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The brutal terrorist attack on defenseless children in Beslan has sent shockwaves throughout the whole civilized world. After the Beslan drama turned into a tragedy, many questions have been raised by both Russian & Western observers. This author seeks to give some answers to these questions. This brief article is based on a comprehensive analysis of the fragmented information provided by various Russian & Western media in the wake of the tragedy. The article attempts to answer the following set of questions: What was the motivation of the attackers? Who were those who decided to commit this cruel act of political violence? What were their agenda & their goals? To what extent was everything possible done in order to avoid the bloodshed? What lessons can be learned from this experience & what conclusions should be drawn by both Russian & Western policymakers who are forced to address the issue of terror & political violence in this vulnerable region? Adapted from the source document.

In this article, the 9/11 events are analysed from a gender perspective -- both the terror attacks & the military responses upon them. Gender is shown to be relevant in several aspects, as gendered arguments have been used to justify acts of violence on both sides. Concerning the cultural construction of femininity, women were made invisible in the Western media debate that followed upon the terror attacks. At the same time, Afghan women were constructed as victims & became the alibi for the American military responses to the 9/11 attacks. Further, cultural gender norms of masculinity coloured the American rhetoric that justified the wars in both Afghanistan & Iraq. Finally, the analysis in the article shows how the terror attacks might be interpreted as a way to (re)construct a masculinity men in certain contexts might feel they are entitled to, after an experienced emasculation. The conclusion in the article is that a gender analysis deepens our understanding of the war on terrorism, & at the same time it shows how gender has become a central aspect of global politics. References. Adapted from the source document.

After the Liberian war ended in 2003, national and international actors have been unified behind the battle against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). While Liberia is still suffering from general violence, SGBV is leading the dark statistics with a wide margin. The problem runs deep in the Liberian society and international actors have had a hard time changing the situation because they do not understand Liberian legal praxis and the local governments suffers from both lack of knowledge and structural problems. Despite meager results the project has been seen as a success. Rape was criminalized in 2005 and the United Nation's Security Council resolution 1325 was implemented, both significantly increasing the rights of women and children. L. Pitkaniemi

Piracy has a long history and often arises from legitimization problems, which may cause problems in distinguishing pirates from non-pirates. Piracy can essentially be divided into three epochs: classical piracy, colonial piracy and modern piracy. Classical piracy lasted from 1492 to 1730 and was filling a proto-legal space when Protestants pirates defined the pope's authority, colonial piracy took place in the 18th and 19th century Mediterranean Sea, also backed by religious motives, and modern piracy is a phenomenon of the 21st century where the pirates utilize instable regions for their benefit. Legal, normative and conceptual definitions can be used to differentiate between pirates and non-pirates. L. Pitkaniemi