Putin and Russian Democracy
Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin as president has not slowed the rolling wave of protest and outrage in Russia. Metta Spencer was recently in Moscow, and reports on the political temperature.

Russian Military Reforms
The good news is that Russian armed forces are smaller and less top-heavy than they were five years ago when Putin shocked the generals by appointing a St. Petersburg furniture salesman named Anatoly Serdyukov as defence minister. The bad news is that the military is still stuck in old Soviet-era strategic thinking, writes Ignat Kalinin.

The Military Move Into Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas
In the run-up to the World Cup and the Olympics, the Brazilian government is finally addressing the high crime rate and lack of services in Rio’s slums. Flavie Halais asks whether armies can be trusted as social engineers, even when the results—urban renewal and human security—are positive.

Call UN 911: A Better Way to Prevent Mass Atrocities?
The military interventions in Libya, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan all failed to provide sustainable security. The United Nations General Assembly hopes to address the issue of emergency intervention this summer. Peter Langille offers some guidelines.

Johan Galtung on “Democracy Now!”
Johan Galtung’s granddaughter was one of the survivors of Norway’s Utoeya massacre in July 2011. The peace studies guru speaks with Amy Goodman about the background to the atrocity, Afghanistan, Syria, and the Occupy movement.

Stigmatization of Former Child Soldiers
Anita Wolber and Alex Comninos on the prejudices facing children who were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army and the challenges facing the teachers who try to help them.

Turkey and Israel: It’s Time to Reconcile
Alon Ben-Meir calls for Israel to unfreeze its relations with Turkey, two years after the storming of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla resulted in the deaths of eight Turkish citizens.

Reviews: Ian McKay and Jamie Swift, Warrior Nation: Rebranding Canada in an Age of Anxiety, reviewed by Ken Simons; Lawrence Wittner, Working for Peace and Justice: Memoirs of an Activist Intellectual, reviewed by Tom Hastings.

Newsworthy: Shannon Airport; Nonviolent Palestinian actions; NPT Prepartory Committee in Vienna; Peace Laureates’ summit

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