Further provocations by North Korea as well as other dangerous military interactions on or around the Korean peninsula remain a serious risk and carry the danger of unintended escalation.

This Contingency Planning Memorandum assesses scenarios and warning signs of renewed Israel-Hezbollah conflict and recommends U.S. action to prevent a "Third Lebanon War."

The displacement of Kyrgyzstan's Uzbeks raises problems of legitimacy for Sunday's constitutional referendum, as well as concerns about the U.S.-leased airbase at Manas, says Kyrgyzstan expert Michele Commercio.

Russia's inaction in response to Kyrgyzstan's ethnic violence reflects a deeper problem with international cooperation, writes CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

Amid Kyrgyzstan's domestic upheaval, the status of an important U.S. military base could become shakier, says expert Alexander Cooley of Columbia University.

Walter Russell Mead says the violence in Kyrgyzstan is shaping up to be "a typical modern horror story."

An interactive map of the Horn of Africa.

After a spasm of violent protests that caused Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital, the international community must push the new transitional government to set the country back on a democratic path, says CFR Central Asia expert Evan Feigenbaum.

Foreign Policy's Barney Jopson reports on the current status of southern Sudan as it gears up for a referendum on southern self-determination due next January, in which the majority of southerners are expected to vote for secession.

Sudan faces the prospect of renewed violence between north and south over the next twelve to eighteen months. Overwhelmingly in favor of independence, the south will either secede peacefully through a credible referendum process as agreed to in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) or pursue this by force if the CPA should collapse. This Center for Preventive Action Contingency Planning Memorandum presents the likely triggers of renewed civil war and discusses the U.S. policy options for preventing it from happening and mitigating its consequences in the event that it does.

The Independent reports on hostility between the north and south in Yemen.

This academic module features teaching notes by Steven Pifer, author of the Council Special Report Averting Crisis in Ukraine, along with additional resources to supplement the text. In this report, Ambassador Pifer examines current issues facing Ukraine, including its geostrategic relevance; the social, political, and economic relationship between Russia and Ukraine; the question of NATO membership; and the possibilities for integration into the West.

Although Lebanon has a new U.S.-backed Prime Minister, Hezbollah remains the dominant military and political force and it holds the key to both domestic and external stability, writes Mohamad Bazzi.

The United States can ill afford the burden of additional foreign policy challenges, making it imperative that the U.S. government find ways to identify, delay, and avert international crises that could harm U.S. interests or even lead to military engagement. In this report, the authors provide an actionable road map for how the U.S. government should revamp its existing U.S. prevention architecture to make it more effective in dealing with potential crises abroad.

This report from the International Crisis Group examines the potential for conflict in Ethiopia ahead of the June 2010 elections as ethnic tensions and dissent rises. The report urges the international community to encourage more meaningful democratic governance in the country.

Edward Thomas reports on the need to broker a better Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan,  the necessary role of the international community, and the potential ramifications of failure.

This report comprehensively analyzes Ukraine's difficulties, related to both domestic conditions and foreign policy, and recommends ways for the United States to encourage Ukraine on a path of stability and integration with the West.