Peace Processes Case Studies

This qualitative analysis documents how women participate in peace processes—whether in official negotiating roles or through grassroots efforts—and why their inclusion advances security.

Current Peace Efforts

Afghanistan

Current Peace Effort

Overthrown in 2001 by a U.S.-led military campaign, the Taliban has since waged an insurgency against the internationally backed Afghan government, resulting in widespread displacement and destruction, including significant physical threats and restrictions for Afghan women.

Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Current Peace Effort

The seemingly intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rooted in a dispute over the land that makes up present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

Libya

Current Peace Effort

Following the 2011 uprising against Muammar al-Qaddafi and military intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), interim governments struggled for legitimacy as armed militias vied for power.

Myanmar

Current Peace Effort

Since Myanmar gained independence in 1948, various armed ethnic groups seeking greater autonomy from the government have fought the world’s longest-running civil war. Tens of thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by ongoing sectarian violence between the Buddhist community and the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

Sudan

Current Peace Effort

Sudan has been plagued by intermittent civil wars. To the west, conflict in Darfur since 2003 has caused widespread death and displacement. To the south, a 2005 peace agreement prefaced South Sudan’s 2011 secession, but conflict continues between the government and armed groups in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions (the “Two Areas”). In 2019, Sudan began transitioning to democratic civilian rule after a military coup d’état.

Syria

Current Peace Effort

In 2011, protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime quickly escalated into a full-scale armed conflict between anti-government rebel groups and the Syrian government. Outside parties have significantly intervened, particularly as the self-proclaimed Islamic State expanded from Iraq into Syria.

Ukraine

Current Peace Effort

In response to the Ukrainian revolution, Russian troops—in violation of international law—annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March 2014. This invasion incited pro-Russian separatists in two eastern Ukrainian territories to declare independence from Ukraine and prompted an ongoing conflict between Russia-backed separatist forces and the Ukrainian military that has resulted in over fourteen thousand deaths and over 1.5 million internally displaced persons, 59 percent of whom are women.

Yemen

Current Peace Effort

Yemen continues to be devastated by fighting between government loyalists and Houthi rebels sparked by the 2011 uprising that transferred power from former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. Ethnic Houthi rebels from northern Yemen exploited the central government’s weak influence and seized Sanaa in 2014. South Yemen’s separatist militias continue their violent push for secession.

Past Peace Efforts