ground combat occupations and units closed to women. Any decision to exclude women will be made as an exception rather than the rule, flipping the paradigm from […]

by Dr. Michael E. Brown and Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudraat President Obama speaks during a meeting with leaders from the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Nov. 10, 2014. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) In his State of the Union address on Jan. 20, President Obama asked Congress to give him trade promotion […]

by Elizabeth Pond IP Journal, German Council on Foreign Relations 29 January 2015 Irish Examiner Ever since Russia snatched the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine last March and ended Europe’s seven-decade ban on coercive border change, Moscow has possessed enough raw military might to occupy mainland Ukraine as well. Throughout 2014, however, for tactical reasons, the […]

by Madeleine Stokes February 3, 2015 Picture courtesy of Madeleine Stokes As the bickering between Netanyahu, Abbas and Obama continues, I’m reminded of my recent spring in “the Holy Land” where I learned how ineffective and petty this political façade is to the lives of the people who live there. In March of 2014 I […]

By Elizabeth Zolotukhina January 30, 2015 The crash of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 (hereafter, MH17) on July 17, 2014 was pivotal to the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The Boeing 777 aircraft, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over Snizhne, Ukraine killing all on board. Investigation into the disaster is ongoing, […]

By Ellen Haring January 30, 2015 U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno speaks with a female Soldier at the Army Ranger Training Brigade, Ranger Assessment Course during his visit to Fort Benning, Ga., Oct. 23, 2014. Gen. Odierno was visiting to discuss the progress of integrating women into the Ranger School Course. Female […]

by Elizabeth Pond December 19, 2014 On Black Tuesday of this week soft economic power trumped hard military power for the first time since the Ukraine crisis began. The threatened meltdown of the Russian economy could put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to dial down his undeclared war on Ukraine in return for some […]

Three clues that Moscow may be ready to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine 10/12/2014 IP-Journal, German Council on Foreign Relations by Elizabeth Pond Russian President Vladimir Putin has been happy to ignore the consequences of his aggression in Ukraine so far, but there are signs that his endurance has reached a breaking point – particularly as Russia’s […]

By Ellen Haring December 5, 2014 Pfc. Julia Carroll eats a small meal after a six-hour patrol during patrol week of Infantry Training Battalion near Camp Geiger, N.C. on Oct. 31, 2013. Carroll is one of the first three females to ever graduate from Infantry Training Battalion. Patrol week is a five-day training event that […]

By Kelsey Campbell November 25, 2014 Originally published in the Huffington Post. November 25th is designated by the United Nations to be the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The day, based on the anniversary of the 1960 assassination of the three Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic by dictator Rafael Trujillo, […]

By Elizabeth Pond December 2, 2014 IP-Journal, German Council on Foreign Relations REUTERS/Antonio Bronic Is there going to be a winter respite in Russia’s undeclared war on eastern Ukraine? If so, the newly elected government in Kiev must lose no time laying out the foundations for ending the incestuous system of corrupt political, economic, and […]

By Anna Powles November 5, 2014 Photo courtesy of Flickr user UN Photo. New Zealand’s 10-year campaign to win a seat on the Security Council began in 2004 under the Labour Government of Prime Minister Helen Clark, now head of the UN Development Program. The seat was secured by Prime Minister John Key’s recently re-elected […]

By Jacqui True and Anna Powles November 17, 2014 Delegation of New Zealand following election to the Security Council. Photo by Loey Felipe/UN Photo, used under a Creative Commons licence The Women, Peace and Security Academic Collective and Women in International Security New Zealand (see note 1) are delighted that New Zealand has won election as […]

by Sahana Dharmapuri The recent beheadings of U.S. journalists Steven Satloff and James Foley, as well as British aid worker David Haines by ISIS are a gruesome and tragic reminder of our relationship with extremists since 9/11. So far, public debate has focused on the motivations for this kind of extreme political violence and what […]

Elizabeth Pond is a Berlin-based journalist who has covered Ukraine for over 30 years. In this piece she discusses Ukraine’s seemingly grim future. “Kiev has lost eastern Ukraine to Russia. The turning point came on August 27, as the first direct invasion of Ukraine by Russian regulars broke the Ukranian army’s siege of pro-Russian rebel strongholds in Donetsk and Luhansk. The truce of September 5 echoed Thucydides’ maxim that ‘the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.’” Read Pond’s breakdown of the current dynamic between the Ukraine and Russia and her prognosis for its future.

On September 9, 2014, Dr. Kathleen Kuehnast participated in a panel regarding “The Role and Contributions of Women and Youth to the Culture of Peace” at a UN High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace. She is both a valued member of WIIS and the director of USIP’s Center for Gender and Peacebuilding. In addressing her fellow panelists and the larger audience, Kuehnast asserts that “a culture of peace needs dynamic and creative leadership, an inclusive approach that does not ‘instrumentalize’ women or children, and a well-funded effort.”

In UK politics women parliamentarians are still underrepresented at all decision-making levels. But this can easily be altered with the implementation of a quota of 40{5f0f57c44bc297437706deade099e6516fe1db1b31ab604b564d60e47f160dcd} female candidates for all major Westminster parties – which would significantly alter the culture of Westminster in the space of just one or two elections. And without a more representative parliament and government, how can the UK expect its advocacy of gender equality and women’s empowerment to be taken seriously by the rest of the world?

Julie Arostegui, J.D. is Policy Director at Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) where she works to empower women to become political leaders on issues of conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and national security. Recently Julie published a toolkit with Women In International Security (Women, Peace and Security: Practical Guidance on Using Law to Empower Women in Post-Conflict Systems). WIIS’s Program Assistant Alex Paul spoke to Julie about the importance of this work, what the toolkit offers, and women’s participation in the peace and security agenda.

Cynthia Petrigh, WIIS member profile. Throughout her career as an expert in conflict resolution and international law, Ms. Petrigh has worked to advance the implementation and understanding of human rights. In 2014 she was recognized for her significant contributions toward ending sexual violence by former UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and Angelina Jolie at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London. She sat down with WIIS Program Assistant, Alex Paul, to discuss her work and to reflect on the significance of gender in her work.

An analysis of the interim agreement and its extension reveals a good deal about the Iranian negotiations strategy as well as the pitfalls the P5+1 (U.S., UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) should avoid in a potential comprehensive agreement.

Trying to create a more sustainable peace while ignoring over half the population is a recipe for failure, especially when “women’s agency, their creativity and patience, and their capacity to love and to build consensus… make women a valuable constituency for peace”, as Lakshmi Puri, the Deputy Director of UN Women, observed. It was with these goals in mind that women from around the world met in June 2014 at the Better Peace Symposium.

Palestinians and Israelis in particular, bring with them a history of victimhood and see themselves in the present context, by and large, as victims. Both groups bring to the conflict a national history of persecution and destruction… each group brings to the conflict a deep sense of persecution that is not always recognized by the other side because each are too preoccupied with their own tragic national experience.

This post hopes to open the discussion regarding the need for internationally agreed upon cyber treaties among countries relating to the protection of critical infrastructures from getting caught in the cyber battlefield crossfire between nations.

Willy-nilly, the Ukraine crisis turned German Chancellor Angela Merkel into the geopolitical as well as financial leader of Europe.

While the role of men in WWII is well-documented through film and books, my meeting with a female veteran got me thinking about the much less-discussed role of women in the war, which included around 350,000 in uniform alone – and many others in non-uniformed roles too. They served with distinction across Allied forces, but their contribution is often forgotten…

By Sophie Jacobs The prevention of terror attacks by limiting financing is becoming more and more prevalent as the financing of terror becomes a global activity and money moves ever more fluidly throughout bank accounts worldwide. Successful operations targeting terror financing have harmed groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al Qaeda as well as the charities […]

“The greatest strategic prize for our century is the full social, political and economic empowerment of women everywhere” declared William Hague, the UK Foreign Secretary, at the end of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict last week.

Press Release June 13, 2014 NEW WIIS publication on: Women, Peace and Security: Practical Guidance on Using Law to Empower Women in Post-Conflict Systems By Julie L. Arostegui and Veronica Eragu Bichetero Two international human rights lawyers examine practical measures on how to integrate international principles on gender equality and women’s rights into post-conflict legal […]

Via: USIP The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence, co-hosted in London this week by British Foreign Secretary William Hague and actress and United Nations envoy Angelina Jolie, will draw on research by young scholars who have documented the causes, responses and potential solutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, El Salvador and elsewhere. […]

Via: Open Democracy   As the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict opens in London, Sanam Naraghi Anderlini questions the presence of government officials from countries with dubious track records, and says ministers should take the advice of women who are most at risk and already working at the frontlines to end all sexual violence. […]

By Jelke Boesten Since the late 1990s, the international community has developed treaties and tools to address conflict-related sexual violence. Most recently, the UK government has been promoting the Foreign Secretary’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PVSI), and has organised a Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, scheduled for June. These are positive developments […]

Words of Encouragement By Elizabeth Pond   They came to celebrate, to mourn, and to warn. Over five days in mid-May global glitterati gathered in Kiev to hail the moral victory of Ukraine’s new democrats on Independence Maidan square, who stood their ground even after government snipers killed more than 70 of those protesting rule […]

By Elizabeth Pond Let’s see. What would it be like if the USA last month had sent a couple hundred well-armed, masked SEALs in identical unmarked black uniforms to occupy the town halls or police stations of Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, and a dozen other smallish communities in Alberta? They would, of course, have been commanded […]

Not only because of the individual tragedies of these girls and their families, Not only because of the very real risk they might end up as sex slaves including in Europe, and other parts of the world, Not only because they might not make it and die before there is any rescue, Not only because […]

By Carla Koppell and Allison Salyer The numbers are stark. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights currently estimates that some 150,000 Syrians have perished in that country’s ongoing conflict. Over 6 million Syrians have been displaced inside the country, often multiple times; and approximately 2.7 million people have fled Syria, mostly into neighboring nations. The […]

By Elizabeth Pond Yes, the West was right not to send NATO soldiers into Ukraine and sleepwalk into another world war, especially in a theater where Russia has both local military supremacy and a vastly higher stake than the West does. But no, President Barack Obama was wrong to relegate the Ukraine crisis initially to […]

By Elizabeth Pond Ukrainian desire to be European tragically matured at the wrong time Protests pressing the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to drop the country’s fealty to Moscow and sign an association agreement with the European Union instead sparked the present crisis. With Russia now threatening to invade Eastern and Southern Ukraine as well, perhaps […]

By Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller and Dr. Daniela Schwarzer Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its efforts to destabilize the transitional government in Kyiv have reframed the relationship between Europe and Russia in Europe’s eastern neighborhood from an uneasy geopolitical balancing into full-on systemic conflict. The competition over Ukraine also puts the rest of the eastern neighborhood […]

By Elizabeth Pond If Russia attacks openly, Ukraine’s military will be no match for Putin’s forces With the situation in Donetsk and elsewhere escalating, and “pro-Russian demonstrators” occupying police stations and administrative buildings, the government in Kiev is sending troops east for the first time. Its opponents – and not only those kept battle-ready beyond […]

By Laurie A. Watkins At the gateway of the Middle East, Turkey today finds itself caught between its NATO responsibilities, multiple challenges to its regional hegemony, and its own internal struggles. These competing interests have created a political environment characterized by dysfunction, chaos, and fear. Pulled in so many directions, yet with a desperate need […]

By Elizabeth Pond There is a reason for President Barack Obama’s plea to Russian President Vladimir Putin today to pull back the massed Russian troops on Ukraine’s border. The period of maximum danger for Ukraine is between now and the May 25 presidential election. The caretaker government in Kiev is shaky, especially after the sudden […]

By Jolynn Shoemaker As political pundits and campaigns ramp up for the 2014 midterm elections, the media is focusing again on the female vote and female candidates. There is good reason for the attention on women. The 2012 elections brought more women than ever before into the halls of Congress. Even at a relatively paltry […]

By Alicia Godsberg Nuclear weapons are the only weapons of mass destruction not banned by international convention. Yet the use of only one nuclear weapon would have devastating consequences for the climate, environment, health, food production, and economy of our planet. A nuclear exchange, by design or accident, would cause an unmanageable global humanitarian crisis, […]

by Kelsey L. Campbell Its hard to believe, but Women’s History Month 2014 has come to an end. The March news cycle was dominated by Vladimir Putin’s hostile takeover of Crimea, Recep Erdogan’s crackdown on democratic freedoms in Turkey, and continuing violence ahead of Afghanistan’s elections. Apart from the chaos, issues predominately affecting women were […]

By Elizabeth Pond Risks and rewards in the international battle over the future of Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin is gambling that his superior short-term hard power will prevail in Ukraine. The West is hoping that its superior long-term soft power will succeed. Whose bet will be the winning one? Oxfam International, CC BY It’s […]

By Jessica Trisko Darden Almost two weeks into the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, little is understood about the whereabouts of the plane or its ability to apparently fly unseen for several hours before vanishing altogether. What initially appeared to be an unexpected air disaster has become a window into the limited […]

By Kayla Williams In the lead-up to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the law that barred gay and lesbian troops from serving openly in the military, there were dire warnings: Homosexuality would be incompatible with military service. Vast numbers of straight people would refuse to serve, necessitating a return to the draft. Forced […]

By Elizabeth Pond Reacting to Crimean annexation, Merkel sets a hard line precedent It was not inevitable that Angela Merkel would become Europe’s geopolitical as well as financial leader when Vladimir Putin pulled off the continent’s first armed land grab since World War II. Only in retrospect did her leadership seem preordained. Photo © Deutscher […]

By Samantha Pitts-Kiefer Yesterday I arrived in Amsterdam with my colleagues from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) as well as members of the nonproliferation community to address what President Obama has called “the most immediate and extreme threat to global security” – nuclear terrorism. This so-called “Knowledge Summit” and a separate nuclear industry summit precede […]

In honor of International Women’s Day, we have asked some members of the Women In International Security Advisory Board to share their thoughts on this year’s theme: Equality for women is progress for all. After reading their posts, feel free to leave a comment sharing your view on International Women’s Day 2014!   Equality for […]

By Kelsey L. Campbell In late October, I had the pleasure of attending a well-curated conference organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States entitled, “Mission Critical: Diversity and Inclusion Best Practices for Militaries.” Military officers from Europe, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand joined American defense personnel, private sector leaders, and members of […]

By Sarah E. Orndorff As I discovered while interning during the summer of 2013 at the Roza Otunbayeva Initiative*, a non-profit foundation in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, women and their supporters may very well be the best asset the country has for future security and development.  A small, mountainous country in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is in many […]

By Kelsey L. Campbell By now, nearly everyone is familiar with the story of Malala Yousafzai: In October 2012, she was shot in the head by the Taliban in her native Swat Valley in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province because she campaigned for girls’ right to education. She was medically evacuated to England, where after a […]

This article was originally posted by the Central Eurasia Standard, which looks at news and analysis out of Central Asia and Eurasia. CES recently enjoyed a jaunt along the Tajik-Afghan border from Qalaikhumb to Langar before jumping over the Pamiri Plateau and back to Khorog.  Along the deteriorated road following the Panj River, we were […]

By Jill Zabel As I have watched AMC’s Breaking Bad and the events unfolding in Syria, I noticed that Walter White and Bashar al-Assad have a lot in common.  These lead characters’ similarities speak to a wider point about how people can grow into roles that were not meant for them, become corrupted, and, over […]

Ieva Pundina Human trafficking is one of the world’s most shameful crimes. While human trafficking is not yet the most profitable illicit trade – that honor goes to narcotics trafficking – it is likely the fastest growing. This low cost, high profit crime is thought to be a 32 billion dollar industry. Despite the frequency of the […]

Dr. Andrea Little Limbago  The recent presidential campaign placed data analytics in the limelight, highlighting its growing role across academia, industry, and politics. Whether it was the use of data scientists to mine vast amounts of information about voters, the pre-election vitriol for Nate Silver’s predictions for an easy Obama victory, or the post-election glorification […]

Anonymous Since the beginning of this year, but primarily immediately and after President Obama’s speech about the administration’s planned shift of trajectory with regards to its counterterrorism strategy, the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) has been of great debate as a basis of not only the counterterrorism strategy but the basis in HOW […]

Ingrid Pederson This article originally appeared in the Central Eurasia Standard on June 24, 2013.  In March of 2011, democracy was progressing in Kyrgyzstan. Less than a year before, a bloody revolution and ethnic violence threatened the small state with civil war. Instead, a female head of state stepped down to allow an elected leader to take […]

Jill Zabel Throughout the world, authoritarian regimes imprison, torture, exile, and kill opponents that could challenge their leadership.  Where holding office is the reward for ruthlessness or loyalty to a deceased authoritarian leader, the most competent visionaries rarely rise to the top.  Cracking down on political opposition can clear the playing field of leaders that […]

Sophie Jacobs Lebanon’s banking sector is constantly walking a fine line when it comes to financial transactions with Hezbollah. On the one hand, banking officials want to please US regulators who see Hezbollah as a terrorist group; on the other hand, the support of the Lebanese public has turned Hezbollah into a major political party, […]

Recent events in Syria have raised concerns that the redline of chemical weapons use has been crossed, forcing the U.S. to reconsider intervening in the two-year civil war.  At this crossroads, it is important to look beyond the use of chemical weapons and at the entire scope of the conflict and range of weapons used […]

Ingrid Pederson This article originally appeared in the Central Eurasia Standard on April 19, 2013. The Boston Bomber suspects may be Chechen and lived at one time in Dagestan. These are not the same places. We don’t know anything else about the suspects, and they have/had lived in America for a very long time as […]

Qursum Qasim Women in conflict-affected areas do not have the luxury of debating the relative happiness and fulfillment quotients of homemakers or breadwinners – self-preservation and the survival of their families demands they become breadwinners and homemakers, whether they choose to or not. Women acquire valuable negotiation and management skills while ‘learning from doing’ and […]

Sophie Jacobs In what many be seen as a positive step for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, religious police (the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) have finally permitted women to ride bicycles in public –with restrictions, of course. They must be in the company of a male, wear appropriate clothing, […]

Stanli Montgomery Weapons proliferation.  Cyber-security.  Global warming.  Drug laundering. International trade. All of these above issues, among many others, are top priorities that affect national as well as international security and dominate the agendas of international bodies.   However, terrorism, while still an important component of national security, has currently been waning in importance and coverage. This […]

Nina Kontevska For the past two years, Egypt has been stuck in a protracted, tough post-revolutionary transition phase that is bound to last a while longer. Owning a continuously plunging economy triggered by – and further fueling – a larger political and social crisis, Egypt has seen countless protests (and abundant violence) since 2011, which […]

Mary Manjikian For the past two months, British newspaper readers have been riveted by the sage of Vicky Price and Chris Huhne.  Here’s the story in brief:  Price and Huhne were a British power couple.  He was a liberal democratic member of Parliament and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, while Price, an […]

Piyumi Kapugeekiyana At any given point in time, there are a number of hot-button issues on the international security horizon. Some current concerns include the threat of chemical warfare in Syria, the dispute over the South China seas and the actions of proto-nuclear states like North Korea. The fact that such issues are fair game […]

The debate about career advancement and women in the workplace has recently been re-ignited by Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In.” The WIIS blog asked readers to comment on Sandberg’s approach, especially as compared to Anne-Marie Slaughter’s famous op-ed in The Atlantic last summer. Readers are welcome to weigh in by commenting below. Both […]

Ingrid Pederson On December 13, the Eurasia Foundation awarded Roza Otunbayeva, the former President of Kyrgyzstan, the 2012 Bill Maynes Award for demonstrating visionary leadership throughout Kyrgyzstan’s constitutional transition and providing a lifelong example of public service. President Otunbayeva held the office of the Presidency after the 2010 April uprising, and voluntarily stepped down from […]

Jill Zabel In January 2013, the Department of Defense officially opened combat roles to women for the first time. To some degree, this policy change is merely a formality: women have long been serving in combat roles, particularly in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, out of necessity. But in other ways, this policy is a […]

Sarah Wagner After last year’s remarkable documentary “The Invisible War” – nominated for an Academy Award this year – it is understandable if the shocking account of sexual assault in the military left many viewers cynical about the current state of women in the U.S. military. And yet, even though many troublesome indicators and incidents […]

Since President Obama announced his Cabinet picks for the second term, many have vocally criticized the picture that is emerging – of a largely, white, male leadership team. The criticism should not surprise us.  In the last year, we have seen a flurry of attention on the scarcity of women at top levels of policy […]

Dr. Lyn Graybill When Sierra Leoneans went to the polls on November 17th to vote in the nation’s third post-war election, they knew in advance who the big losers would be: women. That is because women constituted only 6.5{5f0f57c44bc297437706deade099e6516fe1db1b31ab604b564d60e47f160dcd} of the 586 candidates competing for 112 parliamentary seats. There were 12 additional seats for Paramount […]

By Maddie Koch Believe it or not, 2013 is just around the corner. With the 113th Congress elected, we already have an idea of which women will be taking leading roles in the U.S. government this coming year. And, of course, we’re waiting at the edge of our seats like everyone else to find out […]

[slideshow]Last week, we were honored at WIIS to host an all-star cast of cyber security experts from both the federal and private sector to discuss future cyber security challenges and how a diverse workforce is an important step to solving these problems. THE TAKE-AWAY MESSAGES The need for cyber security professionals will increase for the […]

By Maddie Koch This week, we’ve all been saddened – but not necessarily surprised –by the shooting of the 14-year-old Pakistani education activist, Malala Yousafzai. You may remember that she was the brave voice of school-age children in the 2009 documentary “Class Dismissed.”  Despite her age, Malala saw an opportunity to advocate for an issue […]

Since Christopher Reeves flashed across the silver screen in the iconic blur of red-and-blue in 1978’s Superman, superheroes have catapulted into American popular culture and captured our imaginations. If the 105 films that have followed, along with the recent additions of the mega successful and critically acclaimed The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises […]

By Stephanie Salmon, Cadet, West Point Military Academy Prior to U.S. Female Engagement Teams (F.E.T.s) in Afghanistan, the U.S. experienced difficulty reaching half of the nation’s population: women. As Afghanistan’s population remains evenly split among males and females, the need for American forces to communicate with Afghanistan’s population as a whole remains paramount. With the […]

By Allison Tilt During the past few months, there has been a notable focus on issues relating to women’s representation in visible roles.  Female athletes as part of every participating county’s Olympic team, coupled with a deluge of voices of prominent women (Anne-Marie Slaughter, Sheryl Sandberg and Anne Kim) on the importance of women’s advancement […]

By Grace Kenneally On Sunday night, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was elected to be the next head of the African Union.  Dlamini-Zuma will be the first woman to lead the AU, a fact that has the Women’s League of South Africa “beaming with pride.”  While representation of a woman’s perspective at such a high post is a […]

By WIIS Staff The Washington Monthly article, “Where are the Women Wonks?” by Anne Kim has created a stir similar to last month’s hype over Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article in the Atlantic Monthly, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”. The question that Anne Kim poses is a good one, mostly because of how complicated and […]

By Allison Tilt After Publication Note: As of this morning, the IOC has stated that two Saudi women will compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics. This is a huge step forward for women’s rights in the Middle East. ____________________________________________________________ In honor of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, starting on July 27th, WIIS decided to take […]

By Allison Tilt First of all, I want to remind you that the Monthly Director’s Note is out and available here.  The Director’s Note is a great way to check in on WIIS happenings each month! Here’s what our Director Jolynn Shoemaker had to say about the blog: We have decided that this is the […]

By Jolynn Shoemaker Originally written June 28, 2012 On June 21, The Atlantic featured an article by Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All.” It didn’t take long for the piece to go viral, unleashing a tsunami of commentary on the Internet. Dr. Slaughter’s very personal account of the choices between career advancement and family […]

By Allison Tilt According to UC Berkeley’s Law Blog, at least 70{5f0f57c44bc297437706deade099e6516fe1db1b31ab604b564d60e47f160dcd} of jobs come from network connections. Adding anecdotal evidence from my own experiences, a friend of mine who interned with a popular Washington-based agency (for privacy reasons, I’m leaving out specifics) said staff members asked current interns and other employees about applicants in […]

Welcome to our blog, what we hope will become an online forum to facilitate discussions about issues pertinent to our members. We hope to provide insights into issues surrounding women, peace and security as well as provide a message board for our members to express their thoughts and opinions.  We look forward to making this blog […]

“Women, Peace, and Security: Toward a U.S. Action Plan” by Sarah Williamson, Senior Consultant with Global Emergency Group   Introduction Ten years after the UN Security Council passed a landmark resolution encouraging greater participation of women in all aspects of international peace and security, the United States is just now developing a National Action Plan […]

This morning, Yemeni opposition leaders gathered to discuss the future of Yemen via videoconference with the United States Institute of Peace. The five representatives addressed the collaboration of the various tribes in instigating the ongoing protests. They described the ongoing violence, and confirmed 130 deaths and 5500 wounded civilians. These numbers exclude the factory explosion […]

After four years of heavy lobbying, the infant international agency U.N. Women is taking on the responsibilities of gender equality and female advocacy worldwide. Leading the charge as the first head of the organization is Michelle Bachelet, the first female Chilean defense minister and first woman president of Chile. Her approach is redefining the traditional […]

In recent years, international and regional organisations have adopted a number of important standards concerning the need to address gender issues in security processes and institutions. These include the new Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security. The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces developed a detailed compilation of the international […]

On March 28, 2011, Senator Snowe and her female colleagues in the United States Senate passed a bipartisan resolution, which honored and supported women involved in the ongoing revolutions in the Middle East, calling their courage “contagious”. The resolution emphasizes the importance of women’s rights and participation as these countries address constitutional reform and government […]

  Shared by Dr. Craig Zelizer on January 31, 2011 Finding the right job in conflict resolution, international development and related fields requires a combination of the right experience and training, an understanding of the field, developing strong connections and a bit of serendipity. In addition to academic and/or professional training, it is essential to […]

WIIS is looking for ways we can improve support to our membership, affiliates and other stakeholders. We would like to get your thoughts and insight on how we can improve. Please take our short, 18 question-survey to let us know what you think! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/wiismembershipsurvey

For our upcoming online newsletter, please provide us with news and/or information on your professional accomplishments or developments in order to share them with the WIIS community. Specifically, we would like to highlight any or all of the following: new position/promotion recent publication/article (please send us an online link if you can!) special award/recognition fellowship/grant […]

On Wednesday, May 5th at 4 p.m. the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition will host USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah as he gives a speech on USAID’s Approach to High Impact Development. U.S. Global Leadership Coalition be live streaming the event on usglc.org. If you have a question you think should be part of the discussion, […]

The USAID/Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) invites you to an information session about employment opportunities with USAID/OFDA. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from a panel of OFDA employees on various topics including: * What kind of opportunities exist with OFDA for entry-, mid-, and senior-level people? * What are the various […]

Seizing the Moment: Media & Peacebuilding Media As Global Diplomat May 12, 2010, 9:00am-3:30pm EST Location: Newseum (Knight Conference Center) 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 The United States Institute of Peace and the Independent Television Service, in collaboration with Sesame Workshop and citizen journalists around the world, invite you to a leadership summit […]

USIP Launches The Peacemaker’s Toolkit Series Online! The U.S. Institute of Peace introduces The Peacemaker’s Toolkit, a new series of handbooks for practitioners and educators about the art of mediation available online for free! Each handbook focuses on a particular facet of the mediator’s trade, distilling practical guidance from a wealth of experience and expertise. […]

Engaging Women in Rebuilding Society United States Institute of Peace Thursday, May 6, 2010 1:30pm – 3:30pm 2nd Floor Conference Room, 1200 17th Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20036 Speakers: Nadia Gerspacher, Moderator – Program Officer, Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding, U.S. Institute of Peace Nora Dudwick – Senior Social Scientist, World […]

New Venue for theIPOA May Networking Reception Please Note that the venue for this Networking Reception has changed due to overwhelming demand. The event will now be held at the larger space afforded by the University Club, 1135 16th St. NW in Washington, D.C.IPOA Members and friends are invited to join us for an informal […]

Save the date International Conference NATO’s European Dimension Keynote speech by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen 21 June 2010, Concert Noble, Brussels Brussels, 26 April 2010 We are pleased to announce that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will be giving the keynote speech at the SDA’s annual NATO Conference on 21 June at […]

The Women’s Foreign Policy Group cordially invites you to an evening reception and program A Celebration of Women Diplomats A reception to celebrate and highlight the achievements of women diplomats Join us in honoring: Ambassador Josefina Pitra Diakite, Embassy of Angola Ambassador Deborah Mae Lovell, Embassy of Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador Angele Niyuhire, Embassy of […]

– Author Series Luncheon – Paradise Beneath Her Feet How Women Are Transforming the Middle East Isobel Coleman Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations Over the centuries, women have struggled for equality and basic rights. In Paradise Beneath Her Feet, Dr. Coleman travels throughout the greater Middle East to reveal how […]

DCAF is pleased to announce the launch of the Gender and Security Sector Reform Training Resource Website. The website is meant to provide a user-friendly, online access to the complete Gender and SSR Training Resource Package, as well as a place of exchange for all those involved in Gender and SSR Training. Developed as a […]

Please join the Center for American Progress for a special presentation: April 29, 2010, 10:00am – 11:30am Admission is free. RSVP to attend this event Featuring: Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) The Honorable Ellen O. Tauscher, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 […]

The American Society of International Law’s Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) present A Book Discussion on “The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law” When: Wednesday, May 5, 2010 2:30pm – 3:30pm Author remarks and panel discussion 3:30pm – 4:00pm Audience Q/A session […]

Once again this year, The Institute for Inclusive Security’s Deputy Director for Management and Partnerships Evelyn Thornton will teach a course as part of American University’s Peacebuilding and Development Summer Institute. This year, she will be joined by long-time Women Waging Peace Network member Precious Dennis Mitchell from Liberia who will co-lead the course and […]

Natural Security Navigating the Future Global Environment with a keynote address by The Honorable Carol Browner Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change and David Kilcullen, Rear Admiral Philip Cullom, Robert Kaplan and Christine Parthemore Wednesday, April 28, 2010 3:00-5:30 p.m. – Cocktail reception to follow RSVP here. The effects of climate change […]

A Brigade Commander’s View of Afghanistan Monday, May 3, 2010 1330 – 1500 Baruch Auditorium, Eisenhower Hall National Defense University, Ft. McNair Colonel Mike Howard, CO, 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division will give a presentation based on his time as a brigade commander in Afghanistan. He will discuss the operational environment, pre-deployment and in-theater COIN […]

Esther Pierce Pulis Corcoran, Army officer, dies at 104 Wednesday, April 21, 2010; B06 Esther Pierce Pulis Corcoran, 104, who rose from a private in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps to a lieutenant colonel in the regular Army, died March 24 at Knollwood Retirement Center in Washington. She had Alzheimer’s disease. Col. Corcoran enlisted in […]

UNDP WASHINGTON ROUNDTABLE Haiti: The Key Challenges to “Building Back Better” with His Excellency Raymond Joseph, Ambassador of Haiti to the United StatesPaul Weisenfeld, Coordinator of Haiti Task Team, USAIDSam Worthington, President and CEO, InterActionRebeca Grynspan, Associate Administrator, UNDPModerator: David Yang, Senior Advisor, UNDP/Washington Friday, April 30, 201012:30 to 2:30 p.m. Center for Strategic and […]

Join Us for the The Association of the Stability Operations Industry (IPOA) May Networking Reception Thursday, May 13th 6.00pm to 8.00pm Gordon Biersch Restaurant 900 F St. NW Washington, D.C. 20004 IPOA Members and friends are invited to join us for an informal IPOA Networking Reception at Gordon Biersch in downtown Washington D.C. This reception […]

Nobel Women’s Initiative Update April 20, 2010 News International Gender Justice Dialogue – Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, April 20-21st The volcano in Iceland which has grounded flights throughout Europe has provided the International Gender Justice Dialogue with unforeseen challenges. Contingency plans had been developed for almost every imaginable scenario, yet the disruption caused by volcanic ash […]

Bertelsmann Foundation annual conference”Opportunities in Crisis 2: Defining New Avenues of Growth” This conference, hosted by the Bertelsmann Foundation in cooperation with the Financial Times, again brings together high-level government officials, corporate executives, and leading thinkers from the United States, Europe and beyond. The event will put a special focus on stimulating our economies, the […]

– Author Series Luncheon -Paradise Beneath Her Feet How Women Are Transforming the Middle East Isobel Coleman – Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations Monday, May 10, 2010, 12pm Over the centuries, women have struggled for equality and basic rights. Their challenge in the Middle East has been intensified by the […]

Launch of the Peacemaker’s Toolkit May 4, 2010, 10:00am-11:30am Location:U.S. Institute of Peace2nd floor1200 17th Street NWWashington, D.C. 20036 RSVP: http://peacemakerstoolkitlaunch.eventbrite.com/Directions: http://www.usip.org/pages/visit-us Introducing the The Peacemaker’s Toolkit, a new series of handbooks for practitioners and educators about the art of mediation. On May 4, 2010, the United States Institute of Peace will hold a public […]

Can the EU Remain Relevant? Wednesday, April 28, 201012:00 – 2:00 p.m. Location:German Marshall Fund of the United States 1744 R Street NW, Washington, DC Featuring:Charles Grant – Director, Centre for European Reform, LondonAnne-Marie Slaughter – Director of Policy Planning, United States Department of State Moderator: Karen Donfried – Executive Vice President, German Marshall Fund […]

The American Enterprise Institute is accepting applications for its exciting new program to identify and develop the next generation of leaders who share our commitment to free enterprise, individual liberty, and a strong national defense. The Summer Institute will assemble a select group of Washington’s top young professionals to learn from distinguished scholars, policymakers, and […]

The United Nations Development Program & The Academy for Educational Development invite you to An International Forum in Support of The Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship “Advancing the Cairo Agenda: Entrepreneurship, Education and Gender Equality in the Muslim World” with Soraya Salti, Regional Director, INJAZ Al-Arab; and Summit Delegate (invited)Helmy Abouleish, CEO, Sekem Group; and Summit […]

Please join us on April 22 at 9:00am as author Susan Ginsburg, MPI Nonresident Fellow and former Senior Counsel to the 9/11 Commission, discusses her analysis of recent security and mobility policies and programs and her recommendations for new approaches. She will be joined by Luis Rubio, who is President of CIDAC (Center of Research […]

Lenora Peters Gant, Ph.D. is being awarded the Donald Stewart Alumni Achievement Award at a ceremony on Saturday, April 17, by Harvard University JFK School of Government for her more than 20 years of leadership in public service. Dr. Gant, as an active member of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Alumni Board, created the concept […]

Thursday, April 15, 2010, 11:00am-12:30pm Live webcast: http://www.usip.org/events/gender-equality-global-security At the highest levels of the U.S. government, women are increasingly occupying high-ranking, visible power positions in national security and foreign policy. There have been great strides in recent decades, but it is also clear that much more needs to be done to support women’s leadership. The […]

Regional Collaboration in Cybersecurity Conference Co-hosted by National Defense University and National University of Singapore 13-14 July 2010 Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore A key component of this leadership conference includes an overview of the latest information technologies, while considering the critical challenge of information security. Our intent is to gather regional decision makers to collaborate on […]

Thursday, 27 May 2010 Dr. Daniel GoureVice President, Lexington Institute Nuclear Weapons in the Three-Sided US-Russia-China RelationshipMarriott Residence Inn, Pentagon City6:00-8:00PM Dr. Goure is a Vice President with the Lexington Institute, a nonprofit public-policy research organization. He has held senior positions in both the private sector and the US Government. Prior to the Lexington Institute, […]

Tuesday, April 20th 2010Dr. Andrew KuchinsCenter for Strategic and International StudiesThe Future of Russia and the US-Russian Relationship6:00 – 8:00 PM, Marriott Residence Inn, Pentagon City Andrew Kuchins is a senior fellow and director of the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program. He is an internationally renowned expert on Russian foreign and domestic policies who publishes […]

Film Screening and Panel Discussion What a Billion Muslims Really Think: Human Rights and Muslim Women In cooperation with the El-Hibri Charitable Foundation and Unity Productions Foundation, KARAMAH will hold a film screening of Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think and a panel discussion, “What a Billion Muslims Really Think About Human Rights […]

The Africa Program presents: A Briefing on the Democratic Republic of Congo With: Alan Doss UN Special Representative to the Democratic Republic of Congo Moderated by: Steve McDonald, Consulting Director, Africa Program, Wilson Center Friday, April 9, 2010, 12:30pm to 2:00pm Please join us at 12:00pm for a light lunch on the 6th floor before […]

UNU Worldwide in NY Series For or Against Official Development Assistance? Date: Monday, April 19th, 2010, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00p.m Venue: Conference room 6, Temporary North Lawn Building, UN Headquarters, New York Speaker: Finn Tarp, Director of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) To register: http://fororagainstodawebcast.eventbrite.com/?ref=ebtn The question of foreign […]

TAKING PEACEBUILDING TO CONGRESS Take part in our annual policy conference and Congressional visits. April 14-15 100 Maryland Ave. NE Washington, DC 20002 To register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/580793168 Opening Remarks The Honorable Sam Farr (D-CA) (Confirmed) Peacebuilding & Policymaking Sharon Morris, Mercy Corps Chic Dambach, Alliance for Peacebuilding Overview of U.S. Foreign Assistance Chic Dambach, Alliance for […]

Women of Congo: Finding Hope in the Worst Place on Earth to be a Woman Date: Monday, April 12, 2010 Networking Reception Time: 6:00-7:00 p.m. Lecture Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m. Location: Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98109 Lecture Cost: $10 Members/Students/Intiman Subscribers; $15 Non-Members Networking Reception Cost: $20 Members/Students/Intiman Subscribers; $30 Non-Members. Cost of […]