The relationship between a regulator and the organisations it regulates – like any relationship – should never be taken for granted. Much media attention is given to regulators who are too close to the entities they regulate. This article also discusses the opposite end of...

This is the fifteenth edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the GPI is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness.

The purpose of this report is to review Australian experience of peace processes and suggest possible approaches for strengthening them.

In the past year 80 countries recorded deteriorations in peacefulness, while 81 recorded improvements according to the fourteenth edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

This report explores the application and effectiveness of complaints management in government organisations in Australia.

This paper asks: How can planning processes be transformed to better accommodate agonistic conflict in the form of activism as a legitimate practice in the pursuit of a more democratic city?

Best Value Procurement (BVP) was introduced in Norway in 2016. BVP has contributed, to a certain extent, to Lean implementation. However, the practice should be improved to increase value and transparency and minimize conflict and waste.

Because of their good relations with both the US and Israel, certain Arab states are well placed to play an important role in Israeli–Palestinian peacemaking. This briefing explores four scenarios concerning their role in the process and the likely outcomes.

The authors in this interdisciplinary collection draw on their in‑depth knowledge of peacebuilding and development contexts in different parts of Asia, the Pacific and Africa to examine the messy and dynamic realities of hybridity ‘on the ground’.

This report looks at how Jakarta's policies have affected the independence movement in Papua, human rights investigations and local elections.

While most aspects of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) have been well documented, less has been said about the significant contribution of the Pacific Island police who served with it.

Thailand’s status as a relatively stable and predictable partner, in both business and geopolitical terms, is now imperilled.

This report looks at climate change and conflict issues through the lens of sensible risk-management to draw new conclusions about the challenge we now face.

Melanesia is characterised by complex interactions among land and natural resource uses, legal and political institutions, and interest groups. These interactions play out at the national level, where institutions have been profoundly shaped by an interplay of ‘local’ and ‘global’ orders and by the political...

Overview The Afghanistan: Lessons from Australia’s Whole-of-Government Mission Report, commissioned by the Department of Defence, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Federal Police, outlines the strengths, good practices and challenges of Australia’s mission in Afghanistan at the whole-of-government...

For this episode, Kate spoke with Umar Werfete. Umar is a lecturer and a head of research at the State Islamic University of Jayapura in Papua, Indonesia. He also researches religious issues in Papua in his position within the Division for Research and Development, Indonesian...

Assesses the impact of Chega!, the commission that documented human rights violations committed throughout Indonesia's 24-year-long occupation of Timor-Leste. It is now 10 years since the publication of Chega! (the final report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, known by its Portuguese acronym...

Uses Israel's recent wars to identify issues relevant to the Australian Army’s preparation for future conflict. Overview Israel is in a state of continuous conflict, frequently of the armed variety, and not uncommonly achieving levels of violence that qualify as war. Significant spikes in that...

Introduction The first anniversary of an outbreak of communal violence in Tolikara, Papua is approaching, with a fragile reconciliation in place and many issues left unresolved. The “Tolikara Incident” on 17 July 2015 has been variously portrayed as an issue of religious intolerance (Christians toward...

The personal network of Abu Gar, one man involved in last January's terrorist attack in Jakarta, shows how the communal conflicts in Ambon and Poso continue to haunt Indonesia. This latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), traces the violent trajectory...

As experiences in Afghanistan, Bosnia, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Rwanda, South Sudan, Syria and Timor-Leste have all too clearly demonstrated, contemporary situations of armed conflict and other situations of violence can have a devastating impact on civilians. Today, armed conflict is more often taking...

Overview Timor-Leste has made impressive progress since its historic achievement of independence in 2002. From the instability that blighted its early years, the fledgling democratic country has achieved strong economic growth and a gradual reinstatement of essential social services. A decade on in 2012, Presidential...

This paper examines the factors behind the reluctance of the ruling elites in the Sulu islands, in the Philippines, to join a region that will be dominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) from central Mindanao. Introduction The plebiscite on a new law to...

This paper explores contemporary official and scholarly thinking on aid, development, conflict prevention and strategic shaping to try to identify promising avenues to promote regional growth and stability in a tight budget environment. Overview As Australia focuses on its global interests in a changing and...

The Sudan conflict has been one of the longest running in contemporary African history. This paper provides an update on the current crisis in South Sudan. Executive summary In mid-December 2013, the newly formed country of South Sudan erupted into violence, creating a significant humanitarian...