Search

In 2018, the G20 endorsed the 'Roadmap to Infrastructure as an Asset Class'. This document crystallizes a roaring policy agenda focused on transforming 'infrastructure' into a homogeneous, tradeable investment opportunity, attractive to global financial markets. Although the Roadmap is formally a mere policy blueprint, this article studies it as a legal document—one whose purpose is to code infrastructures into capital. Specifically, the article makes three claims, two analytical and one normative. First, that the Roadmap's way of attracting investors ultimately consists in shielding the decision-making processes related to the design and maintenance of infrastructures from democratic interference. Second, that these restrictions are enforced through global governance mechanisms that push the relevant decision-making authority from the national to the global. And third, that the Roadmap's agenda is problematic from a democratic standpoint, because it disempowers those who should have a say over the development and maintenance of these infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many regional and national development questions involve the interaction of external and internal evolutions and can be conceived macroeconomically in balance-of-payments terms. In this light, China's engagement in international trade, outward and inward foreign direct investment, accumulation of reserves, development cooperation, aid and international finance initiatives are examined and related to evolving domestic and international conditions. After joining the Western-centred international economic and political order, while protecting its economic and political sovereignty and defining itself as part of the Global South, China emerged as a very large semi-peripheral upper-middle-income country. In the new millennium China and other emerging economies started to upgrade into higher value-added sectors and to reshape international governance arrangements in ways that reflect the civilisational values and colonial and semi-colonial experience of the Global South. Although these steps do challenge the unequal and unfair 'liberal rules-based order' and US hegemony, they also help create a more equitable and peaceful multipolar world system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses two books on the topic of peacebuilding and examines the evolution and challenges of the concept. The first book, "Peacebuilding in the United Nations: Coming into Life" by Fernando Cavalcante, explores the rise of peacebuilding since the 1990s and its transformation from theory to practice. The second book, "A Requiem for Peacebuilding?" edited by Jorg Kustermans, Tom Sauer, and Barbara Segaert, delves into the predicaments and criticisms of peacebuilding as an international practice. The article highlights the nuanced arguments presented in both books and raises questions about the future of peacebuilding in a changing global landscape. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Consensus over the definition of recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) product classification in haemophilia A is lacking. rFVIII products are often classified as standard half‐life (SHL) or extended half‐life (EHL); despite this, no universally accepted definition currently exists. One proposed definition includes half‐life, area under the curve, and technology designed to extend half‐life; however, the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis defines activity over time as the most intuitive information for building treatment regimens and the World Federation of Hemophilia describes rFVIII product classification in terms of infusion frequency. Aim: To summarise published data on the clinical and pharmacokinetic criteria used to define rFVIII product classification. Methods: PubMed and EMBASE database searches of English‐language articles (2002–2022) were conducted using search strings to identify the relevant population, intervention, and outcomes (e.g., clinical and pharmacokinetic parameters). Articles then underwent title/abstract and full‐text screens. Results: Among 1147 identified articles, 62 were included. Half‐life was the most widely reported outcome with no clear trends or product groupings observed. No clear groupings emerged among other outcomes, including infusion frequency, consumption, and efficacy. As activity over time was reported in few articles, further investigation of its relevance to rFVIII product classification is warranted. Conclusion: The findings of this systematic literature review suggest that parameters other than half‐life might be important for the development of a comprehensive and clinically relevant rFVIII product classification definition. There seems to be an opportunity to consider parameters that are clinically meaningful and useful for shared decision‐making in haemophilia A treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), combined with a proliferation in use, have led to a newfound emphasis on strengthening the global governance of AI. In this article, we assess the prospects for stronger global AI governance and consider potential pathways forward. We map the nascent landscape of international regimes focused on AI governance and conclude that a governance deficit remains due to the inadequacy of existing initiatives, gaps in the landscape and difficulties reaching agreement over more appropriate mechanisms. First-order cooperation problems stemming from interstate competition and second-order cooperation problems from dysfunctional international institutions problematize overcoming current deficiencies in global AI governance. In light of these cooperation problems, we evaluate two pathways for strengthening global AI governance: (a) developing new centralized international AI institution(s); and (b) strengthening coordination between, and capacities of, existing institutions. We argue that strengthening the existing weak 'regime complex' of international institutions is the more politically legitimate and viable path forward. Improving coordination between, and capacities of, existing international institutions governing AI would support inclusive and mutually reinforcing policy change that can mitigate a range of risks associated with these technologies. As first steps for strengthening the weak AI regime complex, we recommend that the OECD is foregrounded as a centre of expert AI knowledge so that it can facilitate peer pressure among states and harmonization of policies. We also encourage scrutiny of different nodes in the regime complex to ensure that they are fulfilling appropriate functions based on their democratic mandates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become a hallmark of China's global rise. While the BRI has unfolded as a global platform focused on bilateral relations, the Chinese government has also tried to expand links between the BRI and international organizations, notably the United Nations. Available evidence about UN–BRI relations suggests, however, that an initial honeymoon phase with mushrooming projects and public endorsements was followed by a sharp decline in engagement. This article argues that a focus on inter-governor legitimation attempts helps understand the rise and fall of UN–BRI relations. Based on publicly available evidence, internal documentation and stakeholder interviews, it shows how legitimation informed motivations on both sides to invest in UN–BRI relations, and how western opposition subsequently led to UN entities reducing their engagement. Empirically, the article contributes to the literature on China's global role, evolving power relations at the UN, and the proliferation of geopolitically motivated flagship initiatives across UN member states. Conceptually, it speaks to the expanding debate about legitimation in world politics through a more systematic engagement with relational legitimation dynamics. A focus on one-sided or mutual legitimation attempts offers a conceptual tool for analysing how interactions among global governors and their audiences unfold, and how international organizations try (and fail) to strengthen their resilience in light of an increasingly polarized membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this retrospective study were to evaluate the clinical applicability of the latest International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) and International Federation for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy (IFCPC) terminology for vulvar diseases, and to explore a new evaluation flow to optimize decision-making on diagnosis. A total of 1,068 patients with 5,340 qualified vulvar images were evaluated by observers using 2011 ISSVD and 2011 IFCPC terminology systems. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, Youden Index and Overall Diagnostic Value (ODV) were calculated for each finding in the two systems. Then the disease diagnosis order and a diagnosis flow draft (DFD) were obtained. A total of 15 kinds of vulvar diseases were diagnosed. The proportion of patients accompanied with cervical or vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia was highest (83.3 %) in vulvar Paget's disease group (p<0.001). Total area of lesions was larger in vulvar Paget's disease, lichen simplex chronicus and lichen sclerosus group (p<0.001). Among the top five findings of ODV, some findings inferred several (≥6) kinds of diseases, while some findings only exist in a certain disease. When the DFD was used, the agreement between the initial impression and histopathology diagnosis was 68.8 %, higher than those when ISSVD an IFCPC terminology systems used (p=0.028), and it didn't change with the experience of the observer (p=0.178). Based on the findings in ISSVD and IFCPC terminology systems, we explored a DFD for observers with different experience on the detection of vulvar disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines 'diasporic geopolitics' as a significant factor in the future of global politics. Whereas discussions of global order in IR have been highly spatialised, we instead highlight the extent to which different regions of the world are entangled via ongoing migration processes, and their legacies in the form of global diasporas. We examine the significance of these interconnections by focusing on rising powers and their relations with the existing international order. Major migration-sending states such as China, India, and Turkey are now aspiring great powers that seek to exert global influence in international affairs. In this context, their diaspora governance policies are also undergoing a transformation, with diasporas increasingly understood as important assets for promoting sending states' geopolitical agendas and great power ambitions. We examine three mechanisms by which such states exert power transnationally via their diaspora engagement policies. States can treat 'their' diasporas as economic assets that facilitate trade and foreign investment; as soft power assets that contribute to the promotion of 'civilisational' politics; and as diplomatic assets that can be strategically mobilised or repressed. We conclude by discussing the implications for thinking about the nature of global order and power politics in the coming 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) system for the classification of disorders of ovulation was produced 50 years ago and, by international consensus, has been updated by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE This review outlines in detail each component of the FIGO HyPO-P (hypothalamic, pituitary, ovarian, PCOS) classification with a concise description of each cause, and thereby provides a systematic method for diagnosis and management. SEARCH METHODS We searched the published articles in the PubMed database in the English-language literature until October 2022, containing the keywords ovulatory disorders; ovulatory dysfunction; anovulation, and each subheading in the FIGO HyPO-P classification. We did not include abstracts or conference proceedings because the data are usually difficult to assess. OUTCOMES We present the most comprehensive review of all disorders of ovulation, published systematically according to the logical FIGO classification. WIDER IMPLICATIONS Improving the diagnosis of an individual's ovulatory dysfunction will significantly impact clinical practice by enabling healthcare practitioners to make a precise diagnosis and plan appropriate management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the concept of "AI governance" is frequently used in the debate, it is still rather undertheorized. Often it seems to refer to the mechanisms and structures needed to avoid "bad" outcomes and achieve "good" outcomes with regard to the ethical problems artificial intelligence is thought to actualize. In this article we argue that, although this outcome-focused view captures one important aspect of "good governance," its emphasis on effects runs the risk of overlooking important procedural aspects of good AI governance. One of the most important properties of good AI governance is political legitimacy. Starting out from the assumptions that AI governance should be seen as global in scope and that political legitimacy requires at least a democratic minimum, this article has a twofold aim: to develop a theoretical framework for theorizing the political legitimacy of global AI governance, and to demonstrate how it can be used as a compass for critially assessing the legitimacy of actual instances of global AI governance. Elaborating on a distinction between "governance by AI" and "governance of AI" in relation to different kinds of authority and different kinds of decision-making leads us to the conclusions that much of the existing global AI governance lacks important properties necessary for political legitimacy, and that political legitimacy would be negatively impacted if we handed over certain forms of decision-making to artificial intelligence systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paris Agreement places states' nationally determined contributions (NDCs) at the center of global climate politics. While previous research on the NDC has provided important suggestions for enhanced legitimacy and effectiveness of global climate governance, I examine the NDC not in terms of its content, but as an instrument for governing climate conduct in the post-Paris regime. By analyzing state submissions to post-Paris NDC negotiations, I identify five functions of the NDC: Progress Tracker, Trust-Builder, Influencer, Differentiator, and Gatekeeper. While the first three functions are informed by a techno-managerial rationality that posits effective climate action as a project of increased information-sharing, the last two highlight underlying political struggles of responsibility and fairness which are not necessarily solvable through intensified collaboration. I argue that these diverging views on the function of the NDC will become increasingly prominent as we move toward the first round of the global stocktake in 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'Islamic State in Iraq and Syria', or Da'esh, claimed territorial control and declared itself a state and Caliphate, but scholars disagree on the quality of these claims. Some argue that Da'esh really was a state, others reject this as propaganda of a non-state actor, and still others highlight that Da'esh challenged the international order as a whole. This article combines the notions of the 'territory effect' and 'inter-territory' to explain why the (self-)presentation of Da'esh appeared as a challenge to the (non-)state dichotomy of the modern international and its territorial underpinnings. While contesting the inter-territorial compartmentalisation of the state system, Da'esh projected a counter-territoriality beyond this system. The resulting horror vacui and collective campaign against Da'esh in turn shed light on an inter-territory effect of assuming and re-enacting contiguous state territories in a globally encompassing system of states, which thus locates and contains – but also enables – violence within states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the European 'migration crisis' in 2015, various actors in politics, media and science have called for better data as a basis to efficiently manage migration. This includes a rising demand for more reliable, timely and comparable statistics on the international movement of people, especially on the African continent. International Organizations (IOs) have responded by offering various forms of 'capacity building' to their member states. The article looks at the development of statistical knowledge production in Senegal and the Gambia, exploring how interventions by IOs have changed statistical data practices in West Africa. West Africa is a particularly interesting case because, until recently, most post-colonial states did not generate census or survey data on questions of international migration, citizenship or ethnicity. Drawing on recent works in Science and Technology Studies on the performative power of numbers and categories, the article argues that changing data practices have enacted multiple conflicting migration realities in West Africa. Looking at IOs' epistemic interventions in Senegal and the Gambia, the article offers insights into the ontological politics of counting and categorizing migration in a post-colonial context. It also contributes to a better understanding of the co-production of statistical knowledge and programs of migration management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Land Administration and Use Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia designed a National Rural Land Administration Information System (NRLAIS). Its purpose was to align with the development of international standards in the land administration domain, specifically the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), and to ensure the security of cadastral data. The findings revealed the necessity of designing the conceptual model and comparing NRLAIS classes with the LADM basic classes accepted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 19152). Though the comparison showed compatibility between the two, some differences are observed in classes and attributes between the LADM and the NRLAIS. Gaps were identified on recording types of rights, restrictions, responsibilities and land legislation gaps. This study highlights the importance of adopting the LADM to restructure the NRLAIS conceptual model and reconsider the missing components to enhance the conceptual model and management of rights, restrictions, and responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers ASEAN from the perspective of regional identity-building and organizational fixity. This ten-nation bloc is generally considered a well-intentioned but flawed exemplar of inter-state community building. The article analyses how ASEAN has been ‘fixed’ as a social and political fact within the Asian geopolitical space. It reflects on the survivability of ASEAN as a social fact despite the centrifugal pressures of national interests and the impact of global forces. The findings indicate that ASEAN has achieved the effects of fixity and stability by constructing an interior political imaginary through a multifaceted discursive strategy. ASEAN’s ‘constitutive outside’ includes, inter alia, the transversal differentiation of its imagined interiority from external entities and political spaces, the focus on diachronically defined regional problem solving, the imperative of development, and through the emphasis on intra-mural connectivity along lower-level policy-making. The implications for the study of ASEAN and regional organizations are considered. Critically, the increasing salience of more functional and sectoral policy tiers dealing with transversal policy questions, compared to the more sensitive intergovernmental domains of political-security matters, is notable within the bloc’s official discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International organisations increasingly call for, and support efforts to gather, more comprehensive data on missing migrants incidents. This article explores current practices of counting missing migrants, focusing in particular on Panama and Colombia's shared Darien Gap. Drawing on a novel database of some missing migrants cases in the Darien, I demonstrate how insufficient counting practices can still provide essential information on the missing. The article examines, first, how detailing the demographic and event patterns of known missing migrants incidents can assist in estimating what may have happened to others travelling on the same migration pathway. Second, the article demonstrates how current institutional enumeration practices privilege state actors' knowledge while failing to account for other forms of crucial knowledge on missing migrants held by non-institutional actors. To remedy these challenges, this article incorporates information held by migrants' families and travel acquaintances on the missing together with institutional information. Ultimately, this article argues that by implementing a more inclusive counting approach for missing migrants, we can more explicitly begin accounting for the missing in the Darien Gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International institutions strive to achieve their own objectives while operating within a complex network of interdependencies. These interdependencies create an extensive web of relationships that serve as potential pathways for broader institutional impacts. The actions taken by individual institutions, their mutual influences, and the pattern of connectivity collectively shape the overall performance of institutional complexes. Understanding the performance of these complexes is crucial, yet we currently lack a methodology to assess it. To address this gap, we have developed a conceptual framework that integrates three distinct areas of study on three different scales: institutional effectiveness, institutional interlinkages, and institutional networks. This framework enables us to consider what we call the latent net effectiveness, or collective problem-solving potential, of a group of interconnected institutions. To put this framework into practice, we have devised a heuristic model, drawing from the extensive literature on international environmental institutions. As an illustrative example, we have applied this model to a network of 378 multilateral environmental agreements with 810 known issue linkages. Our work underscores the relevance of considering the system-level properties of institutional complexes and emphasizes the need for timely network-based governance and policy interventions to enhance the overall effectiveness of institutional complexes. This article is part of the theme issue 'A complexity science approach to law and governance'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to analyze why Huntington's ideas about civilizations, which have been much criticized, misused, and abused, continue to show amazing vitality by tackling the trends of international order. His paradigm has been a good predictor of international conflicts, but at the same time a tool that allows us to accept some primordial things. Properly understood and applied, civilizational analysis, which considers one's strengths and weaknesses, can be used, like geopolitical analysis, as an indispensable component of planning a strategic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the potential impact and passenger perceptions of integrating multimedia books within airline services, aiming to elucidate the evolving landscape of in-flight entertainment and reading experiences. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research methodology was used, using a structured questionnaire distributed to presenters at the International Federation of Library Associations. Findings: Analysis revealed varying passenger interest in multimedia books, with approximately 57.7% displaying engagement, while 40.4% demonstrated limited interest or none. However, a notable majority (60.6%) preferred multimedia books over traditional print books during flights. Furthermore, 90.4% perceived a positive impact of multimedia books on flight reading experiences, leading to increased satisfaction (81.7%) and a high likelihood of recommending airlines offering such content (91.3%). Research limitations/implications: The study's limitations include a specific focus on International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) presenters, potentially limiting broader generalisations. Further research might explore the preferences of a wider demographic range and incorporate qualitative aspects to deepen understanding. Airlines could leverage multimedia books to enhance passenger satisfaction, attract diverse audiences and foster cultural inclusivity within in-flight entertainment. Originality/value: This study contributes insights into the evolving landscape of in-flight entertainment, emphasising the significant potential and positive impact of integrating multimedia books within airline services. It underscores the importance of catering to diverse passenger preferences and enhancing overall satisfaction during air travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To manage Earth in the Anthropocene, new tools, new institutions, and new forms of international cooperation will be required. Earth Virtualization Engines is proposed as an international federation of centers of excellence to empower all people to respond to the immense and urgent challenges posed by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the liberal international order has been falling, the heteropolar order coupled with politics of uncertainty has been rising. In this context, illiberal regimes of status-seeking powers have realized the value of public diplomacy to promulgate their versions of the "reality." Those illiberal regimes' adoption of public diplomacy tools (incl. international public news agencies) has generated discussions on theoretical and practical approaches to the field at the intersection of political science/international relations, media, and communication studies. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to contribute to the emerging literature on public diplomacy of non-Western illiberal democracies. With the assumption that those regimes' illiberal democratic characteristics will be reflected in their public agencies' coverage styles (e.g., monologic, conflictive, and unbalanced), the article raises the following question: How do illiberal democracies utilize international public agencies as public diplomacy channels? To answer this question, it compares framing strategies (peace/war journalism) of the Russian TASS and the Turkish Anatolian Agency public agencies during the Syrian crisis. The findings reveal that those illiberal regimes' public agencies have reported the crisis as a state-centric monolog in conflict with the West by distrupting the global public good (i.e., peace). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, leaders in a number of nations have undermined their public sector's capacity to deliver on its core goals. To understand this interference, it is necessary to examine the formal and informal organizational dynamics at play within bureaucracies. Considering a widely applicable generalized organization, a formal model outlines how a leader may augment the career incentives of supervisors and lower-level workers, which shifts the alignment of policy with an organization's central mission. While hierarchy may amplify disruption, organizational culture can coalesce as a norm facilitating resistance to extreme shifts, thereby stabilizing long-term mission compliance. Yet, should disruption lead to an exodus of mission-driven employees, durable reversals of an organization's capacity to fulfill its aims may ensue. The model highlights three trajectories disrupted organizations follow: temporary reversal, erosion, and resistance. Implications are considered for public sector institutions and international organizations as well as for the study of bureaucratic and state capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lutheran World Federation invested considerable time and resources in the 1990s exploring the relationship between Christian worship and culture. As a result of their research, they have put forth the assertion in "The Nairobi Statement" that worship relates dynamically to culture in at least four ways: transcultural, contextual, counter-cultural and cross-cultural. Numerous position papers and several important publications have been generated by theologians, anthropologists, and liturgists exploring these matters, but missiologists have been largely missing from the conversation. This article attempts to engage in a much needed discussion with four missiologists who analyze the four areas identified and apply a missiological lens to the conversation. More papers and publications merit additional reflections by other missiologists on this important issue in the years ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of the Greater Eurasian Partnership (GEP) has gained increasing currency in Russian foreign policy. The Russia–China partnership has been presented as its bedrock through a partnership between the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road Initiative, further expanding to include other regional powers from across East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and Middle East as well as nonwestern multilateral groupings (SCO, ASEAN). Given the centrality of Asia‐Pacific to this expansive concept, GEP has to deal with the challenges posed by the evolving regional geopolitics of the East and the rise of the Indo‐Pacific amidst heightened US–China rivalry. The paper seeks to conduct a policy review of GEP and its proposed development format in light of ongoing changes in the East to determine the likely future of the concept in a contested region that also remains at the center of this expansive Russian vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From planetary climate change to the COVID pandemic, the human family is faced with urgent challenges that transcend the borders of the traditional nation state. Here, the Catholic moral tradition, as embodied in different ways by the writings of Jacques Maritain and Pope Francis, offers constructive insights as to how the global political landscape should be organized. In the wake of the Second World War and the advent of the nuclear age, Jacques Maritain proposed a political philosophy for the creation of a future world state. Six decades later, Pope Francis offers a more pastoral argument for a more just, equitable, and fraternal world order. This paper examines the visions of global governance advocated by both Maritain and Pope Francis. Drawing from both figures, this paper identifies five key values that might guide the mobilization of the Catholic community as it works for a more just and common world order: a universal solidaristic vision centered on the human person that affirms the value of pluralism, a multi-layered structure of global governance, and bottom-up change through participation. Together, these values offer ethical guideposts as the international community considers how to reform the present system of global governance, including the United Nations system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stem cell‐based therapy (SCT) is an important component of regenerative therapy that brings hope to many patients. After decades of development, SCT has made significant progress in the research of various diseases, and the market size has also expanded significantly. The transition of SCT from small‐scale, customized experiments to routine clinical practice requires the assistance of standards. Many countries and international organizations around the world have developed corresponding SCT standards, which have effectively promoted the further development of the SCT industry. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature review to introduce the clinical application progress of SCT and focus on the development status of SCT standardization. Results: We first briefly introduced the types and characteristics of stem cells, and summarized the current clinical application and market development of SCT. Subsequently, we focused on the development status of SCT‐related standards as of now from three levels: the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), important international organizations, and national organizations. Finally, we provided perspectives and conclusions on the significance and challenges of SCT standardization. Conclusions: Standardization plays an important role in the sustained, rapid and healthy development of SCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Registries are excellent sources of data to address questions that are typically not evaluated in randomized clinical trials, including natural history, disease prevalence, treatment approaches and adverse events, and models of care. Global and regional registries can provide data to identify differences in outcomes and in haemophilia care between countries, economic settings, and regions, while facilitating research and data sharing. In this manuscript, we highlight five bleeding disorder registries: Country registries from Australia and China, Paediatric Network on Haemophilia Management (PedNet) data on children who have received emicizumab, data from the European Haemophilia Safety Surveillance (EUHASS) system, and data on women and girls with haemophilia from the World Federation of Haemophilia (WFH) registries. Data from these and other bleeding disorder registries have been and will continue to be used to advance patient care, understand treatment patterns and adverse reactions, and identify areas of increased need and focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To review the management of ovarian cancer (OCa) associated hydronephrosis (HN). Specifically, we aim to identify optimal management of HN in the acute setting, predictors of HN resolution, and the role of surgery (tumor debulking/(+/-)ureterolysis/hysterectomy). The study cohort included OCa patients managed at our institution from 2004-2019 that developed OCa-associated HN. Initial HN management was recorded as none, retrograde ureteral stent (RUS) or percutaneous nephrostomy tube (PCN). Primary outcomes included (1) HN management failure, (2) HN management complications, and (3) HN resolution. Patient, cancer, and treatment predictors of outcomes were assessed using logistic regression and fine-Gray competing risk models. Of 2580 OCa patients, 190 (7.4%) developed HN. HN was treated in 121; 90 (74.4%) with RUS, 31 (25.6%) with PCN. Complication rates were similar between PCN and RUS (83% vs 85.1%; P =.79; all Clavian Grade I/II). Initial HN treatment failure occurred in 28 patients, predicted by renal atrophy (hazard ratios (HR) 3.27, P <.01). HN resolution occurred in only 52 (27%) patients and was predicted by lower International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (FIGO III/IV HR 0.42, P <.01) and surgical tumor debulking/ureterolysis (HR 2.83, P =.02). Resolution of HN associated with malignant obstruction from OCa is rare and is most closely associated with tumor debulking and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage. Initial endoscopic treatment modality was not significantly associated with complications or resolution, though RUS failures were slightly more common. Ureteral reconstruction at time of debulking/ureterolysis is potentially underutilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article works to show that machine translation and interpretation technologies can play significant roles in addressing language barriers in democratic polities, including beyond the state. Numerous shared‐language or interpretation models have been proposed to address such barriers, while possible machine models have largely been dismissed in the literature. Yet, online translation is now ubiquitous globally, and governments and international organizations increasingly use machine translation and some interpretation applications. Such technologies, it is shown, can greatly expand information uptake and participation by ordinary citizens in linguistically diverse polities. They also can avoid key fairness and cost concerns faced by other models, or help address them in hybrid configurations, especially in online settings. While speech‐to‐speech applications may never achieve the seamless vernacular "Babel fish" interpretations implied as necessary for some deliberative modes, machine models can be seen as valuable for addressing language barriers within a range of approaches to democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since its establishment, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has positioned itself as representative of a 'new international order' in contrast to the US-led 'old order'. This article argues that analysing the SCO's response to international crises as practical implementations of its 'new international order' offers crucial insights into China's vision for international relations. To that end, it examines the organisation's response to crises in Afghanistan and Syria, outlining what kind of order the SCO propagates and what this means when acted out. The findings are based on qualitative content analysis of PRC and SCO documents and semi-structured expert interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the European far right by examining the German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party and the Swedish Sverigedemokraterna (SD). The political and geopolitical choices of the AfD and SD are contextualized in the political history of the two parties, in the influences that thinkers such as Steve Bannon and Aleksandr Dugin have on the European right, and in the context of geopolitical change taking place at the international level. A dichotomous reality of the European far right emerges with opposing political and geopolitical visions. On the one hand, the Westernist and Atlanticist extreme right, which is based on white supremacism and the West's indispensability to place itself at the helm of the world order, whose army is identified with NATO, on the other hand, an anti-American, Eurasianist, pro-Russian extreme right and that sees in the end of the American unipolar order an opportunity. Two components of the European far right that are irreconcilable and that focus attention on the inappropriateness of looking at the movements and parties of the European far right as if they were a single 'black thing'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the question of whether the G20 can support liberal notions of international order. It contends that the contribution of the G20 to promote order has not been fully considered and that there are significant difficulties but some limited possibilities whereby the G20 can support liberal aspirations related to international order. It is the case that the G20 offers prospects for a broader and more pragmatic conception of order to promote the stability of globalisation. This pragmatic possibility has always been present in the G20's informal association of developed states and rising states which has had a flexible agenda that attempts to address both the economic and social aspects of globalisation. This article argues that the recent engagement by the G20 with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) points to a possible impetus for a post-liberal foundation of a pragmatic order able to manage a multifaceted understanding of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how monumental preservation at the Taj Mahal leveraged the broader goals of national and international agencies including UNESCO and other UN bodies, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to address the wicked problems of pollution, pro-poor tourism, and sustainable development. I suggest that the Taj, and more specifically its future preservation, is bound up in a set of conflictual connectivities and centrifugal forces that far exceed normative heritage and conservation practice. Thus the Mughal tomb became 'the critical receptor' and nodal site for an onslaught of international technical, economic, developmental and conservation schemes attempting to link cultural conservation with environmental concerns, in concert with social and economic uplift, well-being and urban resilience. What remains after decades of foreign studies, consultancies, technical reports, preservation monitoring and novel technologies? And how might we disentangle those wicked problems encircling monumental preservation in an era of environmental and political toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMandDC) has received recognition from the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) for the next ten years. This achievement was made possible through the efforts of the PMandDC leadership, committee members, and supporters within the World Health Organization. The recognition is a relief for medical institutions in Pakistan, as there were concerns and delays in the process. The accreditation by WFME signifies that Pakistan's medical education meets international standards and allows graduates to pursue postgraduate training and practice in countries that require WFME recognition. The President of PMandDC, Prof. Rizwan Taj, expressed gratitude and emphasized the need to continue improving medical education standards in Pakistan with the support of WFME. [Extracted from the article]

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMandDC) has received recognition from the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) for the next ten years. This achievement was made possible through the efforts of the PMandDC leadership, committee members, and supporters within the World Health Organization. The recognition is a relief for medical institutions in Pakistan, as there were concerns and delays in the process. The accreditation by WFME signifies that Pakistan is meeting international standards for medical education and will allow PMandDC-accredited students to pursue postgraduate training and practice in countries that require WFME recognition. The President of PMandDC, Prof. Rizwan Taj, expressed gratitude to all stakeholders and emphasized the need to continue efforts to elevate the standard of medical education in Pakistan. [Extracted from the article]

'Skills' and 'skill development' feature evermore prominently in international development discourse and in the policies of governments across the global South. Yet, these discourses and policies often proceed with a weak conception of the social circumstances and everyday processes by which skills are acquired, disseminated, and used. This tends to result in approaches to skill development that are simultaneously unrealistic, in the sense that they overlook the multiple social and institutional impediments to remunerative or empowering forms of skill utilisation, and overly restrictive in the sense that they fail to consider the multiple ways in which skills are valued and deployed by individuals and communities. By drawing attention to what Carswell and De Neve term 'the social life of skills,' contributions to this collection expand conceptions of skills and skill development, particularly in relation to four key themes: (1) the social and political construction of certain forms of work as 'skilled' or 'unskilled'; (2) the social processes of skilling in formal, informal and non-formal settings; (3) the political economy of skills and skill development, including their imbrication in forms of exploitation and intersecting inequalities; and (4) the role of skills in the expression of aspirations, identity and agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1940, amidst World War II, the United Kingdom, under Prime Minister Winston Churchill, decisively refused to negotiate with the Axis Powers. This article explores the strategic implications of this refusal, arguing that it prevented the legitimization of Germany's aggressive policies and altered the war's course. By analyzing the Versailles peace system's failures, Churchill's leadership, and the geopolitical shifts resulting from the United Kingdom's stance, the article highlights how this decision shaped the postwar world order, influencing Europe's geopolitical landscape and setting the stage for an Allied victory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly a century after Afghanistan gained independence in 1919, the question of autonomy and originality in the nation's 20th-century foreign policy remains a topic of contention within the country. Following its independence, Afghanistan found itself in a unique situation shaped by the influence of major global powers' competition. Over the past century, geopolitical shifts have significantly influenced both the internal and external circumstances of Afghanistan. This article seeks to address the query: How did regional geopolitical developments impact Afghanistan's foreign policy from the time of its independence to the events of September 11, 2001? This article is descriptive-analytical in which the relationship between the geopolitics of the region and Afghanistan's foreign policy is examined. The geopolitical situation of Afghanistan in the geopolitical theory of the world order of Saul Cohen has shaped the theoretical discussion of the author, Afghanistan as a quasiindependent state in the geopolitics of the region, not just in the post-Cold War period. The special feature of Afghanistan in the region has been prominent since the independence of this country until now. The findings of this paper show that the foreign policy of Afghanistan after independence in the phases of geopolitical stability and transformations in the security structure of the region is more towards a neutral and balanced strategy. The country has had relations with the great powers of every period and has always distanced itself from such a strategy. It is and the independent or what was once a semi-independent position in the regional geopolitics has evolved into a pivotal and crucial region with the accompanying strategy with great power, coup, revolution and even military occupation has also occurred in this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a book review of "Reimagining the International Legal Order," edited by Vesselin Popovski and Ankit Malhotra. The book explores the need to rethink and improve the existing international legal framework due to its inefficiency and the changing global landscape. Divided into six parts, the book covers various aspects of the international legal order, including international law, international organizations, courts and tribunals, specific jurisdictions, and laws of war. The review acknowledges the frustration with international law and practice and praises the book for its attempt to go beyond the traditional framework and include considerations of private international law. Overall, the book is seen as an interesting and topical read that contributes to the existing scholarship in the field. [Extracted from the article]

Taking the regime established by the Convention on Biological Diversity as a foundation, the purpose of this article is twofold. First, it examines how the international biodiversity regime integrates the private property paradigm into its toolbox for conservation and sustainability and then critically evaluates the shortcomings of the intellectual property mechanism. Second, it argues that the increasing ubiquity of open access emerging technologies should lead the international community to carefully assess the benefits for conservation research of reverting to a framework that places biodiversity within the global commons. The impasse between global commons advocates and the intellectual property status quo obscures the underlying problematic of the “commodity fiction” of biodiversity and increasing use of digital sequence information likely exacerbates power asymmetries. One remedy explored here is an alternative to these two approaches that dislodges rather than discards the concept of private property. Drawing inspiration from Polanyi and building on May (2010), the article shows how a hybrid approach bridging a public and private conception of genetic resources and traditional knowledge could more effectively and equitably distribute benefits to countries and communities providing resources of value to industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most significant recent trends in global trade governance has been the increasing use of regulatory "reliance" arrangements as a significant element of trade alliances. Against this backdrop, an important set of questions are raised about how existing institutions of global trade governance – especially the World Trade Organization and international regulatory standards organisations – should respond. To what extent, and how, should such institutions facilitate reliance arrangements? And what role can they usefully play in overseeing and guiding their use? This paper begins to answer these questions through a focused case study of regulatory reliance in the agrifood sector. Four challenges are identified regarding the implementation of such arrangements: the high costs of establishment and maintenance; the lack of agreed and reliable assessment methodologies; the potential for arbitrary discrimination between trade partners; and the difficulties of dealing with regulatory change over time. In light of these challenges, the paper assesses the work of existing international organisations in governing reliance arrangements in the agrifood sector. The paper concludes with a number of preliminary suggestions as to how this architecture of global governance might be supplemented or harnessed to address some of the challenges posed by reliance arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The famous sociologist, economist, and historian Chen Han-seng was the founder of the Agrarian China Research Association, publishing influential studies on industrial production and class relations, and their effect on peasant living standards. Through the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR), Chen engaged in a theoretical dialogue with liberal intellectuals and responded to American, British, and Soviet theories about Chinese society and rural China. Unlike American IPR scholars, such as John Lossing Buck, whose agenda was to investigate the consumer power of Chinese peasants, Chen's study of living standards emphasized their production capability and the role usury played in it. And unlike the IPR British economists, such as R. H. Tawney, who were generally optimistic about Chinese rural industry, Chen's research proved Chinese industrialization to be unsustainable and to lower peasant living standards. In reaction to these American and British scholars, Chen tactically changed his concept of "living standards" and developed his own theory of Chinese rural economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Australia prepares for life in an uncertain and fractious world there are five key challenges that it faces: great power rivalry; threats to the rules-based world order; the assault on democracy; the vulnerabilities of modernity; and the cost of addressing those challenges. Those of us who are involved in the defence sector must pay great attention to these challenges. We have the job in front of us and there is much work to be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses various aspects of equivalence and (re)location issues in relation to central counterparties ('CCPs'). We will inevitably focus on the consequences of Brexit for the position of the London-based CCPs and the potential impact thereof on the derivatives clearing landscape in the European Union ('EU'). We will first describe the regime applicable to CCPs under the 2012 EMIR regime. This is followed by an introduction to EMIR 2.2 and the tiering of third-country CCPs. Subsequently, we will review the ESMA assessment of substantially systemically important clearing services and summarise the EMIR 3.0 proposal and its implications. Subsequently, the potential impact of the imposition of a location policy will be addressed. Finally, we will comment on how the European regime applicable to CCPs aligns with what may be referred to as the 'international legal order' providing the regulatory parameters within which cross-border clearing services may be conducted. We contend that imposing additional requirements for Tier 2 CCPs and the implementation of a (partial) location policy could prove to be regulatory 'bazookas'. Acting in breach of the international order of mutual recognition and deference could well backfire to the detriment of the European clearing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diplomacy increasingly demands taking into account a large variety of polities, featuring not only state but also non-state actors (such as IGOs and NGOs) and 'hybrid' actors. Particularly in the broader Middle East and North Africa region, hybrid actors are important players in local, regional and international order. The European Union and its Member States have a distinct interest in gaining influence in the geopolitics of the region and are increasingly confronted with these actors in their external actions. Yet, little is known about how European foreign policy practitioners and diplomats deal with hybrid actors in practice. By providing a rich empirical account based on 37 interviews in the context of fieldwork in Brussels and Beirut, this research goes beyond existing analyses of official European policies and discourse towards hybrid actors. Building on recent advancements in practice theory and insights from political geography, the article emphasises the influence of space and the ubiquity of oblique routes shaping European foreign policy practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Important French foreign policy dyads, such as relations between France and the United Kingdom and France and the United States, have consistently been subject to empirical, historical and policy analysis. However, France's relationship with the broader Anglosphere is rarely considered or conceptualized. This article theorizes France's relationship with the Anglosphere at a pivotal historical juncture. The 2021 announcement of AUKUS, a security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US, spectacularly excluded France despite a shared proclivity to use military force in defence of liberal international order. To analyse this vital contemporary case, we undertake a comparative, computer-aided discourse analysis of 540 political and media texts, triangulated with thematic analysis of 37 elite interviews. First, contributing to constructivist and ontological security theory, we develop a novel theorization of alliance politics, generally, through the concept of 'brOthers in arms', whereby a double identity inscription binds allies antagonistically together. Second, contributing to critical studies of foreign policy and research on national identity, we locate France–Anglosphere relations, specifically, towards the thick end of an alliance identity spectrum, held together in mutual alterity by complementary, competing and co-constitutive exceptionalisms. Third, contributing to studies of foreign policy and alliance politics, our analysis situates AUKUS within the fractious longue durée of France–Anglosphere relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NATO's involvement in Kosovo and its transformation from a military intervention to a UN-authorized peacekeeping operation has played a key role in the evolution of the alliance's strategic and political agenda. This article explores the importance of NATO's engagement with Kosovo in retrospect and in relation to the future outlook for European and global peace and security. It focuses on the centrality of this case for NATO's post-Cold War identity and as a key issue in the renewed political conflict associated with the transitional international order. We make three arguments. First, we argue that NATO's involvement in Kosovo has shaped and exacerbated the broader friction associated with the shifting international order. Second, we make the case that this engagement has played a key role in the strategic, political and operational development of NATO and its evolving identity. Thirdly, as a result of this, we argue that NATO's evolution and transformation in Kosovo was guided by what we call the logic of successful security practices. This entails making prudent political choices and implementing practical steps to harmonize divergent strategic interests among NATO members, adapting to shifting security circumstances, and upholding the organization's significance, credibility and influence both within and beyond the Euro-Atlantic community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]