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The paper aims to review the perceptions of the Southeast European countries toward the NPT and TPNW and identify the main determinants of their disarmament policies. It analyzes official statements of the Southeast European states during the NPT preparatory meetings and review conferences, and their positions in various stages of the TPNW development, to bring out a position of a certain country toward the NPT and TPNW and then dive into analysis of the determinants of the outcomes. The paper contributes to the deeper understanding of the disarmament policy choices of the Southeast European states, thus also contributing to the assessment of possible changes in their positions regarding the nuclear weapons ban. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper explores the nuanced perspectives of South Asian nations, primarily India and Pakistan, on the global efforts toward nuclear disarmament. Against a complex regional security landscape, historical conflicts, and evolving nuclear doctrines, this study employs a qualitative research design, drawing on document analysis and existing literature. The findings reveal divergent views between India and Pakistan, often shaped by intricate factors of security considerations, regional dynamics, and domestic political influences. The paper discusses the implications of South Asian stances on global disarmament efforts. It proposes potential pathways for fostering dialogue and cooperation in pursuing nuclear disarmament in the region. Through an in-depth examination of South Asian perspectives, this research contributes valuable insights to the broader discourse on nuclear disarmament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the evolution of the humanitarian disarmament initiative toward the TPNW and the links and influences from Latin America civil society efforts. Shifting away from traditional military objectives, humanitarian disarmament integrates civil society organizations, prioritizes Human Security over State security, and emphasizes the humanitarian impact of weapons. The paper examines key campaigns, including the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the Control Arms Campaign, the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), elucidating their advocacy strategies. It highlights the unique features of humanitarian disarmament, stressing obligations beyond elimination, addressing challenges in multilateral forums, and presenting Latin America's distinct approach. The essay concludes by discussing the status of nuclear disarmament in the region, emphasizing universalization efforts and contextual challenges, including the rise of alt-right movements and the region's historical commitment to nuclear disarmament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)is an essential milestone in the history of disarmament. The Korean Peninsula has historically been a victim of great power rivalries in Northeast Asia. The paper argues that North Korea's nuclear ambitions need to contextualize the persistent nuclear threats and the erosion of traditional arms control regime in the region. Despite the unchanging security scenario on the Korean peninsula, even after the Cold War and North-South Confrontation, North Korea's nuclear issue has been caught in the web of great power rivalry. It also argues that so far, the NPT has failed to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and nuclear disarmament would not be achieved with nuclear deterrence, and all the parties must join the treaty by acknowledging the urgent need through the prism of the constant escalating risks of nuclear conflict in the region. Converting the existing truce agreement to a permanent or partial peace agreement on the Korean War could be a starting point in solving North Korea's nuclear deadlock and denuclearizing process. The only nuclear weapon country that voted on the first committee General Assembly draft resolution of TPNW signifies that North Korea seems optimistic to walk in the path of a global mission of the nuclear weapon free world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative rattled the South Asian security environment vigorously as it involved strong territorial sensitivities of India, which found itself engaged on two fronts with Pakistan and China. The BRI has been the geoeconomic drive projecting China's peaceful rise. It has been welcomed with hope and suspicion as Western powers are equally interested in containing China in the Asian order. This paper examines BRI as a source of external transformation to the regional security complex model devised by Buzan. South Asia's inadequacies in bringing internal transformation, as envisioned by Buzan, allow the BRI to be a source of cold peace in the region. The BRI looks at decentered region-building with an appeal of great power overlay. This tier is relevant in diluting the South Asia geopolitical polarities. The paper claims that BRI influences South Asian geopolitics, where India and Pakistan are no longer locked into bipolarities. The smaller states are bandwagoning with China, and that calibrates the South Asian regional security complex. The cold peace laced with geoeconomic transformation can render a regional transformation to the security complex such that the South Asian regional security complex might dissipate into two or more mini-complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In societies that are emerging out of protracted war, teacher preparation geared toward peace poses a unique challenge. Their contested histories, normalization of violence and fear over prolonged times, and entrenched social and political structures that that have sustained violence, inequity, discrimination, injustice and unequal power distribution over time can prevent peace initiatives realizing their full potential. This paper explores the strength of a pedagogical orientation to teacher preparation that is conceptually informed by culturally responsive pedagogy. The paper first provides an overview of peace education and the challenges of effective and lasting peace education in societies that are emerging out of war; it then discusses tenets of culturally responsive pedagogy that lends itself toward peace education; and the paper concludes by conceptualizing a culturally responsive approach to peace education in postwar societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper highlights environmental injustices in South Africa as well as the accompanying continuation of mega-extraction-based violence. In doing so, the paper examines how the history of environmental injustices has left its mark in various parts of this country, where industrialization practices and policies from the apartheid era lead to environmental degradation that disproportionately impacts black people. This exemplifies how epistemic injustice occurs when dominant structures in knowledge production eliminate and silence the epistemic integrity of the sufferers, as well as how their contributions to the environmental knowledge system have been undermined, misinterpreted, and curtailed in discursive practices. In this context, the paper explores how a decolonial ecological turn and practices in South Africa can integrate environmental and development policies for sustainability and pluriversal peacebuilding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines the role of nonviolent civil resistance in Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion. Drawing from the notions of nonviolence strategy, resilience and people's power, it illustrates how nonviolence can undermine an aggressor's military and political objectives while strengthening the social emancipation forces. The essay is based on the analysis of 235 varied nonviolent actions from February to June 2022, seeking to understand key drivers, dynamics, and their influence in the Ukrainian context. It also emphasizes the impact of non-cooperation in occupied territories to prevent the institutionalization of repression and the importance of culture in safeguarding the value system of Ukrainians. The paper concludes that nonviolent strategies have significantly impeded Russian military objectives during the first phase of the invasion, contributing to the liberation of Kherson and strengthening Ukrainian social cohesion and national identity, thus contributing to the democratic state- and nation-building process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper explores how the ancient Silk Road facilitated cultivating a culture of accommodation, tolerance, and peaceful co-existence in Sri Lanka via the foreign medical practice of Unani, which was introduced by the Arab merchants, in the first century B.C. Since the 1960s, Unani has been integrated as one of the four pillars of Sri Lanka's traditional medicine. This indigenization process of a foreign medicinal practice in a nation where its political history is marred by violence against the perceived 'outsiders' presents an intriguing phenomenon. While the dominant discourse on migration and mobilities often evokes discord and conflict, we aim to interject this dominant narrative by tracing Unani's global and local roots and extrapolate its material agency in reviving a new discourse on peacebuilding in post-civil war Sri Lanka. By examining historical and archaeological material data and narratives collected from current and ancestral Unani practitioners on the island, our study concludes the role of mobilities of people, ideas and things via the ancient Silk Road has been facilitating a culture of acceptance, accommodation, and peaceful co-existence between native population and their 'non-native other' in late antiquity in Sri Lanka. We hope our study can inspire new visions of a peaceful future in postwar Sri Lanka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-ethnic violence and counter-violence have been at the center of writings on identity politics among ethnic groups in India's Northeast. Yet, the existing literature on these aspects in India, especially in the Northeast region, has missed out on a very significant dimension. Very few studies have focused on the use of oral narratives and folklores as important methods that contribute to identity politics and conflict transformation among ethnic groups. Preliminary research suggests that ethnic violence in Northeast India exhibits variations in terms of the patterns of violence and state responses that shape the outcome of the conflicts. Oral narratives are the repositories of cultural reproduction of marginalized communities and serve as important tools that enable these communities to reclaim their identity, social justice and shape their agency. The aim of the paper is, therefore, to examine how and to what extent oral traditions and narratives in the form of folklore help mobilize marginalized ethnic groups in conflict zones in India's Northeast. The paper uses the case study of the historically marginalized Bodo ethnic group to examine the linkages between folklore, identity construction, mobilization and peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's inequality remains a significant global concern with important connotations for the MENA region. Preserving human rights, combating discrimination against women, and enhancing equality of life for women are critical as we work on socio-economic models that are more sustainable and balanced. Women's rights recognition in all societies has surfaced since much existing research provides significant evidence of women's valuable contribution to the development of our societies and their associated economic contributions. Gender equality is a cornerstone of human rights, and it is critical in developing a sustainable world where individuals can thrive by supporting stable economic and political systems. Core research findings reveal that Arab countries experienced a declining trend in subjective well-being due to the Arab Spring in 2011. This paper presents a critical analysis of existing research studies that demonstrate the link between life satisfaction and the major grievances that came to light during the revolution, with corruption being the primary factor affecting life satisfaction, particularly in countries that experienced significant revolts and uprisings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education emerges as crucial to manage ongoing global challenges as it is vital to help minimize the risk of conflict, inequities and inequalities, or even violent disasters. Developing a new educational model in which a new culture of caring about people, the planet, and our common and shared future can contribute to peace-building and the development of more sustainable societies. This paper offers critical insights into the interconnectivity between global crises, geoeconomic and geopolitical elements, and the need for a new educational paradigm, which has the potential to boost national systems by promoting the development of global citizens defined and identified by their high levels of resilience, empathy, and a culture of caring. We argue for the importance of relationships based on trust and the feeling of relying on, where individuals can feel safe, secure, and valued. In this regard, education represents the core element in creating more inclusive, equitable, resilient, and just societies where individuals have sufficient skills to navigate conflicts and power imbalances by manifesting an open and proactive attitude to co-create inclusive and cooperative sustainable solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambitious climate action is crucial to achieve social justice and peaceful development in the next decades. However, the current geopolitical and geoeconomic context runs counter to meaningful climate action. In fact, in 2023, global emissions were higher than ever, and future reduction prospects look grim, as Green New Deal policies are facing significant political, economic, and geostrategic challenges on both sides of the Atlantic. Against this backdrop, it is more important than ever to think out of the box in order to build alliances among social movements for an immediate reduction of emissions. Thus, this paper aims to critically explore the role that human rights can play to achieve climate justice in this context, not only as only as legal instruments, but also as a promising narrative of change that includes planetary boundaries and the central imperative of global and national redistribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Set against larger processes of reconciliation and peace building taking place at the end of one of the longest civil wars in recent times, this paper examines the nexus between teacher education and postwar reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Drawing on data generated from an ethnographic case study carried out in three teacher preparation programmes, including a programme located in war affected Northern Sri Lanka, the paper aims to better understand the impact reconciliations initiatives in education. It aims to do so by examining the often overlooked experiences of teachers who are being prepared to teach in schools that have emerged out of war. The insights of teachers are critical as the impact of any reconciliation initiative lies in the preparedness of teachers to be active agents of change. The paper argues for the need for transformative approaches teacher education that recognizes the centrality of teachers as change agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the interstate reconciliation between India and Pakistan after the shock of Sino-Indian War of 1962. The post-1962 war political-security equations, particularly at the regional level, gave rise to a situation that necessitated India's reconciliatory negotiations with Pakistan over Kashmir. Though the rival parties engaged in a six-round political dialogue, the process ended up in a deadlock followed by spirals of armed clashes that culminated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. The paper shows that this reconciliation process proved counterproductive because it was imposed from outside and the principal parties, in a window-driven haste and under the political-strategic constraints, could not mutually agree on to reconcile their political differences and settle the territorial dispute over Kashmir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nexus between the 'connection syndrome' and the cult of mediocrity in Africa. Drawing on Chinua Achebe's book The Trouble with Nigeria (1984) and empirical evidence from document analysis, the paper discusses how the ubiquitous 'connection syndrome' constitutes a breeding ground for the 'cult of mediocrity' in Africa. Beyond politics which serves as a main conduit, this phenomenon stems from the erosion of African values. The paper also delves into the pervasive and corrosive nature of this phenomenon and its multifaceted manifestation. Achebe's idea of the cult of mediocrity is expanded to include contemporary dimensions and ramifications. The paper argues that the connection syndrome is a utility friendship which allows for corrupt networks and renders institutions dysfunctional. While development initiatives might be attractive, they may not produce the desired results – as currently evidenced – if the 'connection syndrome' is not addressed. Accordingly, the paper proposes the civic friendship as a way out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Naga insurgency, widely recognized as the longest asymmetric conflict in independent India, has had far-reaching effects on Naga society and altered the state's politics. While the church in Nagaland has sought to bring different warring factions to a common platform and arrive at a "fair" and "honorable" solution to the Naga crisis, fundamental disagreements have clouded the peace process. Despite the signing of the Framework Agreement (2015) between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the Government of India, occasional incidence of violence continues to rock the state. The society in Nagaland stands fractured with its identity at crossroads. Considering the fact that the church has been an intrinsic element of Naga identity and is widely revered as an institution, this article explores the role of the church and reflects on its limitations in the reconciliation and peace processes in Nagaland. This paper comes to the conclusion that despite the church's best efforts, finding a political solution to the Indo-Naga conflict will remain elusive due to the irreconcilable goals of various warring groups and the profound malaise that has crept into Naga society. The role of the church in the Indo-Naga war will, at best, be that of a moral force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intersections of peace and heritage have long been discussed in academia, but these discussions are often focused on the aftermath or the experiences of violence and conflict. There has been less written about heritage sites as places of positive peace, where visitors can connect with more ethereal aspects of inner peace, wellbeing and mindfulness. Many heritage sites allow visitors an opportunity to experience a place of peacefulness that is purposefully free of structural violence or to experience feelings of inner peace through the calm, serene nature of these sites. The Chalice Well is a holy chalybeate1 well and World Peace Garden set in the heart of Glastonbury, a town well known for its eclectic spirituality and rich layers of history and folklore. This site has been attracting seekers of peace, wellness and the sacred for over three hundred years. This paper explores the intersections of folklore, wellbeing, landscape, sacrality, and the curation of peace at this unique heritage site, from medieval legend and sacred spa waters to more contemporary examinations of peace and sacrality through landscape design and the promotion of spiritual tourism and pilgrimage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines l'Arbre à Palabre (AP)—Under the Palaver Tree, an Ivorian peacebuilding mechanism in contemporary conflict resolution. I argue that contextual and local understanding of armed conflicts before designing conflict resolution mechanisms is critical for peacebuilding because of the peculiarities of every post-conflict society. The mechanisms are geographically limited and culturally distinct but ontologically homogeneous across many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. I demonstrate that while liberal peacebuilding has its problems on the continent, African mechanisms are not immune because of the dynamics of modern conflicts, therefore the latter needs innovative approaches that transcend ethnic borders to meet contemporary challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folklorists have long studied the nature of ephemeralities in a range of vernacular responses to tragic events. This paper extends the scope of ephemeralities by arguing that the tangible representations, such as buildings and objects, are important anchors for socially reconstructing historical events. Focusing on the site of a cold-blooded genocide in India—Jallianwala Bagh—the present analysis transcends a predominant western frame of reference to highlight the imperativeness of preserving the trauma site, as it happened. The analysis reveals that a critical esthetic aspect of the site is the tangible absence of bodily ephemerality—an aspect that is intricately tied to martyrdom as opposed to victimhood. With the rise of transgressions that potentially rupture esthetics of memorial sites, it becomes essential to look for alternate tangible representations that transcend the spatial confines of the trauma sites. The quest ends with Khadi Marigolds that embody the essence of Jallianwala Bagh massacre and holds the key for perpetuating the memories of the martyrs for years to come in the service of "never again". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes early exposure to fairy tales as an important factor of mass psychology that can help understand and predict broad public tendencies and reactions, especially in times of uncertainty and change such as wars and political unrest. Early childhood's transition to self-awareness, and the resulting realization of one's shortcomings, lead to the original loss of significance, with the consequences of seeking a way to restore the feeling of being important and special. In the resulting quest to restore lost significance, fairy tales play a prominent role. Fairy tales' moral lessons are learned through modeling and operant conditioning, with characters' rewards becoming intrinsic rewards for the child who identifies with the characters. These early moral models pave the way for significance quests of later life, especially when one's choices are made under stress and uncertainty, which make the use of heuristics more likely than deliberation, enabling the early moral lessons from fairy tales to influence adult judgments and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jammu and Kashmir has been experiencing border conflict since the partition of India (1947) into two sovereign states (India and Pakistan). Four wars have been fought between them and still the issue has not been resolved. Uncertain firing, the continuous threat to life, unsettled life, and restricted living conditions affects the quality of life of the common people living in villages near the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC). The number of ceasefire violations in 2020 was the highest number of ceasefire violations in the past 16 years. People on both sides are the worst sufferers of the military aggression between the nations. Children living in such a volatile context lack the required developmental opportunities and their future is highly jeopardized. A serious commitment to the peacebuilding and reconciliation process is the way forward. Reconciliation processes like the Tashkent Declaration (1966), the Shimla Agreement (1972), and the Peace Bus service (1999) have been initiated but could not sustain peace for a longer period. This paper highlights the reconciliation process between the two countries and the need for a sustainable reconciliation initiative to secure the future of coming generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent Russian invasion, China's rise, and North Korean missile launches, there is an increased importance for the United States to strengthen its East Asian allies, South Korea and Japan. These two countries, however, have a long history of disputes that resulted from the legacy of the Second World War. One of them is the comfort women issue. More than 200,000 teenage Korean girls were taken by Japanese soldiers as sex slaves during the 1930s and 1940s. They are called comfort women. In December 2015, the South Korean and Japanese governments reached an agreement to resolve the issue of comfort women, getting an apology from the Japanese government. However, the surviving comfort women showed resentment toward this agreement and condemned the Korean government for reaching the agreement with the Japanese government. Why do the comfort women and many South Koreans reject this agreement? Also, two different understandings of the identically written accord have brought social conflict in South Korea. Where do these discrepancies in understanding the same accord come from? Applying the three conceptual frameworks—emic and etic approaches in cultural anthropology, the inclusive and restricted models of conflict resolution, and different levels of reconciliation—this paper analyzes the discrepancies in how people analyze and approach conflict resolution and highlights the importance of the cultural anthropological approaches in conflict resolution and reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 6 May 1933, a group of Nazi students attacked and looted the Institute for Sexual Research (the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, or "IfS"), a body set up by the Jewish and openly gay sexologist, Magnus Hirschfeld. The IfS' archives were publicly burned four days later (Hill 2013, 13–15), with photos of the event now synonymous with Nazi repression. Was this targeted, categorical, exterminatory violence against LGBTQ people an attempt at "memoricide" – the willful destruction of the memories and cultural treasures of an adversary (Civallero 2007)? This paper argues that queer people – including trans people – were indeed attacked as part of the Holocaust, facing specific attempts to erase them (whether through invisibilization, memoricide, or direct extermination). Nazi anti-queer ideology, however, was incoherent and erratic. This study contests that they attempted memoricide, social cleansing, and genocide of groups whose parameters and "threat" they had only a hazy notion of. This led to inconsistent treatment for what we might now describe as "transfeminine" and "transmasculine" populations, and produced complex and ad hoc, but still deeply queerphobic, state discourse. Having examined these patterns of prejudice, we proceed to examine attempts to restore this history, and recount the lives of trans people and archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kashmir conflict, ongoing for over seventy years, is no closer to a resolution. The separatist insurgency that had emerged in the late 1980s, along with attendant military action, has claimed over 50,000 lives till date. However, the three major parties to the conflict, the Indian state, the Pakistani state and the Kashmiri separatist movement continue to have mutually-intractable positions. How might these positions be reconciled? Eqbal Ahmad's proposal attempts to reconcile the three positions through the prism of "maximum autonomy with divided sovereignty." This essay extrapolates Ahmad's proposal, and presents two distinct facets to the solution: Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistin to become full territories within the Pakistani state; the Jammu region and Ladakh to become full territories within the Indian state; and the Kashmir valley to become an independent Kashmir state. The independent Kashmir state would share its sovereignty, to a limited extent, with India and Pakistan. This paper extrapolates the contours of Ahmad's proposal, particularly in the context of previous attempts by India, Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists to force a resolution in their favor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past several years, police killings of Black men have received national and international attention. However, there is silence surrounding the deaths of Black women killed by the police. This paper examines the nature and extent of lethal police violence against Black women in the United States, Black women's vulnerability to police violence, and responses to their deaths. It also uses an intersectional approach to discuss why Black women face racialized and gendered police violence and how their deaths have been rendered invisible in public discourse and justice movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]