Geneva Conventions They help protect civilians and soldiers from the atrocities of war. But these hard-won rules of battle are falling by the wayside: Terrorists ignore them, and governments increasingly find them quaint and outdated. With every violation, war only gets deadlier for everyone.

The world’s most dangerous jihadists no longer answer to al Qaeda. The terrorists we should fear most are self-recruited wannabes who find purpose in terror and comrades on the Web. This new generation is even more frightening and unpredictable than its predecessors, but its evolution just may reveal the key to its demise.

It’s blamed for everything from unruly populism to genocide. But what if nationalism isn’t the unevolved reflex so many assume it to be? In fact, nationalism could help create wealth, fight corruption, and lower crime.