Violent Resistance

Why do communities form militias to defend themselves against violence during civil war? Using original interviews with former combatants and civilians and archival material from extensive fieldwork in Mozambique, Corinna Jentzsch's Violent Resistance explains the timing, location and process through which communities form militias. Jentzsch shows that local military stalemates characterized by ongoing violence allow civilians to form militias that fight alongside the government against rebels. Militias spread only to communities in which elites are relatively unified, preventing elites from coopting militias for private gains. Crucially, militias that build on preexisting social conventions are able to resonate with the people and empower them to regain agency over their lives. Jentzsch's innovative study brings conceptual clarity to the militia phenomenon and helps us understand how wartime civilian agency, violent resistance, and the rise of third actors beyond governments and rebels affect the dynamics of civil war, on the African continent and beyond.

Operation Devon, Termoli 1943: ‘A catalogue of errors’?

The little-known World War II battle for Termoli, code named Operation Devon, took place in early October 1943 and began with the only Allied amphibious landing on Italy’s Adriatic coast. It was a joint operation between newly formed elite groups and regular units of the Allied armed forces. A brigade made up of two units of commandos and the 1st Special Air Service, known during this operation as the Special Raiding Squadron, was given the task of making the first landing. Despite the initial success of the operation, a drawn out and fierce battle ensued. With the help of archival material from the Imperial War Museum, London, and The National Archives, Kew, this article reconstructs the key elements of a battle that has received little scholarly attention, particularly in relation to the role of conventional forces in the fighting. In doing so, it provides an overview of the battle, analysing the main factors that led to a chaotic handover between special and regular infantry forces and what made the action ultimately successful. Finally, it reveals how the operation was part of an evolutionary process for special forces and helped to cement their role in UK military doctrine.

Natural Phenomena and Youth Conflicts

The study conducted exploratively from an analytical desk review perspective sought to establish climate change-induced conflicts on the youths in Zimbabwe and how they may be addressed. This is against a background where most studies around climate change often fail to focus on its effects on the youth and how it drives the latter to engage in conflicts. Data was drawn from both archival material and policy documents. The study was guided by a concept of human security, which looks at climate change as a threat to the youth, resulting in conflicts. The study established what it calls climate conflicts. It also noted that climate change does not lead to conflicts. Rather it is the result of climate change complimented by other factors that the risk of climate-induced conflicts by youths may arise. It also concluded that all the climate change effects cascade to youths' opportunities for jobs and development.

The contribution of the Scottish doctor Robert Erskine to the development of Russian medicine in the 18th century

The Scottish doctor Robert Erskine (1677–1718) became Chief Doctor of Russia and personal physician to Tsar Peter the Great. Extensive archival material documents his remarkable career. From schooling in the village of Alva and apprenticeship to an Edinburgh apothecary, he went on to study medicine in Paris and Utrecht and was admitted to the Royal Society in London. Recruited into the service of the Tsar, to whom he became a trusted friend and counsellor, Erskine played a central role in the modernisation of Russian medicine, pharmacy and natural science in the early 18th century. His untimely death at age 41 was marked with a state funeral in St Petersburg. Some historians in Russia assert that in their country, the development of medicine and the natural sciences took place without the transitional stages of iatrochemistry and iatrophysics which characterised the shift in scientific thinking throughout Europe in the early modern period. This study of archival records shows that Erskine held iatrophysical and iatrochemical views in common with his European contemporaries. His influence ensured that Russia was thoroughly involved in European developments in science and medicine in the 18th century.

Analysis of lethal cases of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus according to the data of pathology department of Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital for the first half of 2021

Background. Given the great medical, social and economic significance of clinical research, pathogenesis and epidemiology of coronavirus infection, it is important to study the epidemiological and pathomorphological features of this infection in Ukraine, especially in fatal cases of this disease. Objective: to analyze the lethal cases of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with lethal cases of pneumonia of other etiologies according to the pathology department of Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital for the first half of 2021. Methods. The material of this study was the observation of an autopsy from the archival material the pathology department of Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital. The study of autopsy protocols took into account the seasonality of the disease, sex and age of the deceased, the number of bed-days, data of clinical diagnosis and coincidences of pathological diagnosis, as well as the ICD code. 256 protocols of pathological examinations for the first half of 2021 were studied. Results. Of the 256 deaths from pneumonia of various etiologies, 201 (78.52%) were caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. The highest number of deaths from pneumonia was registered in March, April and May 2021. The number of deaths of patients aged 18-44 years was 4.3% of the total, 45-59 years – 13.28%, 60-74 years – 47.27%, 75-90 years – 35.16%. The study sample among patients died of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 was dominated by women (57.42%, 147 cases), the number of men was 42.58% (109 cases). The direct causes of death were pulmonary-heart failure, multiple organ failure, acute pulmonary insufficiency, chronic pulmonary insufficiency, and pulmonary embolism. Conclusion. The obtained data can be useful for the analysis of regional features of epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease in eastern Ukraine.

Rorty and Royce

Despite the evident lack of pragmatist family resemblance between the “absolute pragmatism” of Josiah Royce and Rorty’s antifoundationalism, historicism, and contingentism, this chapter identifies a shared project of, in Rorty’s parlance, intervening in cultural politics. Three claims are advanced: first, that Royce’s later work can be productively viewed as a series of philosophical interventions in cultural politics; second, that while evidence of Rorty’s engagement with Royce’s thought is scant, drawing on archival material establishes that it exists and was more influential on Rorty than currently appreciated; and, third, that reading Rorty and Royce within the same frame generates insights about the transformative moral resources available to pragmatists—namely, the power of affective ties and ethical commitments exemplified in the notion of loyalty. What results is an approach to questions of justice through the lens of community particularly attuned to those who have been marginalized or excluded.

Likovna umetnost v Mariboru v času nemške okupacije 1941–1945

The article deals with the organisation of art life in Maribor during the German occupation. Based on archival material, various aspects of the Maribor affiliate of the Graz-based association Comradeship of Styrian Artists and Friends of Art (Kameradschaft Steirischer Künstler und Kunstfreunde) are presented, as well as art exhibitions held in Maribor from 1941 to 1943. The activity of the Maribor affiliate is set in the context of the German occupation policy in Lower Styria, especially in the context of their efforts to Germanise the region and annex it to the Third Reich.

Building on ‘Hollow Land’ : Skill and Expertise in Foundation-Laying Practices in the Low Countries in the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Centuries

Foundation-laying practices for marshy conditions have received comparatively little attention in architectural history; however, in the seventeenth century Netherlandish specialized skill and knowledge for the construction of pile foundations was recognized as being exceptional and garnered international esteem. Based on new archival material, this article provides insight into the rigorous processes of foundation design, and draws attention to its multidisciplinary nature. In addition, it sheds new light on the introduction of deep foundations, which was a major engineering innovation, providing greater stability because of the use of longer piles that reached the first solid layer deep below the surface. While Dutch expertise was directly related to the landscapes they inhabited, other factors that fostered innovation in foundation design are considered as well.

Profit Calculation in a late 14th century sole proprietorship, the case of Francesco DATINI

This paper examines the Profit on merchandise accounts (a forerunner of the income statement) in a sole proprietorship in Pisa that officially operated between 1386 and 1392, but took several months to finally end its activities, which it did in 1393. The Profit on merchandise account was where the balance on each goods account was transferred when all the items recorded in it were sold. The principal contribution of this paper is the identification of a unique approach to medieval product costing that ensured indirect expenses on merchandise were recovered from customers when sales took place, while earning an average return of over 10 percent on those costs. It also highlights the problems encountered when working with archival material that has deteriorated over time; and presents a research method that reconstructs missing data using the trail to original entries and contra entries recorded in double entry.

The Smell of Factionalism: Left Opposition in the Vyatka Provincial Organization of the Bolshevik Party in 1923-1924

The activity of the Vyatka left opposition that arose during the internal party discussion in the fall of 1923 and the spring of 1924 is studied. The work is based on archival documents from the Central State Archive of Kirov Region, as well as on materials from the Vyatka Pravda party newspaper. The platform of the local opposition opposed the formation of factions but insisted on clarifying what factionalism is supposed to mean. The Left Opposition united the party community of the provincial city and adjacent working areas. Most party members initially expressed full confidence in the partys Central Committee. An analysis of archival material shows that the Vyatka opposition tried to establish a broad discussion of problems in internal party life. In the provincial center there was a party discussion club that organized heated discussions. The focus on clarifying the concepts of factions and groups reflected the desire of opposition supporters to avoid being accused of betraying the party and the cause of the revolution. Remarkably, until early January 1924 the left opposition had absolute support among party members in Vyatka. The article analyzes the Central Committees suppression of the local opposition in January - February 1924, and in particular the skillful techniques of Aron Solts and his supporters. At the final stage of the struggle, a group of conciliators arose among the members of the opposition, and contributed to the victory of the Central Committee line. The article clarifies reasons and circumstances of the defeat of the opposition, none of whose representatives openly stood in opposition to the majority of the Central Committee or called on ordinary members to protest. The authors demonstrate that the local left opposition was a situational unification of diverse forces, dissatisfied with the bureaucratization of the party, the growing dictatorship of the Central Committee, the newcomers, as well as the dominance of appointees from the Party and the Soviets. During the discussion in the organizations of the Party, the need for developing internal party democracy and a free discussion of the problems emerged, showing that there was a potential alternative to Stalinism. The main feature of the left opposition was that it formed and temporarily won the predominantly non-proletarian Vyatka, where before the 1917 revolution the zemstvo and city democratic self-government has gained roots; this is interpreted as a preservation of the demand for freedom and democracy in local society.