Between 1961 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi Kurdistan’s quest for independence has led to the violent death of an estimated 180,000 people. At least 12 independent political groups represent the Kurdish minority in the north of the country. These groups have pursued wildly different strategies to reach their goals, some orchestrating terrorist attacks or larger-scale violence, others choosing education and propaganda campaigns, the provision of social services to gain popular support, and demonstrations.

Despite a long history of confrontation and simmering tensions, three senior retired military leaders from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India urge the nations of South Asia to unite around a common rising threat in a new report.

Chad Briggs, strategy director of global interconnections and lecturer at the American University in Kosovo, spoke with adelphi about the role of diplomacy as well as that of the intelligence and military communities in reducing disaster risk and vulnerability.

It used to be a luxury to talk about the environment when you were addressing conflict. Today, “we recognize it’s not a luxury anymore,” said Liz Hume, senior director for programs at the Alliance for Peacebuilding, at the Wilson Center on April 29. Similarly, gender dynamics are now being recognized as playing a critical role in sustainable development and peacebuilding. [Video Below]

Citing security concerns, the government of Kenya recently announced their intent to close the world’s largest refugee complex, Dadaab, after almost 25 years. [Video Below]

Climate change is expected to affect rural to urban migration and Omar O. Chisari and Sebastian Miller, in a recently released working paper by the Inter-American Development Bank, analyze the various policy options available in two cases: domestic migration to São Paulo, and international migration from Bolivia and Paraguay to Argentina. Migration into cities will impact climate change mitigation strategies.

Anyone visiting Singapore, as I did recently, quickly realizes it is exceptional. A tiny, rich, stable city-state of nearly 6 million people perched uneasily in a region of sprawling mega-countries full of poverty and instability, it also a thriving free market trading and financial center that is meticulously planned and where 80 percent of people live in public housing.