Majid Salih, formerly a field monitor for the world food programme in Iraq and currently a graduate student at the University for Peace, explains how his life, family, city, and country have been affected by terrorism and violence. Salih then addresses what he feels are the primary factors motivating terrorist

Jehun Alexander Hong discusses the continued escalation of the Syrian civil war in terms of internal, regional, and international power struggles, in the overlapping sectors of ethnic, religious, political, and economic rivalry. Emphasis is placed on the question of chemical weapons and the high number of child casualties, as well

Independent journalist Atkilt Geleta comments on the UNGA speeches made by Ahmadinejad and Netanyahu and offers some analytical insight on the worsening Syrian crisis and the complex geopolitical structure of alliances and interests that surround it.

Diversity and conflicting interest are both a curse and a blessing in post-conflict and violent societies, subject to the way they are managed within an electoral process, more so during the transition period. Patrick Mugo Mugo looks at the unfolding challenges in Kenya as the date of general elections beckons

Reeyot Alemu has recently been awarded by the International Women's Media Foundation and UNESCO for her inspiring commitment to freedom of speech and opinion, even as she faces severe persecution from the Ethiopian government, and continues to be imprisoned.

The Palestinian National Authority's 2009 declaration under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute to join the ICC presented the international court with an opportunity to implement its Statute and respond to the many UN and other reports of human rights abuses committed in Palestine since 2002. As Mahmoud Abdou argues,

Law is neither morally just for its own sake, nor is it capable of securing international peace and stability as it is based on contested notions of territoriality and sovereignty. Shant Abou Cham explains.

Peace in whatever way it is perceived has remained both an aspiration and challenge in post-war international order. The combined effect of this struggle has led to constant engagement with and search for durable solutions to conflicts wherever they occur. Despite international interventions attempting to address the conflict in Darfur,