World Peace Foundation

The World in 2050 is going to look very different from the one we know today.

, the rise of mega cities, intensifying stress, and the spread of are already setting the stage for decades of change. None of these futures are fixed, but they’re worth thinking about now.

Our latest essay digs into what these shifts could mean for going forward.

Link in Bio.

The humanitarian system in became highly skilled at describing suffering to external audiences while remaining far less capable of measuring, understanding, or ensuring effective response and sustainable health outcomes.

In our newest blog, Mhd Nour Audi reflects on his time as local humanitarian worker in Syria and explores the paradox, where the machinery of the aid system kept running even as , , and human suffering deepened. His essay offers a powerful perspective on what aid systems miss (or ignore), and how crises can be obscured by distance, , and data by the very systems that are meant to respond to it.

Link in bio

Food security experts worry about a possible emerging global next year, following what meteorologists predict may be the most severe of El Niño on record. The historic impacts of such phenomena show that, when political forces converge with the weather impacts of El Niño, it leads to devastating results. In our newest blog, Kaitlyn Bell and Alex de Waal explore El Niño of 1876-78 and 1896-1901 and how catastrophic they were.

Link in bio.

What happens when the race to build the most powerful in history collides with the need for global cooperation?
Last week, called for a coordinated pause on frontier AI development, framing it not just as a safety issue, but as a problem of international governance. The parallels to are striking, and the obstacles are just as familiar.

Staff recommended reading, Link in bio.

The Gambia v. Myanmar case asks the International Court of Justice to confront a brutal but often overlooked part of genocide: the deliberate destruction of a people’s . This new blog by Yousuf Syed Khan explains how decades of citizenship laws, travel restrictions, land confiscation, and aid blockages left the starved by design, and why that evidence matters not only for but for other cases of engineered , food deprivation, and .

Link in bio

The High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) emerged from a moment when Africa was trying to redefine its political destiny through , , and African ownership.

In this blog, Abdul Mohammed reflects on his time as the chief of staff and senior political advisor to the AUHIP. He argues that the AUHIP defined conflicts through consultation, challenged the parties to think politically, and helped shape the negotiations over and the future of and South Sudan—themes explored in more depth in our book, The Sudans: Africa’s Search for Peace, Democracy, and Two Viable States.

Link in bio.

Nearly two decades ago, peacemaking activities in and set the bar for “African solutions to African problems.” Today, the move from hard-won consensus to durable has proven catastrophic, with both countries in turmoil.

Join us for a book launch hosted by the Geneva Graduate Institute on Executive Director Alex de Waal and Willow Berridge’s new book—The Sudans: Africa’s Search for Peace, Democracy, and Two Viable States. The Sudans tells the story of the African Union’s efforts to make peace in the Sudans between 2009 and 2013. It details the work of the AU High-Level Panel to resolve the war in Darfur, promote democracy in Sudan, and steer the independence of South Sudan.

Date: Thursday, June 4
Time: 6:00-7:30 PM CEST
Location: Maison de la paix, Auditorium A2 and Online
Register here: https://www.graduateinstitute.ch/communications/events/peace-sudan-impossible-dream-reflections-experience-african-peacemaking