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

Mali: War on Terror's Next Battleground

In northern Mali, far from Western eyes, a powerful Al Qaeda affiliate has managed to carve out what is effectively a new country. What they do with it will determine the future of the war on terror.

No Fire Zone: In the Killing Fields of Sri Lanka

While the world looked away as many as 70 thousand civilians lost their lives, most at the hands of government shelling. This is the story of the final bloody weeks of the Sri Lankan civil war.

Armenians: War, Exile and the Loss of Syria

As Syrian Armenians flee their country’s violence to begin new lives in Armenia – a homeland they have never known – the high stakes of the unraveling of Syria come into clearer focus.

Burma in Transition

After decades of isolation, Burma is taking fresh steps toward democracy. The West has strengthened diplomatic ties and trade, but familiar fault lines still threaten prospects for lasting stability.