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All too often, women are marginalised in peace negotiations. And yet, this group of international relations experts has shown that, on average, there is a 17% smaller chance of a civil war restarting within five years if women were properly involved in a peace process. This leaps to 37% when the UN and women-led organisations work together.
More than 25 years ago the UN passed a landmark resolution on the role of women in conflict resolution and peace-building and there has been a steady stream of resolutions since then laying out plans to make this happen. To demonstrate a commitment to conflict resolution, world leaders should, our authors argue, enable the UN to exercise decisive leadership] in peace processes, but also, critically, “invest in the local women’s organisations that can facilitate sustainable and legitimate peace on the ground”.
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Delegates at the UN general assembly debate on women, peace and security, October 2025.
ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Live News
Giuditta Fontana, University of Birmingham; Argyro Kartsonaki, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg; Natascha Neudorfer, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf; Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham
A comprehensive study of recent civil wars highlights the role women can play in sustainable peace processes.
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The principle of ‘hara hachi bu’ is to stop eating just before you get full.
Only_NewPhoto/ Shutterstock
Aisling Pigott, Cardiff Metropolitan University
‘Hara hachi bu’ is an eating practice followed by some of the world’s oldest people.
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A boat crosses the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Oct. 5, 2025.
MD Abu Sufian Jewel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Pintu Kumar Mahla, University of Arizona
Bangladesh’s ratification of the UN Water Convention could increase the nation’s legal clout in transboundary water governance.
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Jack McNamara, University of East London
Men needed to do roughly nine hours of exercise to see a 30% reduction in their heart disease risk – while women only needed to do around four hours.
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Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol
Keratin is the tough protein that forms hair, nails and hooves. It’s also responsible for something far stranger: human horns.
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Spyros A. Sofos, Simon Fraser University
The recent election in Northern Cyprus of a pro-unification Turkish Cypriot may be the last chance for the island to unite.
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Christophe Premat, Stockholm University
There’s a deep-seated interdependence between France and its former African colonies.
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Claire Hart, University of Southampton; Reece Bush-Evans, Bournemouth University
Charm can open doors but ego slams them shut. An escape-room experiment shows how the wrong kind of confidence can quietly sink a team.
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Charlotte Curran, University of Leeds
These breakup albums can help listeners to grieve previous relationships.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Why early Protestants embraced demons and witches but turned their backs on ghosts. Listen to expert Penelope Geng on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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