Search

The document is a response to a paper by Gruber, Block, and Montemayor (GBM) on the topic of time. The author admires GBM's inventive experiments but raises concerns about the philosophical foundations of their ideas. They discuss the use of James Hartle's IGUS model to incorporate subjective experience of time within a 4D Minkowski spacetime framework. The author suggests that thinking in terms of second-order cybernetics and considering a wider range of features could help address the problem GBM is discussing. They also question the assumption that our theories of physics and cosmology can provide a straightforward temporal worldview. The author proposes a dual-aspect monist view, where both subjective and objective time arise from a deeper structure. They believe that the resolution to GBM's problem lies in this deeper domain. [Extracted from the article]

In 2022 the Johns Hopkins University purchased an annotated copy of the Epigrammata Antiquae Urbis (Rome, 1521), the earliest published collection of inscriptions from Rome. A paleographical comparison shows that the annotator was the Servite friar Alessandro Totti (1498–1570), a little-studied Brescian antiquarian. The present study confirms him as the source of numerous papers within Vat. lat. 5237 (a composite epigraphic manuscript assembled by Aldo Manuzio the Younger), and sheds light on his exchange of antiquarian information with Ottavio Pantagato, Paolo Manuzio, and his son Aldo Manuzio. The analysis of Totti's annotations in the Epigrammata , written in the 1550s, reveals not only his detailed study of Rome's inscriptions, but also his interest in two of the most heated antiquarian debates at the time: Roman chronology as attested by the discovery of the Fasti Capitolini, and the identification of the 35 Roman tribes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Criminal Law Review is inviting submissions for volumes 24 and 25, which will be published in 2024 and 2025. The journal is seeking articles that provide a comprehensive examination of international criminal law and justice from a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective. This includes topics such as international and domestic law, landmark cases, and sociological and historical aspects of international crimes. Submissions can be made online through Editorial Manager, and while there is no strict deadline, articles submitted by June 1st typically receive faster review. For any inquiries, contact the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Caroline Fournet, at iclaeditor@gmail.com. [Extracted from the article]

This paper explores the concept of adab in Islamic education in Singapore and argues that it is an integral but relatively misunderstood and neglected concept. Adab is a term that embraces holism and forms the basis of an epistemic framework of an Islamic way of knowing. It is concerned with the education of the intellect and the spirit in the development of a morally upright person. Adab is also considered to be a set of ethical values serving as a spiritual beacon to provide order and clarity to knowledge. Unfortunately, due to colonisation and the secularisation of the Islamic education system in Singapore, adab has suffered a diminution, both in meaning and application. It is now taken to refer almost entirely to notions of good etiquette and reduced only to traditional understandings of social grace. Based on interviews with Islamic education subject matter experts, we identify and clarify the correct understanding and value of this concept. The paper also suggests that the correct and proper consideration of adab provides us with the opportunity to examine and reconsider the core values of Islamic education and its relevance in secular education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing literature portrays the declaration of the independence of Biafra as a unanimous decision of the people of Biafra. While many leaders and personalities in Biafra supported the secession and some other decisions taken by the Biafran High Command, some others had reservations on that. Unfortunately, the existing literature in the Nigerian-Biafra war has not captured these silent voices. This paper intends therefore to capture these voices that have been neglected in the historiography of the war and situate them in proper historical perspective. The paper relies more on oral history of the war granted by some Biafran leaders who were actively involved in the war; it was complimented with books, monographs and other materials on the Nigerian-Biafran war. Available facts will be analysed using qualitative research methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case of nineteenth-century Buganda opens up a number of assumptions within scholarship about religion, secularity, and politics in African history. Although much scholarship focuses on European colonizers introduced alien categories such as religion and imposed distinctions between religion and politics, this paper foregrounds a different set of historical transformations in what is now Uganda – transformations that ultimately increased rather than diminished connections between the exercise of political power and markedly religious convictions. Along the way, it locates some of the most important pieces of this story in 'the precolonial'. This allows the paper to trace the emergence of the category of religion, as well as analyze the sense in which it is meaningful to think of precolonial Buganda as secular at a particular moment. In so doing, the paper puts an African story in dialogue with wider conversations on the secular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angolan independence, proclaimed in 1975, instituted a one-party, socialist-oriented revolutionary regime that vowed to create a nation of workers under a secular state with freedom of worship. However, such a framework existed only on paper. A generation gap opposed Protestant, mission-educated leaders to younger agnostic and atheist militants trained in socialist countries. The government acted to circumscribe the public space of churches and enforce compliance with the heavily contested new order, but also promoted certain denominations as a tool to build hegemony. Further complications arise from African religious practices not being deemed religion but tradition, pointing both to superstition and obscurantism on the one hand, and to the cultural corpus of nation-building on the other. This paper posits that the study of secularity in Angola does not fit into the usual theoretical dichotomy but must take into account the intersections and interplay of tradition with both religion and the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on reparative justice focuses for the most part on the grounds and limits of wrongdoers' duties to their victims. An interesting but relatively neglected question is that of what – if anything – victims owe to wrongdoers. In this paper, I argue that victims are under a duty to accept wrongdoers' apologies. I claim that to accept an apology is to form the belief that the wrongdoer's apologetic utterance or gesture has the requisite verdictive, commissive and expressive dimensions; to communicate as much to him; and to recognise that his apology changes one's normative status in relation to him, and to comport oneself accordingly. I then offer a Kantian argument for the duty to accept and qualify that argument in the light of some hard cases. I end the paper by addressing the objection that victims do not owe it to wrongdoers to engage in any form of reparative encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A passage from Ps.-Basil of Caesarea's ep. 366 contains verbatim parallels with a quotation of Valentinus given in Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.7.59.3. These parallels have rarely been recognized by scholars. Völker and Markschies have argued that Ps.-Basil was excerpting from Clement, but this paper argues that Ps.-Basil was independent of Clement and was likely Clement's source. Overlooked evidence includes (i) the coherence of the parallel passages in the context of ep. 366 and their relative incoherence in the context of Strom. 3.7.59.3; (ii) Valentinian theology that is found throughout ep. 366, including the notions of spiritual bodies and Charis as God's protological consort; (iii) grammatical errors in Clement that are not present in Ps.-Basil; and (iv) further textual evidence suggesting that ep. 366 has the original version of the passage. A plausible explanation of the evidence, this paper will argue, is that ep. 366 comes from the pen of Valentinus himself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nile River has been both an engine of development and a cause of controversy among its riparian states for millennia. This paradox took on an international dimension with the inception of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Using a qualitative research method, this paper investigates the GERD controversy and the role of a benefit-sharing approach in the Nile Basin. The dam negotiations have been hampered by unjust colonial treaties, the hardline interests of Egypt and Ethiopia, politicisation, uncertainty about the consequences of the dam’s use and lopsided third-party intervention. The paper argues that the adoption of a benefit-sharing approach in the basin can sustain the Nile ecosystem, promote regional peace, increase water flow and decrease unnecessary expenses through modest intraregional cooperation. The resolution of the Nile Basin conflict thus relies on identifying the potential of the basin and on integrated cooperative frameworks adopted by the technocrats of its riparian states and international experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the historical evolution of Chinese school reform, focusing on the important roles of rational thinking and value reconstruction in the process of reform. Through the review of the historical process of school reform in China, the important milestones of the past reform are determined, which provides the historical background for understanding the reform. This paper analyzes the application of rational thinking in school reform and emphasizes the necessity of accurately identifying and solving difficulties in the process of reform. At the same time, it emphasizes the key role of value reconstruction in the realization of an effective reform and provides a theoretical framework and practical direction. At the macro level, the paper examines the historical evolution of China’s educational goals and analyzes the impact of these changes on school reform. Through the historical perspective, this paper reveals the historical enlightenment in the reform, discusses the intersection of history and value reconstruction, and puts forward the school reform strategy based on the historical perspective. The paper looks forward to the future of school reform based on historical evolution and points out the upcoming challenges and possible directions of reform. In summary, the main proposition of this paper is to effectively promote school reform through rational thinking and value reconstruction, combined with historical perspective. The core elements of the article include historical review, rational analysis, value reconstruction, and macroscopic education objectives. This paper uses the method of historical analysis and literature review to provide guidance and reference for future school reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution we have compiled the papers published by Christoph D. Schubart, the species named by him and his coauthors, and the species named in his honour. At the date of compiling these lists, Christoph has published 205 papers, many with his students as first authors. More than 50 taxa, all decapod crustaceans, have been named by Christoph, and his colleagues have named more than 15 taxa in his honour. His career has been characterized by collaborations, and we expect these lists to grow during the coming years, when his colleagues continue to conclude the studies Christoph had initiated before his tragic death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diasporas are often viewed as mirrors for their homeland's politics. The Lebanese diaspora's involvement in the 2019 Thawra , however, established the diaspora as a locus for autonomous and disruptive political action. Through an analysis of the spatialities of protest, this paper analyses the diaspora's involvement in the Thawra , its implications for the protest movement, and for the diaspora itself. It argues that diaspora protests gave rise to new tactics and protest repertoires. These mirrored protest activity on the ground, supported protestors in Lebanon, and constituted the diaspora as a locus for contestation and claims-making. Moreover, the diaspora's mobilization in the Thawra contributed to the consolidation of diasporic identity and the construction of alternative societal imaginaries and conceptions of citizenship that challenge Lebanon's state-centric and sectarian citizenship regime. This paper thus makes the case for reassessing the autonomous political role of diasporas to gain a fuller understanding of transnational protest dynamics, solidarities, and citizenship beyond the boundaries of the nation-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper captures women's religious agency and their bonding with the mosque by taking a snapshot of the discourse and experiences of female preachers, appointed by the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments, who were confronted with the closure of mosques within the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though these female preachers have managed to perform their preaching roles while being detached from the mosque, their spiritual affinity to the mosque could not escape notice. This paper argues that the detachment of the female preachers from the mosque due to COVID-19 offers a novel conceptualization of 'religious' agency that could be partially ascribed to their attachment to the mosque, not as a locale for their 'official' or 'semi-official' affiliation with the state, but as a 'sacred' extension of the private space of the home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the rise of sectarianism in the Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor from the 1970s up to the current civil war. To this end, this research will focus on answering two main questions: "what factors made sectarianism prevalent in Deir Ezzor after 2003?" and "how did attempts by the Syrian regime, Iran, and Islamists to use sectarianism to mobilize people, lead to the catastrophe in Deir Ezzor during the Syrian civil war?" The primordial framework that considers sectarianism to be a consequence of age-old religious differences between Sunni and Shiʿite Muslims is rejected in this paper. This paper shows that a better understanding of sectarianism can be found through a synthesis of instrumentalism and historical sociology. The historical sociology framework provides an understanding of how adverse socioeconomic conditions and security threats in Deir Ezzor led to the rise of sectarianism, whilst instrumentalism explains how the regime, Iran, and the Islamists used sectarian identities to retain control over the population of Deir Ezzor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars usually understand Κύρια Δόξα (ΚΔ) 33 as an antiplatonic polemic. This paper denies the communis opinio. First, it argues for an ontological reading of the maxim according to which justice (understood as virtue) is not a body but a property. Second, it shows that the Stoics hold the very thesis disputed in ΚΔ 33, namely that virtue is a body. This makes the Stoa the natural target of the maxim. Finally, the paper deals with De rerum natura I.464-482: here Lucretius criticizes nameless opponents with regard to the thesis that events are to be understood as bodies. If these opponents can be identified with the Stoics, as is usually assumed, there is further evidence besides ΚΔ 33 that the Epicureans engaged with the Stoic thesis of corporealism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the doxologies in the book of Amos, arguing that they articulate a polemical viewpoint distinct from prevailing biblical and ancient Near Eastern notions about the formation of the sea, mountains, wind, and God’s abode. Central to the comprehension of this cosmogony is the recurring phrase in Amos 5:8d and 6:9c, “(He) who summons the waters of the sea and pours them on the surface of the earth.” While previous scholars have understood this phrase as referring to the primeval Flood, a tsunami event, or Levantine torrential rain, the present paper suggests a cosmogonic interpretation, in line with its context. Subsequent elements in the same series of texts are interlinked with this portrayal, emphasizing the unified—and polemical—perspective of the doxologies. This new explanation also has ramifications for the dating and composition of the doxologies in the book of Amos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at ways of speeding up domestic criminal proceedings. Both the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg encourage Member States to ensure that their courts deliver judgments within a reasonable time. The present paper deals with the new Hungarian cooperation system, including the trial waiver and the preparatory session, which is a pre-trial meeting in the court phase. These have achieved significant results in speeding up and simplifying proceedings without limiting the rights of the accused and offer a genuine rule of law solution for efficient criminal proceedings, all while preventing unjustified delays in proceedings. Initial experience in practice has shown that these Hungarian legal instruments could serve as an excellent example for countries facing similar challenges in developing criminal politics and criminal justice policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After several decades of relative silence in the Netherlands on the topic of church and racism, the Black Lives Matter Movement and the public debate on reparations for colonial enslavement have brought the issue back on the agenda of church and theology. Fuelled by the Programme to Combat Racism (PCR), previous ecumenical discussions on this topic in the 1970s provide a good starting point for reflection today. This paper first provides some basic background on the PCR and then describes three theological positions in relation to reconciliation that shaped the discussions around racism. Based on these historical insights, the article summarizes the experiences and insights of the PCR in three major points, and discusses their relevance for today's conversation on church, diaconia, and racism. The paper argues that commitment, the transfer of power, and the value of discomfort provide important theological and practical insights for today's debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent changing tides of social and political climate across the globe has impacted the influence of media and culture (Michael Gurevitch, 1982), and in effect, the social fabric of our globalised society. This paper uses theories from Sturcturalism to understand better the larger socio-cultural structures that lay deeply embedded into our understanding of society as a whole. This cultural understanding is important to look at media (and by extension film) through its power dynamics and capital it provides to the groups that it represents and the groups that it does not. The study of these representations as being in opposition to each other in the way of ‘in’ and ‘out’ groups to understand the ways in which culture and cinema receive minorities, and for this paper, the Indian Christian identity in India. Mainstream cinema or Bollywood helps in the translation of in and out groups into the ‘othering’ of religious minorities (Brons, 2015) while also presenting and confirming the already existing ideas of the identity of minorities. This paper looks to identify the importance of alternative cinema, in this case regional Malayalam Cinema, for minorities that have been marginalised by the media and their role in the repairing the self-image of these minorities. The intrinsic binary between the alternative and mainstream cinema here are representative of the power and lack thereof for these minorities in terms of their social and self-perception.This paper goes a step further by not just looking at Indian Christians as a homogeneous whole but also determining the difference in portrayal and representation of the different denominations of the Indian Christian community. Therefore, this paper attempts to explain the reasons for the invisibility of Indian Christian representation or its ‘other-ing’ in mainstream film while also understanding the binary in the internal cultural dynamics within the Christian population through the lens of popular culture and regional or alternative cinema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistence of intense conflicts over land belonging to indigenous communities is a pressing issue in South Africa. This would resonate even more with the lived experiences of mine communities that are often having to grapple with the collateral socio-economic hardships and impoverishment effects. Matters can get even worse when the State has weak legal and institutional frameworks to regulate the use and possession of such highly contested lands. This paper explores the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); its relevance and significance to South African extractive sector; its possible bottlenecks and implementation challenges; and suggestions for practical interventions and policy advances to facilitate its incorporation into law and policy. Displacement is the limited context within which this exploration is undertaken. The paper argues that the FPIC – as an envisaged future for the country's extractive policy – is more desirable than a mere duty to consult as currently framed in the empowering legislation namely, the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Act (MPRDA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Declaration of Independence stated that "[a]ll men are created equal," due to the institution of slavery, this statement was not to be grounded in law in the U.S until after the Civil War. Often, American blacks looked to the courts to protect important social values and when the courts ruled in favor, there was always a backlash and resistance to judicial fiat. This paper makes a historical analysis of the South's response to judicial social change. For instance, when Brown v. Board of Education of Tepeka was decided in 1954, school boards in portions of the country actively resisted the court mandated school integration. Thus, the paper argues that social change should be a gradual process and not a forced enterprise by the courts or indeed, any governmental structure since an assertive judiciary can spark a political and cultural backlash that may hurt, more than help, progressive values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a critical reading of Alaa Al Aswany's novel The Yacoubian Building (2002), evoking important questions about the nature of terrorism in Egypt and how young men are transformed into religious fanatics. While certainly not excusing terrorists' violent acts, we try to use the novel as a guide to understand what makes a terrorist tick. The novel invites us to witness the fall into the abyss of terror of a young man who dreams of being a policeman. The novel shows that while Taha struggles to change his fate, he faces marginalisation, police corruption, oppression and torture, which finally set him on the path to violence. The paper thus uses the novel as a focal point to broaden our understanding of who a terrorist figure is. Furthermore, we are interested in the literary representations of terrorism and why this novelist chooses terrorism as a main structuring element. By offering a qualitative, different understanding of the fundamental aspects of terrorism, we try to reveal that while it is the terrorist's finger that pulls the trigger, there is a disorienting history of social, political and economic circumstances behind each bullet. The paper concludes that Al Aswany neither demonises nor offers an apology for extremists. He simply presents them as humans so that we can understand what they are angry about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The land question is an emotive issue across the world. At independence, erstwhile colonies adopted land reforms to address colonial imbalances in landholding. South Africa is one such country that has embarked on land reforms with the view to correcting economic imbalances created by the apartheid past. However, land reform in South Africa has not only been slow but has failed to deal with the twin challenges of poverty and inequality. Using qualitative research design and neoclassical theory, this paper investigates South Africa's land reforms under the auspices of radical economic transformation. The paper argues that the wholesale expropriation of land without compensation does not fit into the obtaining (neoliberal) economic blueprint that has dominated the country over the years. The call for a radical transformation of landholding rights in the country without structural changes in macroeconomic management remains political rhetoric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary is about two papers on the relations between the neuroscience and the physics of time. One is by Buonomano & Rovelli, entitled 'Bridging the neuroscience and physics of time' and the other one is by Gruber, Block & Montemayor, entitled 'Physical time within human time'. The present commentary takes the form of an interview of Remy Lestienne, who published a book on the work of Whitehead, related to the two papers cited above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document contains commentaries on two papers that examine the concept of time from different angles. The first paper argues against the Block Universe theory, which suggests a static reality, and proposes a multilayered concept of time instead. The second paper takes a pragmatic approach and suggests that the brain reflects the temporal parameters of its external environment. The commentaries raise questions about the nature of reality, the validity of physical theories, and the perception of time. The text explores different perspectives on the flow of time, including the idea that it is a perceptual construct and the belief that consciousness and time are interconnected. It also discusses the arrow of time, entropy, and different interpretations of the IGUS model. The authors suggest three areas for further exploration: clarifying definitions, recognizing the desire to attribute reality to subjective experiences, and incorporating falsifiability into the debate. [Extracted from the article]

This paper explores how children's rights are operationalised in practice, specifically by Canadian child and youth advocate offices (all 12 offices across Canada), international children's commissioners' offices (in Northern Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Norway and Denmark), and their institutional structures. A total of 24 participants took part in the study, including 12 current child and youth advocates from the Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates (CCCYA), two former advocates from the CCCYA, three additional staff members of the CCCYA (collectively, representing all 12 jurisdictions across Canada), one children's commissioner and six designates on behalf of various international children's commissioners. This paper shifts the research focus of children's rights and childhood studies from the narrow confines of the individual child to a focus on the broader relational and interdependent aspects inherent within institutions that protect and promote children's rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the subjection of Europe's lower-strata working-class Muslims to a politics of containment on two levels: isolation and elite capture. Departing from analogies between antisemitism and Islamophobia, it argues for a different comparison between the two that involves their effects when weaponised as discursive strategies. While the effects of the weaponisation of ('new') antisemitism tend to isolate Muslims through a de -essentialising good vs. bad Muslim discourse, the effects of the weaponisation of Islamophobia move towards the tendential dynamics of elite capture through a re -essentialising discourse. Instead of theorising identity-formation as a direct consequence of ideology, the paper situates both discursive strategies within a structural framework that involves Muslims' organisational and collective- action forms, which in turn consolidate non-class identities. The paper concludes that the effects of the weaponisation of both discourses are realised in the containment of Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the praxis of the Zionist Left in Brazil, particularly during the 2010s. It argues that the Zionist Left, which claims to be a progressive grouping that stands in solidarity with the oppressed people in Palestine and in Brazil, functions in fact as a colonial counterrevolutionary actor against radical-left emancipatory politics. Indeed, the Zionist Left functions as a gatekeeper, blocking sectors of the Jewish community and the Brazilian Left from joining the growing anti-Zionist decolonial movement in Brazil. This paper aims to show how various Zionist Left groups have historically worked with the Zionist elite and the Brazilian state to undermine anti-Zionist communist Jewish alternatives by resorting to fraudulent discourse and even force in order to build support for the Zionist settler-colonial project in Palestine. This paper utilises a Marxist, anti-Zionist and anti-colonial framework in order to provide a counter-hegemonic critique for an emancipatory praxis that rejects colonialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the narrative significance of localization in Homer's Odyssey , in particular singular places that are associated with multiple spaces (identified here as dual localization). Our reading posits that spatial features hold narrative significance and, once uncovered, this resolves 'problematic' issues that may arise from spatial paradoxes. The chosen case study is the Odyssean land of the Ethiopians with its twin dual localization: (1) it is located simultaneously at the eastern and western peripheries of the world while also located singularly 'with Poseidon'; and (2) this peripheral localization contrasts with a later 'real world' setting in Egypt/North Africa. While this people's localization has been the subject of prior study, this paper presents a novel analysis: these localizations serve a characterizing function which, in turn, relates to the thematic function of Menelaus' embedded narrative as foreshadowing the primary narrative of Odysseus' nostos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores Galen's notion of the chreia of bodily parts and activities, and the method of its discovery against the Aristotelian background. It argues that the chreia of an object π (a bodily part or activity) is a connection between the activity ε for the sake of which π has come into existence, and the attributes of π without which ε would cease to exist or would not be as good. The discovery of chreia , then, is an explanation of this connection. Aristotle does not use the word ' chreia ' in this sense, but in Parts of Animals he employs a partly overlapping notion which he calls ' ergon '. Finally, the paper points out that Galen's chreia is equivalent to the middle term of teleological demonstrations, as outlined in Aristotle's Posterior Analytics II 11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses 'law' and 'religion' as a co-dependent dyad, and argues that the academic study of religion should see the concept of law as both an analytical category and an object of study. To this end, it argues for a broader understanding of law. It demonstrates that the understanding of law as secular state law, commonly used in analysis, is part of both religious and legal history. Anti-, intra-, and interreligious polemics and agendas were, after all, vital in the genesis and global proliferation of this understanding of law. In a second step, the paper performs an empirical analysis of legal practices within a religious organisation: the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast/Ghana. Two cases from one of this church's courts in the 1950s are analysed to showcase how religious actors contributed to the fashioning of the dyad of religion and law as a global phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small, two-verse interpolation of Ezekiel 47:22-23 is widely considered one of the most inclusive texts in the Hebrew Bible. Its instruction regarding the גרים allowed for full inclusion into the community that Ezekiel believed to be the true Israel. However, interpretations that view these verses as hyper-inclusive often view the גרים as foreigners. Such a view is largely based on understanding the term גר along linguistic rather than anthropological lines. This paper will explore the use of the term גר in both Ezekiel and the Holiness School to better understand the group envisioned by the author of Ezekiel 47:22-23. In so doing, I will demonstrate that these verses should not be understood simply along a binary of inclusive versus exclusive, but rather as part of a larger project of identity reformulation that occurred as part of a trauma process around the Babylonian exile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-conflict landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina remains deeply fragmented, characterized by the interplay of international and domestic responses to atrocity crimes committed during the 1992–1995 war. The Dayton Peace Agreement established frameworks to address these atrocities but also entrenched ethnic divisions. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s judicial measures, led by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and domestic courts, aimed to establish accountability but faced significant challenges, including political polarization. Civil society organizations and cultural initiatives have played important roles, yet their efforts are often hindered with, for example, the continuity of ethnic grievances. Drawing on the EU cost Action ca18228 Scoping Survey on states’ interactions with international criminal justice, this paper explores how different actors in BiH navigated the responses to atrocity crimes and assesses what has been fulfilled or left unfulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysing migration patterns can be used to predict the likelihood of invasion by exotic species, and disease prevalence and spread through contact networks in animals. This paper presents an analytical method for surveying the characteristics of wildlife migration, which can be challenging due to the varying distances and directions that animals travel and the diverse characteristics of different species. To gain a comprehensive understanding of migratory behaviour, it is necessary to integrate migration interrelationships within the populations and correlated migratory modes, e.g., aggregation or dispersed patterns. To achieve this, we propose the SSS-PCA method, which combines the small-shuffle surrogate (SSS) method and principal component analysis (PCA). The SSS-PCA method involves three major steps: (1) applying the SSS method to break down the time-series correlational structure of the movement data with different time frames, (2) obtaining some mobility indicators, e.g., the range and variance of movement, from the original and SSS data with different time frames, and (3) performing PCA on the mobility indicators, and clustering the results. The proposed method can reveal the migration patterns of individuals and the influence of individuals on the whole group. The SSS-PCA method can be used to examine the migration patterns of marine and terrestrial animal species. We suggest that the method can be applied to further studies of various species’ migration data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork and collected oral histories in 2019 in the Lofoten islands, as well as on archival research. I investigate the complex creation of kinship networks between humans and skrei in the Lofoten islands. I argue that the constant struggle to survive for both fish and fishermen embedded in larger capitalist ecologies of exploitation creates a symbolic shared substance between fish and fishermen, which, despite the often-unequal antagonistic nature of their relationships, allows us to rethink of definitions of kinship between humans and nonhuman others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can one write the modern legal history of the Gulf states without projecting onto the past the contemporary hegemony of the modern nation-state? What narratives other than secularization stories might be told? And what archives are available to us to facilitate such an endeavor? This paper addresses these questions with reference to Qatar, where a powerful sharia judiciary developed under the British Protectorate maintained its autonomy until the 1990s. The publications of the Presidency of Sharia Courts (est. 1958) and the work of its long-time president, Shaykh ʿAbdallāh b. Zayd Āl Maḥmūd (1911–97), suggest that oil wealth, modern state bureaucracy, and the British legal order expanded – rather than curtailed – the scope of sharia law in Qatar in the course of the twentieth century. Sharia scholars and institutions reinforced the rule of law, contributed to minimizing the role of customary norms in society, replaced commercial courts and alternative modes of dispute resolution, and helped establish an autonomous legal sphere separate from political power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 50 years have passed since the first proposal of a crime of ecocide under international criminal law. What seemed to be slow progress at first reached a peak of proliferation in public-legal discussion over the recent years. This paper is an effort to recapitulate the development of ecocide as a crime, analysing the different proposals from a critical point of view that will attempt to crystallise the challenges that they present. This analysis will be based on four main criteria: (a) the punishable conduct described, which will necessarily raise the discussion of the anthropocentric vis-à-vis an ecocentric vision; (b) the subjective element proposed and its compatibility with the Rome Statute; (c) the possible perpetrator; and (d) the legal instrument through which it is sought to be enshrined. Finally, we present certain guidelines regarding an International Criminal Court for the Environment and its compatibility with the International Criminal Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes how practices in water diplomacy, and in particular in international water negotiations, are gendered and with what effects. We conduct a comparative analysis of three intergovernmental decision-making forums on international rivers: the Nile Technical Advisory Committee, the Chu-Talas Water Commission, and the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine. These three cases demonstrate how gender is relational and creates situations in which gendered norms and values are strengthened, challenged, and changed, and sometimes used strategically to gain more power. In addition, two specific dynamics were observed: first, aligning with gendered stereotypes, confrontational practices in water negotiations are perceived as masculine and cooperative ones as feminine. Second, women’s participation in negotiations leads to both male and female negotiators adapting their behavior, resulting in a tendency towards less openly confrontational dynamics in more gender-balanced settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rule of proportionality strikes a bargain in launching attacks. It demands that military commanders suspend or cancel operations if collateral damage anticipated from an attack exceeds the potential military advantage offered. The definitional phrase military advantage has been the subject of a rich debate, varyingly interpreted to expand or limit the scope of attacks. This paper participates in the debate, advocating that military advantage must be limited to exclude attacks on objects that indirectly contribute to military potential, such as, economic, social, psychological or political advantage, which invariably target civilians or civilian enterprises. It critically engages with the principles and precedents invoked to legitimise a broader understanding of military advantage. It posits that such attacks disregard belligerents’ privileges, and render unbound categories of civilian objects susceptible to destruction. Pursuantly, the rule of proportionality, originally articulated to nuance and improve the rule of distinction, is usurped to violate the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a response to the roundtable on Metamodernism: The Future of Theory, focusing on the work’s methodological implications and theoretical advancements. Using traffic jams as a case study, Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm illustrates how his approach both incorporates and transcends the insights of discourse studies. He abridges a version of his theory of process “social kinds,” which he describes as dynamic, socially constructed clusters of properties, defined by the anchoring processes – dynamic-nominalist, mimetic, and ergonic – that uniquely contribute to their properties. He shows how focusing on these anchoring processes challenges conventional methodologies and could herald new research paths in religious studies and other fields, advocating for a shift towards a more inclusive and dynamic interpretation of social phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the 2015 use of the Australian rock song Khe Sanh by far-right nationalist group Reclaim Australia and how it points to deeper archetypal dynamics at play, which are driving the appearance and behaviour of groups like this. Drawing from the work of Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung, I treat the song as an expression of the archetype of the fallen hero, who confronts darkness but cannot reintegrate back into the social world and, instead, remains fallen. As I discuss, this song resonates deeply with Reclaim Australia members because it reflects their own ideological conceptions of their place in the changing Australian nation. I use a Jungian archetypal approach because it allows us to explore the underlying psychic structure and instinctive patterns that drive the behaviour of groups like this. Where other approaches may simply focus on the behaviour, an archetypal approach goes much deeper, addressing the root of the behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2020 EU Pact on Migration and Asylum introduced a series of legal texts aimed at reforming the existing EU asylum policy. Following years of challenging negotiations, an agreement on the Pact was reached in December 2023 with all the texts published in the Official Journal of the EU in May 2024. This article critically discusses some provisions of three key texts within the Pact: the Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR), the Crisis Regulation, and the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR). The aim is to uncover the strategic employment of derogations and exceptions to compensate external border states for their heightened responsibilities, particularly in situations of migratory pressure. The article also explores the impact of newly introduced concepts and measures, such as the 'non-entry' fiction and the concept of 'adequate capacity' in border procedures, as well as derogatory provisions in 'crisis' and 'instrumentalisation' situations. It highlights how the agreed instruments, under the guise of presenting derogations as a form of 'solidarity', compromise the rights of asylum seekers and fail to effectively address the increased responsibility of states at the external borders. It further argues that these measures deviate from the goal of harmonisation within the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). The paper concludes by emphasising that the promise of achieving a fair and balanced asylum system in the EU remains unfulfilled, with an overreliance on derogations overshadowing genuine progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a public theology affirming the normalization of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Religious convictions about human equality and social justice contribute constructively to matters of public concern. While official principles of disability services do, operating practices often do not, accord with a theological vision of God's desire for human flourishing. The analysis summarizes what is going on (many adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience restricted lives), employs socio-ecological theory to explain why (shortcomings at multiple levels of civil society disadvantage them), uses theology and sociology to specify what should be going on (they should be able to live 'normal' lives like non-disabled people) and proposes action steps (change in numerous social systems can promote normalization). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last twenty years have seen increased interest in animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and animal-assisted activity (AAA). However, there has been little research exploring these interactions as experienced by the animals themselves. In this paper, we bring a "more-than-human" lens to concepts and practices within AAA/T, synthesizing ideas about animal sentience and subjectivity that have emerged within animal geography scholarship and animal welfare science. We draw from empirical work with practitioners involved in donkey-facilitated learning (DFL) to examine the knowledge base of equine facilitators, including their beliefs, opinions, and assumptions about donkeys, their understanding of animal welfare, and their role in DFL. We discuss how knowledge of donkeys is mobilized to ensure more-than-human welfare during DFL; how animals' "choice" to participate is encouraged and centered; how ideas of nonhuman labor create opportunities for considering more-than-human welfare; and how practitioners advocate for animals and embed practices of care for humans and nonhumans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay thoroughly examines the OTPOR! movement's strategic and tactical endeavors from 1998 to 2000, when it played a pivotal role in challenging and eventually overthrowing Slobodan Milošević's autocratic regime. The paper critically dissects the movement's strategic and tactical frameworks, elucidating their interconnectedness within nonviolent struggle. Central to OTPOR!'s effectiveness was its deliberate avoidance of overt political ambitions and alignment with the youth demographic. The movement projected itself as singularly committed to unseating an autocratic leader, countering regime propaganda by foregrounding the nation's welfare above narrow political interests. The trajectory of the OTPOR! movement underscores the intricate interplay between strategy and tactics in successful nonviolent movements. By orchestrating a meticulously constructed long-term strategy alongside various innovative tactical maneuvers, OTPOR! effectively harnessed public sentiment, countered regime dominance and decisively contributed to Serbia's democratization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to be consulted is a legal institution that originated in 1989 in the United Nations Convention 169, requiring states to conduct a consultation process of Indigenous peoples and communities on issues potentially impacting them. The Mexican state has subsequently implemented the right to be consulted in its legal system. The consultation processes were often riddled with inconsistencies and the violation of the rights of Indigenous communities and peoples. In this paper I analysed the case study of the consultation process in Guerrero, by researching press articles, engaging in participant observation and conducting interviews. I looked for similarities between the Guerrero consultations and past consultations in Juchitán, Sonora, and Campeche. I identified several violations and manipulations consistent with the history of the right to be consulted. In the last part of the article, I compared the proposed acts and established their potential impact on security in Guerrero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Pteroceltis tatarinowii , a tertiary relic plant, has a long and fascinating history in China due to its irreplaceable role in traditional papermaking. In this study, the anatomical differences between young and old bark were analysed by light microscopy (LM), fluorescence microscopy (FM), and polarized light microscopy (PLM). Both the young and old bark contain periderm, cortex, and phloem. In the non-conducting phloem, the curved radial phloem rays were perpendicular to bands of sieve-tube elements and axial parenchyma cells, forming a net-like pattern. Primary phloem fibres only occurred in young bark, and both primary and secondary phloem fibres contained a gelatinous layer (G-layer). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the thickness of the G-layer in the primary phloem fibres was about 1.5–4 times higher than that of the secondary phloem fibres. The thick G-layer might be an important potential reason for the absorption of ink by paper made from P. tatarinowii phloem fibres, due to the good water absorption of the gelatinous layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]