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Polish popular film has responded to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with two productions: the TV series Misja: Afganistan (dir. Maciej Dejczer, 2012) and the feature film Karbala (dir. Krzysztof Łukaszewicz, 2015). They do not reflect the prevailing views of the public on these two military conflicts, but rather appeal to the general imaginings about Polish wars in the course of history. As they leave out issues of politics, it is the portrayal of the soldiers that most fundamentally contributes to the construction of the perspectives on the wars in the Middle East in the films under discussion. The predominantly positive image of the Polish soldiers leads the viewer to believe that the wars in which they fought were justified. Misja: Afganistan and Karbala perpetuate the tropes entrenched in the heroic/martyrological model of representing war in Polish film through exploiting universal connotations of heroic war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of two contemporary German films on the war in Afghanistan – Auslandseinsatz (Till Endemann, 2012) and Zwischen Welten (Feo Aladag, 2014) – through the philosophical lens of the 'just war theory', this article discusses how the classic genre of the 'boots on the ground' war film is used to reflect on the ethical justifiability of military force in the context of Germany's strategic culture at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The article argues that these two films are paradigmatic examples of a new and specifically German subgenre of the war film I suggest calling the 'humanitarian military film' that has its roots in the particular historical constellation that led to the development of the country's current military culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugees increasingly become part of the European societies. Afghans, Syrians, Ukrainians fled their countries due to war, conflicts, persecution, and settled, temporary or not, in more stable countries. During pandemics, with openness towards foreigners shrinking, and borders closing, the situation of refugees might become uncertain. Our scoping review explores what academics considered relevant about refugees to Europe in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings reveal increasing resentment against immigrants, a need for redesigning European migration policies, preparing welfare systems, asylum protection mechanisms, and societies as a whole, in order to prevent disruptions in the eventuality of large-scale crises. Such implications are to also be considered for the consequences of the current Russian aggression on Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is concentrated on the analysis of the role of Prosecutor from a procedural and substantive point of view in the ICC according the sentence of the Appeal Chamber of 5 March 2020. The Pre-Trial Chamber has denied authorization to continue and open investigations in Afghanistan that can be prosecuted by the Prosecutor. The Appeal Chamber after Prosecutor's question overturned the preliminary ruling by deciding to continue the evaluation of the investigation into crimes against humanity and war in the Afghan territory. So are these judgments political or legal? Are the Chambers based on the ICC statute or on the commands of US foreign powers? What is the Prosecutor's role in these admissibility cases or investigations? These are some of the questions that this paper discusses and tries to clarify. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information that some western analysts believe that Intergovernmental organization, NATO's enlargement provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the author argues that a collision between the West and a revisionist Russia led by Vladimir Putin, President of Russia was inevitable.

The article focuses on the Ukrainian refugee crisis, including the large numbers of displaced people and the response of various countries, particularly in Europe. It highlights the contrast between the treatment of Ukrainian refugees and refugees from other parts of the world, and also discusses the United States' response to the crisis.

This article examines how the Falklands war has been remembered in Britain. By looking at how ideas of the Falklands war reached public audiences, the article traces changing British understandings of the composition of the conflict. In the 1980s, the war was regarded as politically divisive. Since the 1990s, political divisions faded, and the perspectives of veterans, particularly as represented in the memoirs of lower ranked soldiers, became prominent. This has resulted in focus on new themes, such as experiences of combat trauma and relationships with the Falkland Islands and islanders. These changes illustrate shifts in civil–military relations in Britain and encouraged new interpretations of what the Falklands war meant for Britain. In the contexts of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly that of Iraq, Britain's engagement in the Falklands came to be seen not only as politically legitimate, but also as the right choice to have made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is based on archival materials, collections of documents, and published epistolary, video, and documentary sources. It explores the stories of the Soviet military who participated in the Afghanistan War from 1979 to 1989. The importance of correspondence between the soldiers and officers in Afghanistan and their relatives is highlighted as a psychological anchor that provided a connection with home. A review of the letters and testimonies of the addressees reveals the reasons for the delay in sending letters, the reassuring lines, and the reluctance of the addressees to mention their military service. The article also presents a representative section of the military epistolary, showcasing themes such as the realities of military service, the conditions of life and everyday life of the Soviet military, the physical and psychological exhaustion of the warriors, and the specifics of the Afghanistan War. The personal experiences of the Soviet military in Afghanistan, as portrayed in their letters, offer a unique perspective on the Afghan period of their lives. This allows us to better understand the existential states of the soldiers and of- ficers, including their physical needs, burdens, internal contradictions, experiences, and anxieties. Thus, the article can contribute to interdisciplinary studies of the Afghanistan War, including the history of everyday life, military-historical anthropology, and military psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the twenty-year U.S. war in Afghanistan can persuasively be viewed as a holy war prosecuted on behalf of American-style liberalism. To make this argument, it develops a framework for understanding holy war as an issue of communication and draws on the work of Émile Durkheim, Patrick Deneen, James K. A. Smith, and Judith Shklar to situate liberalism as a religion. It then details how U.S. presidents proclaimed and prosecuted holy war in Afghanistan in five acts, showing how the conflict developed as a (liberal) religious war under Bush and continued until the August 2021 U.S. military withdrawal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]