People understand the world through the stories they are told and tell, a historian writes. In the case of the war in Ukraine, narratives can create problems.
Laws from different places and eras largely reflect a universal human sense of justice.
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What people consider to be fair and just today are in line with the laws of ancient Mesopotamia and the Tang Dynasty in China – suggesting that these intuitions are part of human nature.
The pandemic has presented many ethical dilemmas for which there is no one right answer. Here’s how to interact with people who may have a different view from you.
An abandoned and disabled Russian tank.
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Benjamin Jensen, American University School of International Service
A military strategist breaks down how a smaller Ukrainian army has successfully taken back swaths of land from the Russians in the country’s northeast.
Residents in Poltava, Ukraine, survey the damage from a Russian attack.
Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
As Ukraine retakes parts of its northeastern region from Russia, the Kremlin continues to increasingly look to private military companies to fill in military power gaps.
Private companies have launched dozens of imaging satellites – like the two small boxes in the middle of the photo – into orbit in recent years.
NASA/Steve Jurvetson
Private satellite companies have boomed in recent years, and many experts have wondered what role they would play in a conflict. They have proved to be invaluable to Ukraine in recent months.
Eritrean refugee children in Ethiopia.
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UN peacebuilding missions require much cooperation and negotiation.
A Ukrainian war crimes investigator photographs the aftermath of a Russian missile attack in Zatoka, Ukraine, on July 26, 2022.
Nina Liashonok/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Other recent conflicts that resulted in war crimes allegations help explain how complex it will be to gather evidence of war crimes in Ukraine – and provide answers for families of victims of the war.
Protesters demand the freedom of the Sahrawi population.
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The UN has been working for 20 years to increase the number of female peacekeepers – but countries that give their troops to the UN are reluctant to put more women in active combat.
An Esperanto teacher instructs a class in a room with a painting of the language’s creator on the wall.
Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images
Created in Europe during a time of intercultural struggle and strife, Esperanto was meant as a communication tool to spread peace among the people of the world. Its speakers are still at it.
A museum in Trostyanets, destroyed during the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
(Shutterstock)
Cultural artifacts are at risk of destruction during war, but Ukrainian archivists, curators and librarians have been working to protect them during the war.
The world has seen widespread climate protests in recent years.
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Global climate movements have espoused nonviolence, but some are adopting more radical tactics in light of the increasing threats posed by climate change.