Reader’s Digest provides a weekly, curated selection of articles and reports in the public domain, sourced from respected global policy institutions.
Amnesty International: Global: New UN climate accountability resolution an important step in advancing climate justice
Amnesty International reports that the new UN climate accountability resolution, building on the ICJ’s 2025 advisory opinion, marks a critical step toward addressing climate-driven human rights harms, as states recognize legal duties to act collectively against the existential threat of climate change.
IPI: Sudanese Are Not Waiting for International Support—They Have Begun the Recovery from Within
Nada Wanni, Conflict Analysis Consultant, argues that Sudanese communities, despite chronic underfunding and conflict, are leading grassroots recovery efforts, restoring agriculture, livestock, and markets while international aid focuses on immediate needs, risking the loss of critical local infrastructure for long-term resilience.
Carnegie Endowment: Trump and Xi Should Tackle a Previously Impossible AI Conversation
Scott Singer, Fellow, asserts that the Trump-Xi summit offers a chance to focus U.S.- China AI dialogue on extreme risks, as both sides now recognize shared threats, enabling cooperation on model testing and red-teaming without compromising intellectual property.
IISS: Strategic stability and nuclear risks in the Asia-Pacific
Daniel Salisbury, Senior Fellow, contends that the Asia-Pacific is the epicenter of a new nuclear arms race, as China triples its arsenal, Russia and the U.S. modernize forces, and regional states like India, Pakistan, and North Korea expand capabilities, while non-nuclear states pursue long-range conventional strikes, raising escalation risks amid limited arms control.
RUSI: The Peace and Security System has Three Functions. African States Need a Fourth
Natascha Hryckow, Associate Fellow, argues that the multilateral peace and security system excels at coercing, constraining, and signaling but fails in Africa because it lacks a "build" function, restoring governance, institutions, and legitimacy, to replace the social roles armed groups perform, leaving communities more vulnerable after interventions.
Members Recommendations
Cecilia McGill recommends:
The Rise and Ironic Fall of Aid
In this article published on Substack, Mark Malloch-Brown contends that Western aid, once a rare success in reducing global poverty through initiatives like the MDGs, is now being slashed and repurposed for donor interests, as domestic economic failures and political shifts reverse decades of progress, risking a return to the failed "aid for arms" era.
Huseyin Avni Botsali recommends:
UN News: Afghanistan crisis deepens as record returns, drought and aid cuts strain economy
UN News reports Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis worsens as 2.9 million returnees strain resources, drought cuts water access, and aid declines by 16.5%, leaving 28 million in poverty and 80% of households in debt, while Taliban restrictions on women deepen economic hardship.
Chatham House: Trump–Xi summit will be about managing US–China rivalry, not resolving it
Max Yoeli, Senior Research Fellow, argues the Trump-Xi summit reflects a transactional U.S. approach and China’s strategic patience, as both sides prioritize managing rivalry over resolving structural issues like trade, Taiwan, and technology, while domestic constraints and asymmetric economic statecraft shape their stalemate.
Carnegie Endowment: The Iran War Isn’t the Only Challenge Facing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030
Andrew Leber, Nonresident scholar, argues Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 faces setbacks as megaprojects stall, PIF growth plateaus, and the Iran war disrupts economic plans, while debates over university cuts reveal tensions between economic pragmatism and national identity.
CFR: Even In a Historic Energy Crisis, ASEAN Fails Again
Joshua Kurlantzick, Senior Fellow, contends ASEAN’s 2026 summit failed to address the Iran war’s energy crisis, as members prioritized national interests over regional cooperation, exposing the bloc’s consensus-based paralysis on energy, trade, and Myanmar.
Modern Diplomacy: Chinese Analysis of Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Hedging in the Hormuz Crisis
Dr. Nadia Helmy, Associate Professor of Political Science, Beni Suef University, asserts China views Saudi Arabia’s refusal to support U.S. strikes on Iran as strategic hedging, creating opportunities for Beijing to expand Gulf influence by positioning itself as a stable, non-interventionist alternative to Washington’s confrontational approach.
Lowy Institute: Mainstreamed but sidelined: Global funding for gender equality
Grace Stanhope, Research Fellow, argues that global gender equality funding prioritizes mainstreaming over core sectors, leaving lifesaving programs underfunded, as political backlash and aid cuts threaten decades of progress despite policy commitments.
Members Corner
Omar Samad on Taliban Diplomacy: Trump, the Taliban, and Bagram
In this episode of Middle East Macro Media, host Agnieszka Pikulicka speaks with Ambassador Omar Samad about U.S.–Taliban negotiations, hostage diplomacy, the renewed debate over Bagram Air Base, and the future of Afghan refugees and immigration policy.
Members Recommendations
Dominik Bartsch recommends:
NYU Center on International Cooperation: Death By A Thousand Cuts: Austerity is No Substitute for Reform
Thibault Camelli contends that UN austerity—driven by U.S. conditionality on arrears—undermines reform by prioritising uniform budget cuts over strategic mandates, eroding operational capacity in mediation and peacebuilding, and transferring long-term costs for short-term savings, risking institutional decline.
Huseyin Avni Botsali recommends:
The Times of Central Asia: Opinion: Hormuz Crisis Pushes Afghanistan Aid Routes Toward Central Asia
Aidar Borangaziyev, Pakistani Diplomat, argues the Hormuz crisis disrupts Afghanistan’s aid routes, tripling delivery costs and forcing a shift to Central Asian corridors like the Lapis Lazuli route, as instability, Pakistani border closures, and Iranian restrictions create a "triple crisis" for humanitarian logistics.
Amnesty International: DRC: Rampant ADF abuses against civilians ‘war crimes which the world must not continue to ignore’ – new report
Amnesty International reports that ADF fighters in eastern DRC commit war crimes and crimes against humanity—mass killings, abductions, child recruitment, and sexual violence— exploiting security gaps, while global inaction and impunity perpetuate the humanitarian crisis.
ECFR: Magyar’s mandate: Six insights from a post-election Hungary
Piotr Buras, Senior Policy Fellow, and Pawel Zerka, Senior Policy Fellow, argue Péter Magyar’s mandate prioritizes domestic reform over EU alignment, as Hungarians demand change but remain divided on Ukraine support, Russian energy dependence, and progressive policies, complicating his ability to deliver lasting transformation.
The New Humanitarian: “We are going to die”: The frontline costs of Uganda’s new US health agreement
Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu, investigative journalist, demonstrates that despite Washington's framing of its $2.3 billion Uganda health MOU as a path to "health sovereignty," the real- world effect has already been a collapse in frontline staffing and a rollback of legal post- abortion and HIV services, with women dying as a consequence of the transition's pace outstripping the health system's capacity to absorb it.
FP: ASEAN’s Angry Summit
Joseph Rachman, reports that the Cebu summit is being overshadowed by the Iran war's energy shock, with Southeast Asian leaders — increasingly resentful of US foreign policy adventurism — focused on emergency oil-sharing arrangements, while Beijing seizes the moment to position itself as the region's more reliable partner.
CFR: Trump’s Project Freedom Isn’t Going to Open the Strait of Hormuz
Max Boot, Senior Fellow, contends Trump’s "Project Freedom" fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran’s blockade and retaliation outpace U.S. military efforts, proving only diplomacy—not force or economic pressure—can resolve the crisis.
Members Corner
The Ambassador’s Partnership: South Sudan: Ever on the brink
Douglas Scott Proudfoot contends that Kiir's arrest of Machar, an accelerating diaspora brain drain, a chronically under-resourced UNMISS, and oil-dependent finances hollowed out by pipeline disruption are pushing South Sudan toward a third civil war — with potentially destabilising consequences for the entire Horn of Africa.
Members Recommendations
Kerstin Leitner recommends:
Oxford University Press: The Oxford Handbook of Digital Diplomacy
In 34 chapters, Corneliu Bjola and Ilan Manor describe and discuss the potential and pitfalls of diplomacy via electronic platforms and social media.
Reader's Digest 1st May 2026
Carnegie Endowment: India’s Demographic Dividend Is a Test of Governance
Apoorva Jadhav, Non-resident scholar, asserts India’s demographic transition offers economic potential, but its payoff depends on governance reforms to create jobs, education, and inclusive growth for its youthful population.
Bahana Mirindi Hydrogene, Founder and Executive Director of Solidarity Initiative for Refugees, asserts the humanitarian system exploits refugee-led organizations as low-cost implementers while denying them multi-year funding, fair salaries, and institutional support, perpetuating a cycle of dependency and brain drain.
IPI: UN80 and the Unfinished Work of Development Reform
Robert Piper, Non-resident Senior Fellow, argues UN80 reforms must build on 2018’s progress by empowering Resident Coordinators, reducing earmarked funding, and clarifying regional roles to adapt the UN’s 1940s architecture to 21st-century challenges.
Amnesty International reports that the US is failing to investigate or compensate survivors of its 2025 Yemen detention center strike, exposing systemic disregard for civilian harm mitigation and international law.
Portia Danlugu, Programme Officer at the WYPSI, argues West Africa’s youth remain excluded from peace and security decision-making, with tokenistic engagement fueling instability, while structural reforms and ECOWAS-led standards could harness their potential as partners.
Members Corner
La Libre Belgique: Bart De Wever has the courage to assert that negotiations with Russia are more necessary than ever.
Dirk Rochtus and Johan Swinnen affirm that Belgian PM Bart De Wever argues negotiations with Russia are essential to end Ukraine’s war, normalize relations, and regain access to affordable energy, despite controversy over his stance.
Reader's Digest 24th April 2026
Foreign Policy: Why the Junta Released Myanmar’s President
Joseph Rachmann, writer of the weekly Southeast Asia Brief, demonstrates that reports that Myanmar's junta freed deposed president Win Myint and modestly reduced Aung San Suu Kyi's 27-year sentence as part of a broader 4,335-person amnesty, contending the move is less an act of mercy than a calculated attempt by the newly self-appointed President Min Aung Hlaing to legitimise military rule.
Chatham House: After three years of war, Sudan’s civilians need stronger support
Ahmed Soliman, Senior Research Fellow, believes that despite the Berlin conference's €1.5 billion in humanitarian pledges, the international community continues to fall short on what matters most, coordinating fractured diplomatic mechanisms and building a credible, Sudanese civilian-led political process, without which no ceasefire is achievable.
IPI: The 2026 Secretary-General Race: Too Many Candidacies without Political Backing
Daniel Safran-Hon, argues that several candidates in the UNSG race — notably Macky Sall and Michelle Bachelet — lack the credible political backing from their own governments that history shows is essential, and risk harming the organisation and their own reputations by remaining in a race they cannot plausibly win.
Brookings: An immigration slowdown led to widespread declines in population growth in America’s major metro areas
William H.Frey, Senior Fellow, asserts that the Trump administration's immigration restrictions have already cut new immigrants to major US metro areas by more than half in a single year, with all 56 largest metros experiencing population growth slowdowns or outright declines — and warns this may be only the early stages of a much deeper demographic and economic contraction.
Africa Center for Strategic Studies: Building Trust to Buttress Senegal Against the Growing Threat of Violent Extremism
Boucar Baba Ndiaye, former country coordinator for the Justice and Security Dialogue in Senegal, maintains that lessons from Senegal's Casamance conflict show security forces' sustained trust-building with local communities is the most effective preventive tool against violent extremism, and urges adaptation of this model to the country's vulnerable eastern border regions as JNIM pressure from Mali intensifies.
Members Corner
Rethinking Conflict in a Changing World
In this article published on Substack, Omar Samad and Martin Kobler contend that Western policymakers — too often driven by cultural blind spots, hawkish overconfidence, and a misreading of adversaries' survival instincts — repeatedly generate the very chaos they intend to contain, and that durable stability can only come from reciprocal diplomacy and respect for sovereignty rather than coercive dominance.
Toda Peace Institute: The Secretary-General This Moment Demands
Jordan Ryan maintains that the next UNSG must be a genuine political leader capable of acting credibly when Security Council consensus is absent — invoking Article 99, treating AI as a governance emergency, and deploying independent envoys — rather than defaulting to process management or deference to the P5.
Members Recommendations
Dominik Bartsch recommends:
Westenberg: Optimism is not a personality flaw
Ja Westenberg argues that pessimism masquerades as intelligence while guaranteeing inaction, mirroring IR's debate over whether clear-eyed realism or committed engagement with institutions and norms actually produces better outcomes.
Huseyin Avni Botsali recommends:
Al Jazeera: The three clocks of the Iran war
Jasim Al-Azzawi, Analyst and Journalist, posits that the US-Iran conflict is structurally explosive because its three protagonists operate on irreconcilable timelines: Trump urgently needs resolution before the midterms, Iran's strategy is to outlast him, and Netanyahu has every political incentive to keep the war going indefinitely.
Farid Zarif recommends:
ICG: Prioritising Peace: What the UN Should Ask of Its Next Secretary-General
Daniel Forti, Head of UN Affairs, insists that with multilateral peacemaking in decline and major powers openly disregarding international frameworks, the next UNSG must prioritise rebuilding the UN's credibility as a conflict management institution — championing active crisis diplomacy and peacekeeping reform rather than retreating to safer technocratic ground.
Kerstin Leitner recommends:
Book: The End of Violence - Eliminating the World’s Most Dangerous Epidemic
In his book, Dr. Gary Slutkin, proposes that violence — from street shootings to authoritarian state violence — is a contagious epidemic that spreads through brains and communities by the same biological mechanisms as infectious disease, and can therefore be contained and eliminated using proven epidemic-interruption methods already validated across the US and Latin America.
Reader's Digest 17th April 2026
Amnesty International: Sudan: Three years on, warring parties intensify brutal war on civilians
Amnesty International reports that both the SAF and RSF continue committing systematic war crimes against Sudanese civilians, including sexual violence and deliberate killings, while international actors remain dangerously passive.
The New Humanitarian: The real ramifications of Israel’s mass evacuation orders in Lebanon
Ranine Awwad, journalist and researcher, asserts Israel’s chaotic, overly broad evacuation orders in Lebanon—often issued with minimal warning—force mass displacement, sow panic, and may constitute forced displacement, as civilians face relentless bombing and no truly safe refuge.
Chatham House: Hungary election: Orbán has been defeated – but will Orbánism survive?
Grégoire Roos, Director, Europe and Russia and Eurasia Programmes, posits that while Péter Magyar's landslide victory ends Orbán's 16-year rule and relieves EU tensions, the deeply embedded political reflexes of Orbánism may persist in opposition, making a clean ideological break unlikely.
CFR: A Failed U.S. Attempt to Opt Out of Democracy Talk
Michelle Gavin, Senior Fellow, warns that Washington's deliberate silence on electoral integrity in countries like Cameroon and Burkina Faso does not remove the US from the democracy debate — it simply allows authoritarians and their backers to fill the vacuum with their own narratives.
FP: Israel, Lebanon Hold Rare U.S.-Mediated Peace Talks on Hezbollah
Alexandra Sharp, World Brief writer, reports that Israel and Lebanon held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, brokered by Secretary Rubio, though fundamental disagreements over Hezbollah's disarmament and ceasefire terms leave any breakthrough fragile.
Members Corner
China facilitates Complex Afghanistan-Pakistan Talks
In this article published by Substack, Omar Samad analyses how Beijing's week-long trilateral mediation in Ürümqi secured modest de-escalation commitments between Kabul and Islamabad, though the process remains fragile given unresolved militant activity and deep mistrust on both sides.
Members Recommendations
Clem McCartney recommends:
IIP: Diplomacy in the Age of Conflict: Challenges, Shifts, and Future Directions
Watch the recorded discussion where H.E. Kees Rade, H.E. Victoria Roșa, H.E. Selim Yenel, Marta Ruedas and Johannes Swoboda delve into current challenges facing diplomacy amid rising global tensions.
Huseyin Avni Botsali recommends:
Ehtebar: Second 'National Dialogue' Session Held in Berlin with Over 60 Afghan Figures
Over 60 Afghan political and civil society figures met in Berlin, condemning five years of girls' education bans as an irreparable national injustice and launching a campaign demanding Afghan girls' right to schooling.
Nina Lahoud recommends:
Common Dreams: The American Medical Association Is Failing to Speak Up for Dr. Abu Safiya
Jenin contends that the AMA's continued silence over the detention and alleged torture of imprisoned Gaza physician Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is a moral failure, particularly given US complicity in Israeli policies and the AMA's stated commitment to physicians' rights globally.
Theia Chanelle reveals that residents and security officials in Israeli border communities increasingly support the permanent occupation and forced depopulation of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, a once-fringe position now edging toward the mainstream amid ongoing fighting.
Reader's Digest 10th April 2026
Amnesty International: Iran: President Trump’s apocalyptic threats of large-scale civilian devastation demand urgent global action to prevent atrocity crimes
Amnesty International reports that Trump’s threats to demolish Iran’s civilian infrastructure violate international law, risking genocide and war crimes, and demand urgent global intervention to prevent atrocities.
Chatham House: Can Viktor Orbán lose Hungary’s high-stakes election?
Grégoire Roos, Director, asserts Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule faces a credible challenge in Hungary’s election, with outcomes impacting EU cohesion, Hungary’s Russia ties, and transatlantic relations, but systemic change remains unlikely.
ISS Africa: Macky Sall’s UN bid: a stress test for the African Union?
Djiby Sow, Senior Researcher, maintains that the AU’s rejection of Macky Sall’s UN bid underscores its adherence to procedures, not disunity, and highlights the need for transparent, collective endorsement processes.
SAIIA: Iran War: What African Countries Can Do to Get Through the Crisis and Emerge in a Better Place
Daniel Bradlow, Senior Fellow, proposes that African countries must mitigate the Iran war’s economic fallout through debt relief, creative financing, and regional cooperation to emerge stronger post-crisis.
IISS: The proliferation of AI-enabled military technology in the Middle East
Noor Hammad, Research Analyst, contends that the Middle East’s rapid adoption of AI in warfare—led by Israel’s Lavender and Gospel systems, U.S. use of Palantir’s Maven, and regional facial-recognition programs—exposes civilians to unprecedented risks, as weak international regulations and commercial complicity undermine humanitarian law and enable mass surveillance and targeting errors.
Members Corner
Toda Peace Institute: From Reform to Reinvention: Reimagining the United Nations for the 21st Century
In this report, Jordan Ryan argues that the UN faces existential crises due to financial fragility, political paralysis, and outdated structures, urging not reform but reinvention to address 21st century challenges and restore legitimacy.
Members Recommendations
Farid Zarif recommends:
UNCPR: General Assembly Responses to Conflict and Crisis Situations
Erica Gaston, Catharina Nickel, and Rebecca Hinkhouse demonstrate the UN General Assembly’s evolving role in addressing conflicts and crises, analyzing 46 cases to reveal patterns, tools, and case studies for peace, security, and humanitarian action.
Huseyin Avni Botsali recommends:
AA: OPINION - Is the Afghan-Pakistani conflict an engineered front?
Imran Khalid, geostrategic analyst, suggests the Afghan-Pakistani conflict may be engineered to destabilize China’s CPEC, with external actors exploiting militant groups and regional rivalries to undermine Pakistan’s security and economic stability.
Reader's Digest 4th April 2026
Berghof Foundation: Climate adaptation and peacebuilding keep missing each other
Sebastian Kratzer and Nazanine Moshiri contend that despite growing recognition of their interconnection, peacebuilding and climate adaptation continue operating under separate mandates and funding streams, creating a vicious cycle in fragile states where climate stress deepens instability and instability undermines adaptation efforts.
Chatham House: Iraqi civilians are paying the price of the Iran war
Hayder Al-Shakeri, Research Fellow, demonstrates that Iraq has been caught between both sides of the US-Israeli war on Iran, with civilians facing drone strikes, food price rises of up to 25%, looming electricity shortages, and a state safety net at risk of collapse within two months
IPI: UN Secretary-General Candidates Should Come to Geneva
Adam Day, Head of Geneva Office, contends that confining the UN Secretary-General selection dialogues to New York ignores Geneva's role as the operational centre for humanitarian, health, trade, and rights bodies, and that adding member-state dialogues there would be simple, low-cost, and more representative of the UN's full mandate
ECFR: The art of the off-ramp: How Europe can pressure Trump to end the war in Iran
Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director, posits that Europeans should exploit Trump's domestic vulnerabilities — particularly fuel prices and poll numbers — by denying him allied legitimacy for escalation while constructing a face-saving off-ramp he can present as a deal rather than a retreat
Devex: US Republican lawmakers ask Rubio to block Michelle Bachelet's UN bid
Colum Lynch, Senior Global Reporter, reports that 28 Republican lawmakers wrote to Secretary Rubio, urging the US to veto Michelle Bachelet's UN Secretary-General bid, condemning her abortion advocacy and her handling of China's Uyghur abuses during her tenure as high commissioner for human rights
Members Corner
A Mass Killing in Kabul Tests Whether the Laws of War Still Matter
In this article published on Substack, Omar Samad and Mushtaq Rahim contend that Pakistan's airstrike on Kabul's Omid rehabilitation centre, which killed at least 143 patients, constitutes a probable war crime under international humanitarian law, and that accountability — through the ICC, universal jurisdiction, or UN-mandated mechanisms — must be pursued incrementally rather than abandoned to impunity.
Toda Peace Institute: Why the World Funds War but Starves Peace
Jordan Ryan argues that the chronic underfunding of diplomacy and peacebuilding relative to military spending is not a scarcity problem but a political choice — one that consistently privileges the visible spectacle of war over the invisible success of prevention, with costs falling disproportionately on the world's poorest countries.
Members Recommendations
Nina Lahoud recommends:
Common Dreams: ‘A War Crime’: UN Rights Chief Urges Immediate Repeal of Israel’s New Death Penalty Law
Brett Wilkins reports that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned Israel's newly passed law mandating hanging for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic killings within 90 days, calling it discriminatory, inconsistent with international law obligations, and constituting a war crime in its application to the occupied Palestinian territory.
Huseyin Avni Botsali recommends:
AP: AP Exclusive: Pakistan and Afghan Taliban officials meet in China for ceasefire talks
Munir Ahmed, Elena Becatoros and Abdul Qahar Afghan report that Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government held their first round of China-mediated ceasefire talks in Urumqi, even as Afghanistan accused Pakistan of simultaneously firing mortars into its territory — the latest stumble in a conflict described as the most severe fighting between the two countries in decades.
Reader's Digest 27th March 2026
Amnesty International: USA/Iran: Trump’s warning that USA will attack Iran’s power plants is a threat to commit war crimes
Amnesty International reports that Trump's threatened strikes on Iranian power plants would cause disproportionate civilian harm, violating international humanitarian law and potentially constituting war crimes.
CSIS: Assessing the Air Campaign After Three Weeks: Iran War By the Numbers
Mark F. Cancian, Senior Advisor, and Chris H. Park, Research Associate, demonstrate that the US air campaign has settled into a sustainable pace of 300–500 targets per day, Iran's launches have significantly declined, and Gulf states are achieving interception rates of 80–90 percent
RUSI: Europe's Power is Defined by the Ability to Take Action in Ukraine
Frederick Mattys, independent consultant, demonstrates that the UN development system suffers a triple disconnect between formal governance, donor financial control, and program-country voice, urging the next Secretary-General to leverage their underestimated authority to rebalance power
ECFR: Lebanon on the brink: Europe must act now if it wants to prevent a refugee waveKelly Petillo, Programme Manager, contends that with Lebanon facing over a thousand dead and a million displaced, Europe must go beyond humanitarian aid, throwing its full diplomatic weight behind France's push to avert state collapse and a refugee wave.
ACCORD: Africa–West Relations at a Turning Point: Interests, Agency and a New Bargain
Dr John Kayode Fayemi, Visiting Professor at the King’s College London, shows that Africa's growing geopolitical leverage, driven by critical minerals, demographics, and strategic competition, demands a fundamentally new partnership with the West, centred on industrialisation, sovereign debt reform, and genuine co-design
Podcast
Chatham House: Is Iran one crisis too many for Trump? Independent Thinking podcast
Bronwen Maddow, Director and Chief Executive and Dr Christopher Sabatini, Senior Research Fellow discuss that three weeks into the US-Israel air campaign on Iran, Trump is failing to secure international support, while NATO allies remain reluctant to engage amid widening regional turmoil.
Members Recommendations
We want to express our thanks to Ranjit Rae, Antonio Amrellini and all DWB and external participants for being a part of Wednesday's webinar on the Gen Z protests in Nepal. Ambassador Rae described that through the growth of social media platforms, the current Nepalese Gen Z has not only become more aware of the different living standards compared to its neighbours, but has additionally gained the capacity to mobilise large numbers to fight for real change, as seen through the protests that led to the downfall of the Nepalese regime. Ambassador Rae, however, pointed to the fact that these developments are deeply rooted in long-standing issues in Nepal, from limited job opportunities for young professionals and youth exclusion from political processes, to corruption.
What this change in government means for Nepal and its future remains to be observed in the coming months, but participants left the webinar with the consensus that through the Gen Z protests, there now is hope for a sustainable democratic shift in Nepal.
Cecilia McGill's recommendation reflects the insights drawn from the webinar:
The Carnegie Endowment: Gen Z Protests Across Asia Offer a Delicate but Renewed Democratic Order
Usama Khilji, Cofounder and Director, Bolo Bhi explain that Gen Z protests across Asia, driven by inequality, authoritarian governance, and youth exclusion from policymaking, offer fragile but meaningful opportunities for democratic renewal.
Nina Lahoud recommends:
Farageer: Justice Inverted : The Taliban's Criminal Code and the Normalization of Oppression
In this recorded webinar (available to rewatch by clicking on the title above), Islamic scholars, experts and civil society representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia and the US contend that the Taliban's January 2026 Penal Code institutionalises gender, religious, and class discrimination, with critics calling it pre-Islamic and archaic.
Huseyin Avni Botsali recommends:
Madras Courier: From Patron To Predator: Pakistan Turns On Its Afghan Clients
Timor Sharan, Associate Fellow, aruges that Pakistan's military escalation against the Taliban, its former proxy, reflects a calculated ISI strategy to degrade Taliban capacity, eliminate hardline leadership, and install a more pliable dispensation, potentially clearing the path for a US return to Bagram.
Reader's Digest 20th March 2026
Amnesty International: USA/Iran: Those responsible for deadly and unlawful US strike on school that killed over 100 children must be held accountable
Amnesty International reports that the US violated international humanitarian law in its February 2026 strike on a Minab school, killing 168 people, including over 100 children, likely relying on outdated intelligence, and demands accountability.
CSIS: How Does Saudi Arabia See the War with Iran?
Michael Ratney, Senior Advisor, argues that Saudi Arabia views the Iran war with deep ambivalence: welcoming Iranian military degradation while fearing regional instability, economic exposure, and being abandoned by an impulsive Washington.
IPI: The UN’s Hidden Power Architecture: What the Next Secretary-General Must Understand
Frederick Mattys, independent consultant, demonstrates that the UN development system suffers a triple disconnect between formal governance, donor financial control, and program-country voice, urging the next Secretary-General to leverage their underestimated authority to rebalance power
Atlantic Council: The Gaza cease-fire is over. What’s next from Israel, Hamas, and the US?
Shalom Lipner, Senior Fellow, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Senior Fellow, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Senior Fellow, and Jonathan Panikoff, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, the reason that Israel's resumption of strikes after the Gaza ceasefire collapsed serves Netanyahu's domestic politics more than strategic goals, leaving hostages, civilians, and a durable peace all worse off
ECFR: Europe after the end of the liberal international order
Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies, maintains that bombing campaigns and externally driven regime change in Iran are unlikely to produce democracy without credible political planning.
Members Recommendations
Vladimir Zhagora recommends:
World Peace Foundation: SGBV, Reproductive Violence & Starvation: Mutually Reinforcing Crimes in Gaza
The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH), documents that sexual violence, reproductive harm, and starvation in Gaza form an interlocking system of gendered domination targeting Palestinian women's bodies to fracture Palestinian society as a whole.
Cecilia McGill recommends:
The Carnegie Endowment: Israel’s Forever Wars
Nathan J. Brown, Senior Fellow, contends that Israel has permanently shed its old deterrence-and-diplomacy framework since October 7, replacing it with a strategy of dominance, degradation, and preventing adversarial recovery, now driving regional war.
Reader's Digest 13th March 2026
Amnesty International: Global: States overwhelmingly back UN roadmap on women’s rights and access to justice despite attempts to derail negotiations
Amnesty International contends that most UN member states supported a roadmap strengthening women’s access to justice, despite attempts by some governments to weaken established gender-equality commitments.
Chatham House: China’s economic statecraft has been exposed by US attacks on Iran and Venezuela
James Kynge, Senior Fellow, asserts that US strikes on Iran and Venezuela reveal limits of China’s partnerships, exposing Beijing’s pragmatic prioritisation of stable relations with Washington.
ECFR: Strategic lunacy: Why Europeans must stand up to Trump’s illegal war in IranJulien Barnes-Dacey, Director, and Ellie Geranmayeh, Deputy Director, maintain that Europeans must oppose Trump’s Iran war and pursue diplomacy to protect European security.
Berghof Foundation: Towards safer engagement with women peacebuilders
The Berghof Foundation emphasises that protecting women peacebuilders’ mental health and safety through “Do No Harm” approaches is essential for enabling meaningful and sustainable participation in peace processes
The Carnegie Endowment: Bombing Campaigns Do Not Bring About Democracy. Nor Does Regime Change Without a Plan.
Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies, maintains that bombing campaigns and externally driven regime change in Iran are unlikely to produce democracy without credible political planning.
Members Recommendations
Nina Lahoud recommends:
OHCHR: UN experts condemn ‘Board of Peace’, call for a reparative, rights-based approach to reconstruction in Gaza
UN Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts of the UN Human Rights Council condemn widespread conflict violence and advocate a rights-based, reparative peace approach prioritising accountability, justice, and long-term protection for affected populations.
Gay Rosenblum-Kumar recommends:
IPI: Civilian Perceptions and Protection of Civilians by Peacekeepers: Integrating Local Views into Robust Peace Operations
Linnéa Gelot and Prabin B. Khadka argue that integrating civilian perceptions into peacekeeping strategies improves protection of civilians and enhances the legitimacy and effectiveness of UN operations.
IPI: Local Civilians’ Role in the Protection of Civilians: Expanding UN-Led Protection through Community-Led Approaches
Rachel Julian and Berit Bliesemann de Guevara propose expanding UN protection strategies by empowering local civilian networks and community-led initiatives.
Reader's Digest 6th March 2026
The Carnegie Endowment: The Gulf Monarchies Are Caught Between Iran’s Desperation and the U.S.’s Recklessness
Andrew Leber, Nonresident scholar, contends Gulf monarchies are trapped between Iran’s aggressive strikes and the U.S.–Israel’s war strategy, undermining their diplomacy and economic stability while pressuring collective defence frameworks.
CSIS: Why Did Pakistan Announce “Open War” Against the Taliban?
Alexander Palmer, Fellow, and Alexander Margolis contend that Pakistan's "open war" declaration against the Taliban stems from TTP escalation, with further ground incursions and regional destabilisation likely
Chatham House: With Iran attacks, President Trump is making the use of force the new normal – and casting aside international law
Professor Marc Weller, Director of the Global Governance and Security Centre, contends that President Trump’s Iran attacks risk normalising force and undermining international law by bypassing UN mandate requirements.
CSIS: Venezuelans Welcome U.S. Intervention, But Hope for a Rapid Democratic Transition Post-Maduro
Mark Feierstein, Senior Advisor and Mary Speck, former Senior Advisor, observe Venezuelans cautiously welcome U.S. intervention but stress urgent, credible democratic transition post-Maduro for stability and legitimacy.
IISS: Trump and Netanyahu go for Iran’s jugular
Emile Hokayem, Senior Fellow, argues that Trump and Netanyahu's military strikes on Iran were inevitable, driven by hawkish advisers, and risk creating a long-term regional catastrophe despite early military advantages.
Members Corner
Avoiding a Wider Catastrophe in South-Central Asia
In this article published by Substack, Omar Samad advocates preventing broader conflict in South-Central Asia, emphasising urgent diplomatic engagement to avert a regional catastrophe amid Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions.
Members Recommendations
Nina Lahoud recommends:
Statement of Appeal for Peace: Escalating Conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Wider Regional Implications
The group of Seven Plus (g7+) calls for a de-escalation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, stressing urgent regional dialogue to prevent widening conflict and destabilising spillover effects.
Farid Zarif recommends:
Consortium News: Other Avenues to Try, to Stop the War on Iran
Marjorie Cohn argues that the U.S.–Israeli attack on Iran violates international law, urges the U.N. General Assembly to use the “Uniting for Peace” mechanism, and calls for legal accountability and global pressure to stop the war.
UnHerd: It’s time for Europe to resume talks with Russia
Pavel Devyatkin and Anatol Lieven argue that Europe must reopen direct diplomatic channels with Russia to avoid accidental escalation and meaningfully participate in Ukraine peace negotiations.
Roeland Van De Geer recommends:
The Atlantic: The End of Diplomacy
Vivian Salama argues that Trump has hollowed out traditional diplomacy, sidelining career foreign-service officers and allies in favour of informal deal-making by loyalists like Witkoff and Kushner.
Reader's Digest 27th February 2026
IPI: From Ambiguous Governance to Stabilisation Failure in Gaza: The Limits of the Board of Peace
Carol Daniel-Kasbari, Senior Associate Director, argues that Gaza’s ambiguous governance has driven the failure of stabilization, exposed the limits of peace mechanisms, and left civilians trapped amid overlapping political and security vacuums.
IISS: New openings for peace in Sudan?
Benjamin Petrini, Research Fellow, explores emerging openings for peace in Sudan by analysing shifting conflict dynamics, ceasefire prospects, and the roles of internal and external actors toward reducing violence.
Raymond La Raja, Nonresident Senior Fellow and Professor Robert Saldin explain how public participation can both strengthen and weaken democratic governance depending on how civic engagement interacts with institutions, norms, and accountability.
ISS Africa: From SONA to the street: what real dialogue in South Africa looks like
Chandré Gould, Senior Research Fellow, describes how genuine dialogue in South Africa must move beyond speeches to lived experiences, connecting state actions with citizens’ needs and street-level engagement.
The Carnegie Endowment: For Younger Palestinians, Crisis Has Become a Way of Life
Michael Froman, CFR President, contends that the Munich Security Conference revealed cautious but renewed NATO-centred transatlantic cooperation, stressing shared security responsibilities while calling for European defence autonomy and enduring U.S. ties.
Members Recommendations
Nina Lahoud recommends:
Mrs: Taliban’s New Penal Code Codifies Violence, Obedience and Gender Apartheid
Sarah Hamidi explains that the Taliban’s new 119-article penal code institutionalises violence, obedience, gender apartheid, legalises private violence and erases women’s autonomy and legal protections under the guise of religious rule.