Issue

Conflict and Peace Building

Nearly 30 years after the Rwandan genocide, thousands of maimed amputees remind us of the war that took 500,000 lives in 100 days. War leaves marks that cannot be erased—not only in Rwanda, but on every continent.

Reporting from Conflict and Peacebuilding examines the roots of conflict, whether it be religious hatred, sectarian rivalry, a security vacuum, the struggle for natural resources, or the desperation that results from poverty.

Pulitzer Center journalists also cover war’s aftermath: the transitional governments that result in chaos, diplomacy that goes awry, peace talks that never end, and the people who suffer the consequences, young and old. We see the children who go hungry, lose their homes, leave school, become combatants, or join the jihad.

Often the end to conflict leaves turmoil in its wake while the road to peace seems circuitous: In South Sudan, rebel-commanders-turned politicians plunge the country into civil war. In the U.S., troops return home from one war only to be re-deployed to another. But everywhere, in every conflict, there are also voices crying out for peace, determined to heal the divide.

 

Conflict and Peace Building

Valley of Unrest

There are now nearly one million Indian troops stationed in Kashmir—more than at the height of the insurgency in the Nineties. The Muslim-majority region and its residents face a rising tide of Hindu nationalism.

How COVID-19 Facilitated the Rebirth of Global Jihadism

Conditions created by the coronavirus form the perfect environment for radical movements. Not only did the Islamic State organization hurry to issue medical, ideological, and communicative instructions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, but it also began to intensify its attacks from the organization's center in Iraq.

Obstacles to Balkans Peace

Russian meddling, nationalist rhetoric, and lingering hatred block Balkan conflict zones' progress.

What Grows in Bloody Ground

Caught between a rising China and a retreating United States, the Philippine government launches twin wars against the forces it says threaten to tear it apart: Chinese drug cartels and ISIS.

Rohingya Under Attack

"All I have left are my words," the Rohingya Muslim refugee said. The AP documents systematic gang rape of Rohingya women by the Myanmar military, and reconstructs a massacre in one Rohingya village.

An American War in the Sahara

The U.S. military is building a major drone base in the Sahara Desert in Niger. Joe Penney looks at how an increasing American military presence will change the West African country.

Iran's Victims of Nerve Agent Warfare

During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, chemical weapons killed or sickened tens of thousands of Iranians. Studies of the survivors are helping to prepare for—or even deter—future attacks.

Laos: Remnants from War

Erin McGoff is producing a full-length feature independent documentary titled "Little Land of Mines" about the resilience of the Lao people as they live among and work to clear 80 million unexploded ordnance from the U.S. Secret War in Laos.