August, 2008

Full details after the jump

PCR Project Co-Director Rick Barton and Executive Director for the Partnership for a Secure America Matthew Rojansky published a piece in the Des Moines

Former PCR Project colleague Viktoria Schmitt submits the following:

“Remind me again what happened there?” - This was the answer I often got when I told my friends I would be traveling to Burundi this summer. And it reflected well what this war-ravaged tiny country has been receiving from the international community - namely scant attention. Closely linked to events in neighboring Rwanda and Eastern DR Congo, but neither of strategic importance nor “renowned” for its genocide, Burundi is seldom considered apart from the Great Lakes refugee crisis and the UN Peacebuilding Commission. Yet the remarkable recovery that Burundi has undergone in the past years tells a story of hope – a story that could be all the better with some more international engagement.

Richard Just (not a bad name for an article like this), in The New Republic, explores the body of literature that has emerged covering the crisis in Darfur, and why the world still has not stopped the violence.

We've been looking at how the U.S. government engages with religion for a while now (see the report Mixed Blessings for the result of the first 18 months of study). PCR's Hamid Arsalan took a look at what mention the Army's counterinsurgency manual (FM 3-24) makes of religion. It's often treated as one component of a broader identity, as well as a recruitment tool. More excerpts after the jump, but you can check out the full manual here (beware - 13+MB download).

1-17. Before World War I, insurgencies were mostly conservative; insurgents were usually concerned
with defending hearth, home, monarchies, and traditional religion. Governments were seldom able to
completely defeat these insurgencies; violence would recur when conditions favored a rebellion. For example, the history of the British Isles includes many recurring insurgencies by subjugated peoples based on ethnic identities. Another example of a conservative insurgency is the early 19th century Spanish uprising against Napoleon that sapped French strength and contributed significantly to Napoleon’s defeat.

Full details after the jump.

Our friends over at Next America (a great new CSIS initiative that you should check out) have a new debate up this week on what should underpin U.S. foreign assistance. One of the contributers, Marci Moberg, has been a good partner for our religion project.

Full details after the jump.