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Washington is a town of routines. President Trump relishes overturning them. So when Mr. Trump upends the way the president communicates with the press, it leads to some bumps in the road. But also some insights.聽

Syrian refugees are often cast as a burden, straining a country's security and welfare. And there are serious challenges. But one program in Jordan shows what can happen when an expectation of dependence is turned into the hope of opportunity.聽

From Occupy Wall Street to the Trump movement, Americans of all stripes have sent the message that they feel as if the little guy is losing. In Michigan, that debate about inequality is particularly poignant and goes as deep as the water under their feet.聽

So, why don't we have a space hotel yet? Optimism fuels some of humanity's grandest ideas. But when planning isn't given the same rigor as the science itself, that can turn into naivet茅.

Who knew that opera's story is, in some ways, a mirror of America? Its most hallowed hall, the Met in New York, remains an icon of an elite art form. But to thrive elsewhere, opera might need to find a more common touch.聽

Before the Iraqi city of Tikrit was liberated from Islamic State militants in 2015, its tribal leaders were brought together by trained peace mediators. They forged a pact to rekindle the traditional bonds between Shiites and Sunnis in Tikrit. The key message: 鈥淟ife can return.鈥� Since then, most of the city鈥檚 displaced civilians have returned.

This reknitting of ties in a devastated city is just one reason why the world has enjoyed one of its most peaceful periods. Last year, according to the Global Peace Index released June 1, 93 countries recorded improvements in peace while 68 deteriorated. Using 23 indicators from homicide to military spending, the index found a 10 percent decline in deaths from terrorism and a 6 percent drop in armed conflicts. In two-thirds of the countries, the murder rate 鈥� the main cause of violent lethal death 鈥� went down.

The Middle East, of course, remains an outlier. Battle deaths in the region are the highest in a quarter century. And the number of refugees and displaced people, mainly from Syria and Yemen, is at a 60-year high 鈥� or 1 percent of the world鈥檚 population. In general, the 20 least peaceful countries have become more violent.

In sharp contrast, Iceland, New Zealand, and Portugal are the most peaceful countries, according to the index. Europe is the most peaceful region. The United States has slipped in part because its violent crime rate has risen in the past two years.

The index, along with other recent studies that confirm a long-term decline in violence, tries to track 鈥減ositive peace,鈥� or those ways of thinking and types of institutions that drive harmony, order, honesty, freedom, and justice.

In a recent talk, Nancy Lindborg, president of the United States Institute of Peace, said it is 鈥渂lindingly clear that we need to think more about getting ahead of the conflict curve if we hope to address rising humanitarian and security challenges, so we鈥檙e not reacting after people鈥檚 lives have been torn apart.鈥�

The causes of violence vary and are numerous. And scholars have long debated if humans are innately violent or peaceful. But Steven Pinker, the Harvard University scholar and author of the 2011 book 鈥淭he Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined,鈥� says societies are becoming more 鈥渆nmeshed鈥� and seeking 鈥渁 higher good,鈥� resulting in less violence.

Building on his work, a team of Spanish scientists published a study in the journal Nature last year that found a marked drop in violence over the past 500 years. The research estimates about 2 percent of prehistoric humans died from violence. But as societies became better organized, and handed over the control of violence to police, courts, and elected officials, the rate has fallen far below 1 percent. They attribute the decline to better 鈥渃ultural practices.鈥�

The big shift, however, is a rise in understanding that war and violence are not inevitable and that pursuing peace 鈥� the active kind 鈥� is not a futile exercise. Places like Tikrit are more at peace because enough people practice those truths.