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"The Review of Radical Political Economics" published a list of reviewers for the year 2024, acknowledging the contributions of various experts from around the world who reviewed manuscripts. The list includes scholars from countries such as Turkey, the United States, Spain, India, Brazil, and many others, representing diverse perspectives and expertise in radical political economics. The reviewers generously dedicated their time and knowledge to the journal's editorial process, highlighting the global reach and collaborative nature of the publication. [Extracted from the article]

The ongoing gulf between generalist social science disciplines and specialist area studies—where the former is associated with theoretical knowledge and the latter with the secondary role of producing descriptive information—informs the study of Middle Eastern nationalisms. This article's specific references are to Iranian and Turkish nationalisms. "Theoretical poverty" of their specialized literature partly follows from and arises in response to the subordinate role the area studies are allocated and, equally importantly, how the subfields of Iranian Studies and Turkish Studies have developed within this setting. To demonstrate this claim, the article reviews relevant scholarship regarding the modernity of nations. This comparative analysis reveals that the contrasting ways the question of modernity is answered are a symptom of the differing development trajectories of Iranian and Turkish Studies as branches of Middle East Studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the possibilities of critical geoeconomics from a geographical perspective is an attempt to reclaim geoeconomics from the now established a-geographical and frequently uncritical uses of the term in International Relations. Something similar has been achieved before, from the 1990s onwards, when political geographers reclaimed – at least partially – geopolitics. The task is much harder however, because the geographical roots of this neologism have been forgotten and because the geo in geoeconomics remains underspecified. To explore alternatives, this essay reviews the French literature on geoeconomics and its relation to geopolitics and geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to the forum marking the 75th anniversary of the Department of International Relations (IR) at the Australian National University (ANU) is organised in three parts. First, it 'looks back' at the origins and evolution of the department, highlighting the opportunities and tensions that have arisen from the housing of the department within administrative units concerned with area studies, particularly the Asia-Pacific region. 'Looking around' at the department today, the paper notes the prevalence of work on issue-areas previously unexplored (such as gender, justice and security) or being re-explored (particularly diplomacy), as well as the close relationship between theory and practice that emerges from the department's base in Canberra at Australia's national university. Finally, the introduction 'looks forward', using themes developed in the papers that make up this forum around ethical silences and openings to examine the public responsibilities of scholars, both in ANU's Department of IR and further afield, around research, teaching and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The institutional and intellectual setting of the IR Department of the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific (CAP) was closely connected to the broader knowledge-making process which had begun in the inter-war period. There, various social scientific methodologies and framings were deployed to deepen the understanding of the region and regional affairs as a part of global affairs. As the disciplinary boundaries developed, these interactive dynamics were pushed to the edges of the respective disciplines. The more the views from these edges were to be incorporated into the 'centres' of the IR discipline, the more meaningful and inclusive its disciplinary knowledge would become. Not a simple back-to-the-origin of the CAP IR, which was inevitably laden with colonial, racial, and gender biases of the time, but a spiral progression to its origin may lead us to a 'different IR'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until a decade ago, the idea that Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) had successfully democratized prevailed in political science. In the current context of democratic malaise, it has been argued that this “optimism” arose from the discipline’s privileging of more effusive positivist accounts over more cautious interpretivist accounts. Based on quantitative analysis of 500 papers about CEE published 2000-2015, we find cautious support for these claims. Positivist-leaning research categories predominate in higher-impact general journals, and some also correlate with optimistic conclusions about democratization. Conversely, more cautious findings correlate with interpretive-leaning research categories, these mostly confined to area studies journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study involved analyzing 76 sediment samples from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. The concentration of 18 prevalent PCB congeners was determined. Results indicated that the highest concentration of PCB-52, reaching 636.1 pg/g dw, was found at the T11S3-2 station in the Oman Sea, while PCB-28 had a concentration of 139.0 pg/g dw at the T0S1 station in the Persian Gulf. Furthermore, the average concentration of PCB-28 was 114.5 pg/g dw, in conformity with other regional studies. The average PCB concentration was 12.8 pg/g dw in the Persian Gulf and 35.0 pg/g dw in the Oman Sea. Risk assessment based on ecological risk index (ERI) and sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) indicated that both regions fell within acceptable limits of PCB pollution, except for the T11S3-2 station in the Oman Sea, which was categorized as having a medium risk range due to a concentration of 636.1 pg/g dw. However, the average PCB concentration across all sampled stations consistently stays below the threshold for minimal risk. These values indicate concentrations that are relatively low compared to those found in numerous industrial and urban regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study is the marker bed known as "Keidel Horizon" (KH) (Pragian-Emsian ∼407 Ma) of the Talacasto Formation in the Devonian of the Precordillera, Argentina. This work presents a multidisciplinary approach comprising petrographic analysis, compositional and morphometric analysis of ooids, X-ray diffraction, paleontological, paleoecological and taphonomic assessments for two section: Loma de los Piojos area (LlPA, North) and Quebrada de Talacasto area (QTA, Central). The Lower and Upper Keidel sections are composed of fine-to very fine-grained sandstone, siltstone, and subordinately mudstone, while the Middle Keidel section is composed of mudstone and siltstone. Our data support that detrital sources remained constant for the KH throughout the basin. An increase in the available Fe content and oxidizing conditions at the time of its deposition differentiates it from the rest of the Talacasto Formation giving a characteristic ochre color. The dominant paleoenvironmental conditions are associated with good oxygenation, within a basin of irregular paleotopography and evidence of tectonic instability at its margins. The depocenter of the basin had a marked slope to the north (LIPA), therefore, the marker bed records conditions of greater shallowing in the center (QTA). The KH was formed under dominant low-energy conditions, with episodic disruptive events of higher energy and sedimentation rates. All mineralogical, textural, compositional and paleontological characteristics support the idea that the KH represents a stage of shallowing within the entire basin, as a consequence of a greater rate of sedimentary contribution associated with "late underfilled" within the complete cycle of the foreland sedimentation. • Marker bed in regional studies • Foreland Basin • Early Devonian • Malvinoxhosan Realm fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parablechnum is the most diverse genus in the fern family Blechnaceae, with about 70 species, mainly from Central and South America, the Austropacific, and a few in Africa. Species delimitation in Parablechnum is challenging, and regional studies vary in species recognized. This genus is generally found in humid mid- to high-elevation forests, especially in the Andes. Ecuador is notable for its high species richness, particularly in the poorly explored Cordillera del Cóndor, a sub-Andean range with a distinctive geology contributing to high plant diversity and endemism. Since the early 2000s, botanical expeditions have revealed numerous endemic species, highlighting the region's significance. In 2006, an unusual Parablechnum species was collected in the Cordillera del Cóndor. Here, we describe it as a new species, Parablechnum shuariorum. It grows on sandstone cliffs along small rivers and can be distinguished by its fertile fronds, which are shorter than its sterile ones, and its densely scaly rachis. This species, endemic to the Cordillera del Cóndor, is found at elevations of 900–1,600 m. It is named after the Shuar people, whose lands include the collection sites. Preliminary conservation assessment suggests that P. shuariorum is endangered due to a limited area of occupancy and threats from human activities, such as mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, the Jiali fault zone (JLF) is an important strike-slip fault system, which delineates the southern boundary of the south-eastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau. The JLF features long-recurrent seismicity and plays an important role in balancing the local stress field. However, previous geophysical studies have mostly focused on regional studies in the northwestern segment and the southeastern end of the JLF. Few geophysical studies have been conducted on the JLF segment in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis region. To better understand the deep structures of the JLF and to provide geophysical constraints for the regional seismicity, we propose a crustal-scale resistivity model derived from magnetotelluric profile data across the three branches (Xixingla, Puqu, and Parlung faults) of the southeastern segment of JLF. The three-dimensional electrical structure shows that the JLF is generally characterized by a series of northeast dipping features. Unlike Parlung and Puqu branches, which are currently relatively inactive, the Xixingla fault is imaged to dip steeply in the shallow part of the crust and gradually turninto a gentle dip angle in the deeper section, before ultimately converging with a low-resistivity layer in the mid-to-lower crust. As the recent seismicity shows a combination of thrusting and strike-slip mechanisms, the primary strike-slip tectonic background for the regional seismicity may be modified by the northeastward compression from the subducting Indian Plate. Combined with other geological and geophysical evidence, we suggest that the reverse thrust and strike-slip displacement of faults may jointly contribute to the combined dynamic mechanism for seismicity in this area, due to the intrusion of the Namcha Barwa metamorphic complex beneath the Lhasa terrane. • A new 3D resistivity model at east segment of the Jiali fault zone was obtained. • The conductor indicates the reactivation/modification of the Jiali fault zone. • A model is proposed to interpret the geodynamics and the seismogenic structures. • The seismicity is linked to the intrusion of the Namcha Barwa metamorphic complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]