In 2009, I was arrested for the first time after participating in protests against the bauxite mining project in Vietnam’s Central Highlands and speaking out about Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Seven years later, I was arrested again and sentenced to ten years in prison for my writings and advocacy on behalf…
Israel’s international standing has undergone a profound and arguably irreversible transformation. Once regarded, despite criticism, as a flawed democracy grappling with complex security threats, Israel is increasingly perceived as a pariah state—isolated not only because of its adversaries, but because of its sustained conduct in Gaza and the West Bank. This shift is not the…
Prologue Human activities such as deforestation, forest fires, mining, industrialized agriculture, the burning of fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, coal), and wars have been threatening nature, civilization, and humans. Those threats weaponize the planet’s temperature. Scientists describe that effect as climate change/climate chaos. Climate change/chaos is global and anthropogenic/artificial. It has been affecting the lives…
There is a particular quality of fire that destroys completely and, in doing so, reveals exactly what must be rebuilt, and by whom. I have spent over three decades fighting for women and girls, often in the world’s most dangerous places. I drafted post-conflict constitutions in Iraq and Kosovo. I worked proudly across five different…
The Institute for Humanitarian Conflict Resolution embraces a philosophy of peace and reconciliation to ensure that men, women, and especially children in many violent conflict-ridden countries have hope for a better and more promising future
In 2009, I was arrested for the first time after participating in protests against the bauxite mining project in Vietnam’s Central Highlands and speaking out about Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Seven years later, I was arrested again and sentenced to ten years in prison for my writings and advocacy on behalf of human rights and freedom of expression.
When I walked out of prison in 2018 and was forced to leave Vietnam to begin a life in exile in the United States, I believed that imprisonment was the government’s most effective tool of repression. Looking back over the past two decades, however, I have come to understand that what has changed is not the state’s objective, but the methods it uses to achieve it.
The Communist Party of Vietnam has not remained passive in the face of a growing human rights movement and an emerging civil society. Instead, it has continuously adapted, learned, and modernized its instruments of control as Vietnamese society has become increasingly connected to the outside world. From the imprisonment of independent bloggers to the containment of civil society organizations and, more recently, the use of legislation, technology, and digital platforms to restrict public discourse, Vietnam has become a striking example of the transition from traditional repression to digital authoritarianism. Read here more ihcr.institute/writing/from-prisons-to-algorithms-vietnam-and-the-evolution-of-political-control-...
On the Issues Podcast: Understanding Radicalization and Violent Extremism
In this episode of On the Issues, Dr. Alon Ben-Meir speaks with renowned terrorism expert and psychologist Anne Speckhard about the factors that drive young people toward radicalization and violent extremism. Drawing on decades of research and interviews with more than 800 terrorists, extremists, and white supremacists, Dr. Speckhard explains how trauma, identity crises, grievances, and social influences can make individuals vulnerable to extremist recruitment.
The discussion also explores pathways out of extremism, emphasizing the importance of justice, dignity, education, inclusion, and peacebuilding in preventing radicalization. Dr. Speckhard shares insights from her work rehabilitating former extremists and developing counter-narrative programs to challenge violent ideologies.
A leading authority on terrorism, trauma, and radicalization, Dr. Speckhard offers a compelling perspective on one of the most urgent security and human rights challenges of our time.
Click here for the full episode: soundcloud.com/alon-ben-meir/on-the-issues-episode-151-anne-speckhard
South Sudan is bleeding, and the world cannot afford to look away. As armed conflict intensifies, civilians continue to pay the highest price, killed in attacks, driven from their homes, and subjected to horrific sexual violence. The UN Security Council’s decision to renew the arms embargo is more than a diplomatic measure; it is a lifeline for vulnerable communities trapped in a cycle of war and impunity. Yet some governments continue to push for lifting the embargo, despite mounting evidence that weapons are fueling atrocities. More guns will not bring peace. They will only deepen the suffering. Protecting civilians begins with stopping the flow of arms that continue to devastate lives across South Sudan.
