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The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has thrown the field of post-Soviet studies into upheaval, as scholars seek to strike a balance between expressing opposition to an aggressive war and maintaining scholarly neutrality and recognition of complexity. Against this backdrop, the study of Russia's memory of the Great Patriotic War—which has been invoked to justify the invasion of Ukraine—is particularly challenging. In this light, the author reflects on research of one of the most controversial aspects of the Great Patriotic War, the history and memory of the collaborationist "Vlasov Movement," in the current environment. This exercise reveals some important aspects of the current memory landscape in Russia and the conceptual problems faced by those who study it. In particular, scholars of the war as well as war memory face the difficulty of navigating an information space and scholarship in which history and memory are closely intertwined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the continent continues to reel from the effects of a seemingly distant conflict, certain Latin American diplomatic actors have surprised their partners abroad by issuing calls for mediation to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. While these proposals have often been dismissed as naïve or cynical, I argue that they ought to be understood in the context of a decades‐long Latin American uneasiness with notions of alignment in international relations. To understand the conundrums of this continental foreign policy strategy, I contextualise the history and theory of this uneasy project of active neutrality or non‐indifference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing war of aggression by Russia in Ukraine has brought international attention to the conflation of Ukrainian and Russian cultures and identities. Such conflation exists in various forms, at its most dangerous in weaponized distortions of history and pretexts for violence. These two distinct cultures can also be misunderstood unintentionally in ways that appear harmless, even in music libraries. Cataloging the Ukrainian music materials contained within the Margarita Mazo Collection at Indiana University has necessitated an examination of the historical relationships between Ukraine and Russia in general and the influence of the Soviet Union on music publications in particular. Best practices for catalogers, such as appropriate use of controlled vocabularies and accurate transcription of text, are expanded upon to promote understanding and appreciation of Ukrainian music and to ensure access to users who search in the Ukrainian language – perhaps the users for whom these materials are most vital. Librarians must be critical and well-informed to understand Soviet publications of Ukrainian music, intrinsic to which are state control, censorship, and the manipulation of cultural expression for ideological purposes. Here lies a crucial opportunity for reparative cataloging, in which music catalogers can provide authentic representation in bibliographic and authority records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the collaborative efforts of libraries within the Ukraine Art Aid Center network, dedicated to preserving cultural heritage during times of war. Emphasizing the vital role of international library cooperation, we investigate the dissemination of trusted news in the Russo-Ukrainian war. The first section examines Russia's use of (dis-)information in the war of aggression, which is flanked by a globally waged information war. The second section clarifies key terminology distinctions related to disinformation, misinformation, fake news, and deep fakes. In the third section, we scrutinize the importance of accurate language and wording to avoid manipulation and disinformation. The fourth section explores strategies to counter disinformation, empowering individuals to make informed decisions. The fifth section highlights the support provided by international library networks in aiding libraries and societies under attack, focusing on Ukraine Art Aid Center (Zentrum Kulturgutschutz Ukraine). The sixth section presents selected information services and news sources from Ukraine, Germany, and Russian media in exile. The seventh section emphasizes the role of information institutions providing access to documents on the war, on war crimes and human rights violations against the background of information ethics and the code of ethics of librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine, backed by frequent nuclear threats, has focused attention on the scope of Russia's nuclear capabilities. The short assessments the United States Government provides are inadequate. Because of the very limited U.S. government information on the scope of Russia's nuclear capabilities, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) estimates are cited globally as if authoritative and definitive; they clearly are not. The numerous FAS numbers are largely undocumented and little documentation apparently exists to support their data. It is possible that the Russian nuclear force may be in the size range that the FAS estimates but it is also possible that it is twice as large or even larger. The Russian nuclear advantage may already be several to one and it is growing. The Russian advantage is particularly notable in non-strategic nuclear weapons. An accurate understanding of Russia's nuclear capability is a critical element in shaping America's nuclear deterrence requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article states that the right to health care and medical care is a guarantee of the right to life. To the state in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 3 of the Constitution of Ukraine is entrusted with the duty to affirm and ensure human rights and freedoms, including the right of everyone to health care and medical assistance. Such a duty of the state is defined as the main one among its other duties. For its implementation, Ukraine must create an effective mechanism for ensuring the above-mentioned right. The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and, as a result, Russia’s temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine, the commission of crimes in such territories that fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and testify to violations of human rights in the field of health care, have actualized the issue of the specifics of international cooperation of states in the field of health care under conditions of military occupation, pandemics, etc. and its role in ensuring the above-mentioned right of every person. The doctrinal approaches to defining the concepts of «cooperation», «international cooperation», and international treaties on human rights are analyzed. It has been established that diametrically opposite points of view are expressed in the scientific literature: from the declaration of cooperation as a duty of states to the complete denial of the legal force of this principle. The author’s definition of the concept of international cooperation in the field of health care is formulated - it is a complex of legal means, methods and institutions that are the result of joint multilateral or bilateral activities of states and which they use to achieve common goals of sustainable development in the field of health care in accordance with generally recognized principles and norms of international law. Attention is focused on the fact that the result of international cooperation are international standards of human rights in the field of health care, which are adopted by international organizations of a universal and regional nature, and which are implemented in national legislation, but such standards are the result of the cooperation of states, albeit within the framework international intergovernmental organizations, since these organizations are not endowed with special competence by nature, but are endowed by states by defining it in the charter of such organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An under-recognised aspect of the current humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is the impact of the war on the environment and the associated risks for human health. This commentary contextualises these impacts against the background of human suffering produced by the overwhelming violence associated with the use of military force against the general population of Gaza. In calling for an immediate cessation to the violence, the authors draw attention to the urgent need to rebuild the health care system and restore the physical and human infrastructure that makes a liveable environment possible and promotes human health and well-being, especially for the most vulnerable in the population. Environmental remediation should therefore form one of the most important parts of international efforts to assist reconstruction, through which we hope Palestinians and Israelis will achieve lasting peace, health, and sustainable development, all as part of accepted international human rights obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that emotions alter preferences, which are central to many models of political choice. However, how can theories that explain individual-level preference change explain policy outcomes, which usually take place at higher levels of analysis? I outline three competing approaches to this question, ultimately building on the third approach, which argues that emotions can spread through emotional contagion within identity groups. This implies emotions can broadly shift preferences towards or away from conflict during crises. It also explains how identities, which are relatively constant over the medium term, can suddenly become fault lines in a conflict. I find supporting evidence using a large (more than 1.6 billion posts) nationally representative data set of Chinese social media posts. Users' national humiliation posts lead their followers to become more likely to make posts about national humiliation, suggesting contagion, and about using military force and maintaining territorial disputes, suggesting preference change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is a preliminary argument intended to provoke just war scholars to think more carefully and deeply about the criterion of likelihood of success. This is particularly appropriate at this moment in time as Taiwan is on high alert as it faces China, and as we watch the determination of Ukraine to defend itself from Russian aggression. Since the writing of this essay, the 9 million people of the state of Israel faced the horrific assault by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. If likelihood of success is prioritized over the primary jus ad bellum criteria, then many possible limited successes evaporate from creative strategy. Perhaps a better way of thinking about this is that we must be thoughtful in defining what we mean by "success." Success need not be only immediate tactical or strategic victory, as tactical losses may result in strategic wins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes an argument about the right place of the likelihood of success principle in just war thinking. Its analysis is grounded in a neoclassical reading of just war that is applied to the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The article starts with an exploration of the status of the likelihood of success principle in contemporary just war thinking. Noting that the difficulty of applying this principle has been pointed out by various thinkers, the chapter adapts the distinction between the so-called deontological and prudential just war principles found in neoclassical just war thinking. This distinction holds that the deontological principles hold primary importance within the logic of just war, and the prudential principles, including likelihood of success, are of secondary importance only. The article continues with an assessment of the practical implications of this distinction by applying it to two different types of warfare, namely so-called "wars of necessity" and "wars of choice." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text discusses the ongoing impact of the Iraq War on the Iraqi people and the region. It highlights the assassination of Abu Baqir al Saadi, a high-ranking commander of the Iraqi Islamic militia Kataib Hezbollah, by a US Special Forces operation in Baghdad. The article argues that the Iraq War has led to instability in the region, including the recent Israeli assault on Gaza. It also criticizes US and UK mishandling of the war and occupation, which resulted in chaos, ethnic rivalry, and economic misery for the Iraqi population. The text emphasizes the need to learn from the mistakes of the Iraq War and calls for a better understanding of US foreign policy in the Middle East. [Extracted from the article]

Sich waffnend gegen eine See von Plagen (To Take Arms against a Sea of Troubles, 2022) premiered at Germany's Schaubühne theatre seven months after the start of the war of aggression in Ukraine. The piece comments on the broader significance of the war within Europe, while also zooming in on the protective potentialities of theatre itself, as institution and praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are some provisions on the vassal's obligation to respond to the king's call to arms in the 13th century Hungarian legislation. In this paper we aim to compare the Hungarian legislation with the European ius commune on this subject, and we try to elucidate which were the sources of the Hungarian legislation in this regard. However, since these provisions are closely linked to the concept of just war, we look at what was considered a just war in the Middle Ages and what the implications of this classification were for the obligations of the vassals. After thorough analysis of the sources, the author made the cautious assumption that the Summa iuris feudorum of Jacobus de Ardizone was presumably the most important source of the Hungarian legislation on this issue of the feudal law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a historical perspective, presidents have frequently directed the use of military force without explicit permission from Congress. Yet, presidents still court legislative approval on select occasions. Why do presidents sometimes seek congressional authorization and other times do not? I explain authorization‐seeking behavior according to variations in presidential bargaining strength. I argue that both weak and strong presidents prefer authorization‐seeking; by obtaining congressional backing, weak presidents conceal a lack of national resolve from international audiences, while strong ones use approval to enhance their coercive authority. Presidents with mid‐level bargaining strength, however, prefer unilateral action; on the one hand, unilateral action may demonstrate resolve in the face of potential legislative resistance, while on the other, it avoids contentious debate that risks "muddying" the diplomatic waters. I illustrate these arguments by revisiting four prominent historical cases: the Korean War, the Gulf of Tonkin crisis, the invasion of Cambodia, and the Persian Gulf War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The social harms of child labor in Bamyan City, Afghanistan, represent a fundamental and critical issue with widespread negative impacts on both children and society. Due to poverty and economic difficulties, children are compelled to undertake hard and exhausting work, depriving them of their basic rights such as education and play. The aim of this study is to identify the factors influencing child employment, evaluate its social and psychological consequences, and provide effective solutions to reduce and eliminate these harms. This quantitative research gathered information using questionnaires from child labor in Bamyan City and analyzed it with SPSS software. The results show that half of the children are deprived of education and mostly work in mechanics and blacksmithing with low income. Their guardians are predominantly unemployed or day laborers, and these children live in large families. The primary reasons for child employment include poverty, unemployment, the need for skill acquisition, deprivation from school, and the incapacity or illness of parents. Child labor leads to serious social harms such as depression, hopelessness, illness, aggression, encouragement towards drug use and crimes, and sexual abuse. Some children feel hopeless about the future, while others have aspirations such as becoming skilled workers, doctors, engineers, and politicians. This situation requires serious and urgent measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite fierce politicization in arms-exporting democracies, we lack systematic research on mass public preferences on arms transfers. We propose that citizens either apply a deontologist (rejecting transfers categorically) or consequentialist (trading-off economic, strategic and normative aspects) calculus of preference formation. Conducting population-representative survey experiments (N = 6617) in Germany and France, two global top-five major arms exporters, we find that 10–15 per cent of respondents follow deontologist considerations, a preference structure potentially relevant for all foreign policies involving the use of military force. Still, a majority shows differentiated preferences, giving largest weight to normative considerations, with assessments affected by moderating features (e.g., scenarios of just war). Principled rejection of arms trade and a large consequentialist weight for normative factors are more pronounced in Germany compared to France, indicating that public opinion might pose a stronger constraint for government policy in this country. Respondents’ preferences match opinion polls on post-Russian invasion Ukraine armament, indicating high external validity of our experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the significance of international borders in Europe and Northeast Asia during the Cold War (1945–1989) and after. Using the concept of 'moral hazard', the article examines what happens when great powers frequently violate the borders of neighboring countries without suffering adverse repercussions. Norms of sovereignty and territorial integrity are viable only if large countries are willing to uphold them most of the time. The Soviet Union used or threatened to use military force against East European countries on numerous occasions (1953, 1956, 1968, and 1980–1981) with impunity. The Russian Federation adopted a broadly similar policy toward neighboring countries that had been republics of the Soviet Union until 1991. Russian forces in Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Belarus, and Ukraine served as instruments of Russian hegemony in those countries. Until 2014, Western governments made little or no effort to deter or counter Russian military encroachments in neighboring republics. By the principle of moral hazard, leaders in the Kremlin came to believe that they could act with a free hand in the former USSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vladimir Putin's legitimation of Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine raises questions about traditional understandings of nation and empire. Should we contrast the two in terms of values and practices? In this case, Putin uses both nationalist and Imperialist rhetoric to justify his actions. My essay questions how we understand nation and empire using the example of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. How did this empire develop laws, institutions and administrative practices to manage conflicts and claims around language use and nationalism? How did Austria's governments rule a multi-lingual, multi-confessional society effectively, without resorting to brutal policies of nationalization? When nationalist conflicts arose in different settings, how and why did they originate? I conclude that in European terms, Imperial Austria and even nationalist Hungary apparently managed daily-life issues around diverse language use and religious practice far more humanely and effectively than did the successor nation states after 1918. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the effects of Russia's use of military force on the Ukrainian willingness to fight and resist. We find assumptions from the theoretical literature on the willingness to fight of limited relevance. Instead, our analysis suggests that Ukrainian willingness to fight and resist correlates with (1) a growth in Ukrainian civic nationalism; (2) an increase in trust in Ukrainian political institutions, particularly the Ukrainian armed forces; and (3) a spread of the impressions that Ukraine is not alone in its struggle. We find little difference based on region and gender, but some on education and income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to international law, the sovereignty of nation-states and the rights of individuals constitute two equally important principles. However, in instances when a state massively violates human rights, then priority is given to the protection of individuals over the self-determination of the state, thereby justifying humanitarian military intervention. This paper presents findings from a survey across 26 countries, analyzing citizen support for such intervention. We find that the majority of respondents supports military intervention to protect human rights. To explain the differences in support, we draw on world society theory and modernization theory. At first sight, world society theory offers a better framework for understanding citizens' attitudes towards military intervention. However, charcateristics derived from modernization theory are affected by a "suppression effect:" individuals living in more modernized countries and holding postmaterialist values endorse enforcing human rights but concurrently reject the use of military force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present collection of papers is a joint effort aimed at making sense of the changes that Russia's war against Ukraine ushered into the region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We have invited a team of authors working on the two subregions, the Visegrád Four and the Baltic Three, to share their reflections on how the full-scale invasion has impacted the transformations in the respective countries' regional outlook. The "kidnapping" as an overarching theme of our forum is an image that refers us to the Cold War and the history of forceful subjugation of CEE countries to foreign imperial domination as a result of aggressive wars and the spheres of influence politics in Europe. As we now clearly see, that is a part of European history that, for the moment, refuses to become history tout court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The paper investigates the results and conclusions of the conference held on 29 November 2023 within the framework of the research project. The conference extensively discussed the current problems facing Ukraine amidst an aggressive ongoing war. Considerable attention was paid to the country's post-war recovery, necessitating significant reforms in various sectors of the national economy. Participants underscored the need for these reforms to be integrated rather than isolated initiatives, serving as a comprehensive solution for Ukraine's achievement of the SDGs and fulfilling the criteria for joining the EU and NATO. The paper delves into the main challenges for implementing such reforms, their main elements, and their relationship, all of which were discussed during the conference. Particular attention was paid to achieving and maintaining the country’s macroeconomic stability during military operations and identifying the main programs essential for revitalising Ukraine's economy. Furthermore, the paper presents successful cases of reform implementation at the micro level in state institutions. Results and Conclusions: Following the conference, a program document on the directions for the restoration and development in Ukraine was drafted. It pointed out the critical need for unity between European countries and the USA in supporting Ukraine and providing timely aid. In Ukraine, achieving unity between the government and business regarding the de-shadowing of the economy, reform of the tax system, customs service, and administration of basic taxes and fees emerged as an issue. This should create prerequisites for the inflow of investments into the Ukrainian economy, ultimately reducing the gap with European countries. The Romanian-Ukrainian research project “A modern science-based concept for Ukraine to ensure the sustainable development, recovery & reconstruction: cost assessment, model, and policy framework” was launched in 2023 to analyse new geopolitical challenges for achieving the goals of sustainable development of Ukraine in the post-war period. Conducting such an analysis should contribute to developing the concept of sustainable development and post-war renovation until 2030 under the global consequences of war. The conference held in November 2023 was part of research aimed at providing a better understanding of how to develop a blueprint for security, resilience and development in Ukraine and the Black Sea region. A bilateral Romanian-Ukrainian team of six scholars from the Luciano Blaga University of Sibiu and the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv focused on designing a roadmap for stabilising the region, fostering economic interconnection and facilitating Ukraine’s integration into the democratic core of Europe. The research is directed to practical means and policy recommendations. Therefore, a combination of academic approaches and database research combined with policy design will generate academic papers, books, and policy papers. The conference was addressed to investigate two main questions. How can we effectively address the new geopolitical challenges and achieve sustainable development goals in Ukraine and the region during the post-war period? How can regional actors enhance their joint profiles with the support of the EU, NATO and Western partners to strengthen regional security and stability? Ukraine's success and post-war reconstruction are a matter of interest for the broader region and its long-term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the recently experienced systemic shocks (the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-fledged Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine)—that have created new forms of uncertainties to our supplies—this paper explores the supply chain robustness under risk aversion and ambiguity aversion. We aim to understand the potential consequences of deeply uncertain systemic events on the supply chain resilience and how does the information precision affect individual agents' choices and the chain level preparedness to aggregate shocks. Augmenting a parsimonious supply chain model with uncertainty, we analyse the relationship between the upstream sourcing decisions and the supply chain survival probability. Both risk-averse and ambiguity-averse individually-optimising agents' upstream sourcing paths are efficient but can become vulnerable to aggregate shocks. In contrast, a chain-level coordination of downstream firm sourcing decisions can qualitatively improve the robustness of the entire supply chain compared to the individual decision making baseline. Such a robust decision making ensures that in the presence of an aggregate shock—independently of its realisation—part of upstream suppliers will survive and the final goods' supply will be ensured even under the most demanding circumstances. Our results also indicate that an input source diversification extracts a cost in foregone efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the legal relationship between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Ukraine, a non-party to the Rome Statute, focusing on the scope of the Court's jurisdiction to consider Ukraine's referrals regarding serious crimes committed on its territory since 2014. Discussions regarding the extension of the ICC's jurisdiction over Ukraine commenced in 2014-2015 following Ukraine's two requests for recognition of the ICC's ad hoc jurisdiction. Following the full-scale invasion in 2022, the ICC consolidated these proceedings with the ongoing investigation of crimes committed in Ukraine since 2014. This article analyzes how the ICC's jurisdiction applies to Ukraine, the challenges and prospects for cooperation between the ICC and Ukraine in investigating crimes committed by Russian forces, and the broader implications for the international criminal justice system. The authors analyze arguments for and against Ukraine's ratification of the Rome Statute, concluding that the ICC's jurisdictional framework, particularly concerning the crime of aggression, requires refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 23 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin's autocracy has revealed a set of interlocking gender systems that have come to the fore particularly vividly since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. How, this article asks, have the masculinist cultural and political practices of the Putin regime undermined democratic practices and engagement broadly speaking? How have they organized Russian state and society in ways that have led to today's war in Ukraine with its massive destruction, violence, and brutality? And have there been earlier signals that should have warned observers that this regime might undertake such a war of aggression? Drawing on public, mass media data, this article analyzes the gendered structures of power in Russia that have contributed to the degeneration of democracy in three main areas: (1) male-on-male domination in discourse and practice that supports Putin's personal rule and emasculates his enemies; (2) the elevation of male power clans, including the President's personal praetorian guard and the Russian private military companies; and (3) the overall taming and emasculation of the Russian Parliament combined with the elevation of tough women deputies, whom I call the Baba Commissars. These female MPs support the President's domination by creating an appearance of a threatening outside world that needs to be kept at bay. At the same time, they support a neo-traditional gender order with women managing the house under the direction of the patriarchal male leader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, was met with disbelief in the West. A war in the center of Europe was no longer considered possible by many. Yet Russia's aggression against Ukraine had begun eight years earlier. The fading out of imperial behavior of other former Soviet republics requires its own explanation. This article focuses primarily on historical events that were reflected in the Russian and Ukrainian large group matrix that had an impact on the emergence and course of this armed conflict. In doing so, the author draws on Vamik Volkan's findings on the significance of chosen traumas and glories in collective memory, as well as on Earl Hopper's fourth basic assumption about the consequences of unprocessed traumas in the unconscious life of small and large groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the sole plausible military threat facing Sweden, the Soviet Union and then Russia have consistently been at the top of Swedish intelligence collection priorities. In fact, understanding Russia and its military forces well is a source of pride and self-perceived comparative advantage of the Swedish intelligence community. This article contextualizes Swedish intelligence collection on Russia, including its Cold War antecedents and the persistent counterintelligence threat. It then describes Swedish intelligence reporting in anticipation of the war in Ukraine, including a reported misjudgement that Russia would ultimately not conduct a full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine in its entirety. This 'intelligence failure' was reportedly based on the assessment that Russia had assembled insufficient military capabilities to subjugate Ukraine, and that such an operation would be too risky and costly. Coming full circle in again beginning to focus mainly on great power competition and military capabilities in its near abroad, Swedish military intelligence has since reported valuable intelligence on Russian military capabilities, drawing on a combination of collection capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What will the long-term impact of President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine be upon the Russian state? This article assesses the likely outcomes of the Kremlin's war of aggression in Ukraine across a spectrum of economic, military, political, and social factors to evidence the scale of Russian miscalculation regarding its disastrous decision to invade Ukraine, and argues for the inevitability of Russian strategic decline as a direct consequence of its reckless military adventurism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a fundamental tenet of the laws of war that they apply equally to all parties to a conflict. For this reason, a party such as Russia -- that illegally launches a war -- benefits from all the same rights as a party such as Ukraine -- that is forced to defend against the illegal aggression. Countless philosophers have shown that this so-called equal application doctrine is morally indefensible because defenders should have more rights and fewer responsibilities than aggressors. Legal scholars continue to support the equal application doctrine, however, because they reasonably fear that applying different rules to different warring parties will dramatically undermine compliance with the international humanitarian law system as a whole. In previous work I have sought to bridge this divide by shifting the focus from the application of international humanitarian law rules to their enforcement. Specifically, I have advocated retaining the equal application doctrine but reducing its inherent unfairness by disproportionately prosecuting aggressors. To that end, I developed a doctrine that I call "the unequal enforcement doctrine." This Article advances the doctrine in several key ways, but it makes two particularly significant contributions. First, the Article answers a series of core questions regarding the implementation of the unequal enforcement doctrine. Second, the Article applies the unequal enforcement doctrine retrospectively to prosecutorial decisions made in all of the International Criminal Court ("ICC") situations that have progressed as far as trial. Doing so reveals that, although the ICC did not expressly consider the aggressor status of parties to the conflict when selecting cases, that status has likely been influencing prosecutorial decisions all along, sub silentio. Indeed, this Article's analysis provides powerful support for my claim that "who started it" matters intuitively and profoundly and that the answer to that question has significantly impacted international criminal prosecutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the composition and content of information resources used as sources of geospatial data to support the planning and design of reconstruction and restoration of cultural heritage sites in Ukraine as a result of armed aggression and full-scale war of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, the requirements for geospatial data on cultural heritage sites have been formed following the NSDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the concept of the "Forever War," referring to the ongoing conflicts and military operations that have persisted since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The author highlights how the Forever War has become normalized and intertwined with the US imperium, despite no clear end in sight. The article also explores the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the continued projection of violence into the country. It emphasizes the need for anthropologists to critically examine and engage with the Forever War, particularly in relation to issues of imperialism and militarism. [Extracted from the article]

In the face of war, not only state actors, but also religious actors react and engage in international politics. When studying religious narratives of war, what is not said can be more revealing than what is said. Such is the case when analyzing the Roman Catholic Church's narrative since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A striking pattern of silence emerges which arguably has serious implications for upholding international law. Both in an international political (Holy See at the United Nations) as well as a transnational religious context (Pope Francis I addressing followers) the Roman Catholic Church has remained silent on Russia's aggression and breach of international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marieke Weirda's book, "The Local Impact of the International Criminal Court: From Law to Justice," examines the perceptions and challenges faced by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its work. The book highlights the ambitious vision of the ICC as outlined in the Rome Statute, but also acknowledges the difficulties in realizing this vision due to limited resources and allegations of double standards. Weirda emphasizes the importance of direct engagement with actors on the ground and the need to consider cultural and religious perspectives. The book also explores the ICC's impact on domestic legal systems, peace processes, reparations for victims, and the demonstration effect at the national and regional levels. While the book provides valuable insights into the ICC's achievements and weaknesses, it could benefit from more comparative analysis and broader discussions on reform. [Extracted from the article]

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]

In May 2022, less than three months after Russia started its war of aggression against Ukraine, both Finland and Sweden applied for membership in NATO, thereby revoking their longstanding policies of non-alliance. What led to this shift? And what made formal NATO membership more attractive to these countries than their previous relationship with the alliance, which already amounted to informal alignment between them and NATO? To answer these questions, this article reviews the process and debates preceding the Finnish NATO application, which also proved decisive for Sweden's alliance bid. In doing so, the article contributes to the existing literature on Finland's NATO process as well as the broader scholarly debate about alliance formation. It argues that two factors prompted the Finnish NATO application: first, a dramatic shift in Finnish public opinion on NATO membership and, second, the emergence of a broadly shared view among Finland's elites of the insufficiency of Finland's existing security arrangements in view of Russia's increased threat potential, with NATO membership seen as the only viable remedy. The article duly highlights the role of public opinion in shaping a state's alignment preferences. Moreover, it finds strong evidence for realist (threat) and rationalist (efficiency) explanations for alliance formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is to understand how Ukrainian cultural policy has developed in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine. It examines new conceptualizations of cultural policy that appeared in Ukrainian public discourse after 2014 and the new legal solutions introduced under their influence. Reformers associated with the 'independent cultural scene' attempted to introduce a cultural policy model for managing cultural institutions based on liberal values and transparent, inclusive, and competitive principles. However, those in power, who were operating in the face of both an internal crisis and external threat, began to implement a cultural policy that was based on conservative values and subordinated to ensuring national security. The study's principal thesis is that the resulting hybrid model facilitated dismantling of the Soviet cultural management model, strengthening local cultural industries and communities and actively countering hostile Russian activities in the field of culture. The activities of the the newly created and radically reformed institutions, such as the National State Film Agency, Ukrainian Institute, and Ukrainian Cultural Foundation have facilitated forming a greater self-awareness of Ukrainians as a political community, and mobilized them to fight for the integrity of the Ukrainian state. They have also had a tangible impact on international recognition of Ukrainian culture as independent of Russian culture, which was crucial in gaining international support in the conditions of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transnistria, an unrecognized state within the borders of the Republic of Moldova, has been in a precarious situation following the Ukrainian crisis, characterized by the annexation of Crimea by the Russia Federation and the internal conflict in eastern Ukraine. This has resulted in Ukraine and Moldova adopting stringent policies against Transnistria, thereby intensifying its already challenging situation. The main concern derives from the fear that Russia might use Transnistria as a base for launching future "hybrid warfare" against Moldova and Ukraine. Thus, it can be said that the current challenging situation in Transnistria is linked to the overall Ukrainian crisis and is a consequence of security concerns shared by Ukraine and Moldova. In addition, the new situation after the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine complicated conditions in Transnistria. Now, the Moldovan government has an opportunity to reintegrate Transnistria, independent of any issues related to the EU membership issue. On the other hand, Russia's basic policy toward Transnistria has not changed, although Transnistria has requested annexation by Russia many times, so the status quo seems to continue. This composition has continued in the former USSR space because Russia has been using unrecognized states to maintain its "sphere of interest." This situation can be explained by the "security dilemma" argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microaggression has recently gained prominence. It is a psychological construct that examines everyday slights experienced by marginalized groups. While much of the research has stemmed from the United States and has focused on race, gender, and sexuality, very few studies have investigated ways in which complex and overlapping identities involving language, religion, and caste/class intersect in cross-cultural workplace settings in the Global South. This study fills this gap by exploring a minoritized group carrying a 'double discrimination' burden due to their religion and socio-economic historical class background. It examines in what ways, if any, Indian Meos experience microaggressions in cross-cultural workplace settings. In doing so, it extends research that remains understudied. One of the criticisms against microaggression studies is their reliance on self-reporting and recall of past instances, thus lacking validity. This paper proposes conversation analysis as a useful approach offering an empirically grounded analysis of microaggression in action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]