Myth number 6: that it is only governments or diplomats that do the talking. The role of local people in reaching out to armed groups to encourage prospects for peace is regularly overlooked.

A single day's armed attacks reflect the intensity of the Islamic State war and are an augur of more to come.

Does security mean defence: tanks and barbed-wire fences? Or can it mean building relationships, confronting inequalities and recognising each other's humanity?

Sexual violence in conflict has attracted increasing attention, but with the majority of responses focused on short-term needs, children born through war remain largely ignored. 

Vague categories like ‘extremist’ and ‘radicalisation’ are trawling Muslims in a very large ‘counter-terrorism’ net.

While a positive step in negotiations between warring parties, what are the limits of uncovering the dark truths of Colombia's conflict? 

Athletes will rely on free and fair competition at the European Games. Yet outside the stadium there is no free competition of ideas. They can take a stand.

The five-yearly review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ended without any agreed commitments, unbalanced as ever between the nuclear-armed states and the rest. Time to change the agenda. 

What does it actually mean to speak truth to power? In his final two lectures, Michel Foucault discussed the risk involved and the courage required, far from the conventional bureaucratic techniques used today to fight impunity. From States of Impunity.