War & Peace International Crisis Group

In this episode of War & Peace, Olga and Elissa talk with Julien Barnes-Dacey, Middle East and North Africa Program Director at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), to assess Europe’s response to the Gaza war. They unpack different EU Member States’ positions on the war and why it has been difficult for European leaders to find common ground on policies toward Israel-Palestine. They ask how much leverage Europe has over the conflict actors and what its role might be in Gaza once the war is over. Their conversation also covers the fallout of the fighting on domestic politics across the EU and how it might influence the debate around migration policy. Finally, they weigh the implications of Europe’s lacklustre response for the EU’s global standing and whether a fundamental change in its policy in the Middle East is in the cards in the foreseeable future.
For more of Crisis Group’s analysis on the topics discussed in this episode, check out our Israel/Palestine page.

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In this episode of War & Peace, Olga talks with Samuel Charap, Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, about whether the current moment makes negotiations to end the war in Ukraine more or less advantageous for all concerned. They discuss Russian narratives about negotiations, various parties' goals and whether or not Moscow has the upper hand in the wake of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. They also unpack the prerequisites for and attainability of sustainable security for Ukraine and Europe. 
For more of Crisis Group’s analysis on the topics discussed in this episode, check out our Ukraine country page.

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Throughout history, women have been involved in conflict: as soldiers, as insurgents and as civilians. Yet, the ways in which men and women are treated on and off the battlefield and the contributions they make can vary widely, shaped in large part by deeply ingrained societal views about gender.
In this episode of War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson are joined by Jessica Trisko Darden, Associate Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University, to discuss how gender dynamics shape insurgencies and wars. They explore the reasons why women decide to go to war, what motivates insurgent groups and armed forces to recruit women and the perceived benefits and costs of greater gender parity. They discuss the roles women and men take on in war and why these often differ. They take a closer look at how these gender dynamics have played out in Ukraine and elsewhere, the institutional barriers women face within the military and Kyiv’s efforts to recruit more women into its armed forces. They also discuss how the conscription of women differs in armed forces around the world.
For more of Crisis Group’s analysis on the topics discussed in this episode, check out our Gender and Conflict page.

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In the first episode of a new season of War & Peace, Olga Oliker is joined by Crisis Group’s South Caucasus experts, Olesya Vartanyan and Zaur Shiriyev, to talk about the implications of Azerbaijan regaining control of Nagorno-Karabakh in a one-day military operation on 19 September. The immediate consequences were the end of the enclave’s three decades of de facto self-rule and a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians. Olya, Zaur, and Olesya discuss the new refugee crisis, Armenia’s response and prospects for the enclave under Azerbaijani rule, including for any ethnic Armenians who stay or those who seek to return in the future. They also address the potential for both peace deals and renewed escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan and what leverage outside actors, including the U.S., Russia (whose role has been fundamentally transformed), the European Union and Türkiye, can exert to make a sustainable peace more likely. 
For more of Crisis Group’s analysis on the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, check out our recent statement Responding to the Humanitarian Catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh and our Nagorno-Karabakh page.



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On 12 July, NATO concluded its two-day summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. At the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the decision to hold the meeting in one of NATO’s newer members and a country claimed by the Soviet Union for decades was seen as a sign of commitment to the alliance's eastern flank. The war in Ukraine was unsurprisingly the focal point of the summit, with NATO members committing to continued support for Kyiv and revamped deterrence in Europe as a whole and the Baltics in particular. But those who hoped Ukraine would be invited to join left disappointed.
This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson are joined by Lithuanian parliamentarian Dovilė Šakalienė to take stock of the summit, the shifting security situation in the Baltics and the future of NATO. They talk about the main takeaways from the summit and different perspectives on Ukraine’s prospective membership. They also talk about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed security perceptions and defence priorities in the Baltics. Finally, they discuss what other challenges loom for NATO, including what role the alliance might play should conflict between Taiwan and China occur.
For more of Crisis Group’s analysis on the topics discussed in this episode, check out our Europe and Central Asia program page.

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War, by definition, takes terrible tolls on civilian populations. Just what risks a given person faces depends on many factors, including gender, class and geography. While international law has evolved to protect both civilians and combatants at war, it is not always followed, to say the least, and governments often fail to adequately protect even their own civilian population. In Ukraine, the government's decision to ban most men aged eighteen to 60 from leaving the country has had unexpected effects on Ukrainians, both men and women. 
This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson speak with Charli Carpenter, director of the Human Security Lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, about the protection of civilians in wartime, the gendered effects of conflict and how all of this is playing out in Ukraine. They discuss misconceptions about conflict and gender and the role of international law in protecting civilians. They delve into the Human Security Lab’s latest research on the perception and effects of Ukraine’s male travel ban and what both the Ukrainian government and its international partners can do to mitigate its unintended humanitarian and strategic consequences. Finally, they address how international law might evolve and how to bring governments to better adhere to them. 
Make sure to check out Human Security Lab’s latest report, “Protecting Civilian Men's Right to Flee the Ukraine War: Strategic and Humanitarian Impacts”. For more of Crisis Group’s analysis on the topics discussed in this episode, check out our Ukraine country page and our Gender and Conflict page.

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