Journals
2026 EN
Bose Sumantra
This article examines the persistence of political stasis in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) three decades after the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA). Drawing on a dialogue between Sumantra Bose and former High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch, it interrogates the complex interplay between domestic ethno-nationalist politics and international interventionism. Despite early post-Dayton optimism marked by institutional improvements and minority returns, BiH’s post-war trajectory stalled due to entrenched nationalist elites, limited cross-ethnic party development, and an over-reliance on international governance mechanisms using the “Bonn Powers.” The analysis highlights three key factors: the counterproductive imposition of reforms by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), the international community’s failed attempts to cultivate “non-nationalist” actors, and an integrationist international agenda ill-suited to BiH’s multinational reality. Reflecting on key issues such as the unresolved “Croat question,” the article underscores how international overreach and collusive behaviour among ethno-nationalist elites reinforced divisions and obstructed BiH’s path towards the European Union (EU).
Journals
2026 EN
Linder Ifat · Weissblueth Eyal
This study investigates the roles and valuation of teaching advancement units (TAUs) in Israeli academic institutions during the 2023 Israel Hamas war. TAUs, traditionally focused on enhancing teaching quality, adapted to emergency functions such as transitioning to online teaching, creating tailored curricula, and supporting faculty resilience. Using a mixed methods approach, the research surveyed staff members from diverse institutions to assess activities and valuation before and during the war. Findings highlight the utilisation of COVID-19-era resources to address the crisis, revealing disparities in preparedness among institutions. The study underscores the importance of organisational resilience and double-loop learning for effective crisis response.
Journals
2026 EN
Edri Avishag
In Israel, there are populations that deal with terrorism on an ongoing basis, Continuous traumatic stress (CTS) differs in its definition and characteristics from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and requires a different response. In the current study, we examined the coping of kindergarten teachers living in the Samaria region with mediating the topic to kindergarten children who are exposed to terrorism. The study found that children tend to play war games in kindergarten and some of the children are highly exposed to information on the subject. The kindergarten teachers tried to maintain a balance between answering questions on the subject and the desire not to reveal more than is necessary to the children.
Journals
2026 EN
Skura Monika · Klatt Gosia · Dobkowska Joanna
This research sheds light on pedagogical approaches to controversial issues in Polish classrooms, particularly in the context of Polish language instruction during the senior years of secondary education. It identifies the issues perceived as controversial by teachers and explores how educators navigate these topics. Since 2015, political shifts following the rise of right-wing parties, combined with a market-driven approach to education, have significantly influenced the Polish education system, including textbooks, curricula, and classroom discourse. As social polarization deepens, teachers face challenges in addressing complex discussions about literary texts and their connections to contemporary socio-political themes. The study involved interviews with 22 secondary school teachers to understand their strategies for discussing controversial issues. Topics frequently deemed sensitive included the war in Ukraine, gender and LGBTQI issues, feminism, and religion. Teachers expressed apprehension or caution about intentionally introducing such discussions, citing fears of repercussions and a lack of clear guidance on if and how to address these issues. Pedagogical decisions around these topics provide valuable insights into the inequalities and hegemonies shaping the current education system. The findings suggest entrenched problems in the cultural capital fostered in schools, perpetuating dominant cultural and economic values aligned with ruling and influential groups.
Journals
2026 EN
Hametz Maura
This article explores the contours of national belonging and the acquisition of Italian citizenship with particular focus on Italy’s new Adriatic borderlands after the First World War. Through the lens of two families’ experiences, it explores the mechanisms of defining Italian national belonging revealed in the process of opting for citizenship under the provisions of the Paris Peace and examines the effects of exclusionary policies of nationalization on individuals whose identities and affiliations eluded ethno-nationalist categorization. It demonstrates that hierarchies of privilege that survived the collapse of the Monarchy skewed Italian authorities’ interpretations of ethno-nationalist affiliation, reinforced social divisions, and reinscribed them to justify legal discrimination and support exclusionary ethno-nationalist practices.
Journals
2026 EN
Klabjan Borut
This Special Issue on the Decade of Decadence focuses on the northern Adriatic transnational borderland from the beginning of the First World War in July 1914 to the Treaty of Rome in January 1924 when the city of Rijeka/Fiume was annexed by Italy and the Adriatic question was temporarily settled. As several recent studies have shown this decade is of fundamental importance at the global level and the northern Adriatic in these years represents a unique laboratory for studying the transformations of Europe in the twentieth century. Seen in these perspectives, these articles show how concepts of loyalty, sovereignty, nationality and citizenship did not conform to a linear process of nation-building but instead open new perspectives on Italian and Euro-Mediterranean politics, culture and societies before and after the First World War.
Journals
2026 EN
Jeličić Ivan
This article examines an alternative form of identification to the nation state which arose in Fiume in the context of the symbolic and political violence the city experienced during the years after the First World War (1918–1924). While historians mainly focus on the Italian-poet Gabriele D’Annunzio’s presence in the city (1919–1920), the conflicts following 1920 ‘Christmas of Blood’ reveal ongoing violence between the supporters of the city-state’s independence and Italian fascists and nationalists. These conflicts also point to persistent and readjusting forms of loyalty with roots in the late Habsburg period. They show how, between 1918 and 1924, the autonomy of Fiume and the option of a free state were seen as realistic alternatives to Italy and the Italian nation state. By focusing on the figure of Ernesto Zaller (1873–1923) and by providing some insight into the biographies of those involved in the postwar violence, this article will show how Fiumian autonomism was advocated as a potential contender to Italian nationalism, as well as how it developed into a form of loyalty and an agenda worth dying for in 1921–1923. Finally, the article will show how postwar violence in Fiume should be considered as part of the transition from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as a legacy of D’Annunzio, and as a feature of emergent Italian fascism.
Journals
2026 EN
Cornwall Mark
In the final year of the Great War, the battle of ideas intensified along the border of Italy and Austria-Hungary with both civilian and military initiatives. Native inhabitants on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, in Istria and Dalmatia, were targeted with two major propaganda offensives. First was a civilian movement organized by South Slav politicians and local activists who disseminated material advocating the postwar creation of a Yugoslav state, either within or outside the Habsburg empire. Second was an Italian military propaganda campaign based in Padua which spread revolutionary messages from the air in the form of sophisticated propaganda manifestos. Both campaigns assumed a receptive audience, and both faced obstacles in their implementation. The main impact was to seriously alarm the Habsburg authorities about the onslaught of ‘ubiquitous enemy propaganda’. It pushed the imperial regime onto the defensive in 1918 in the face of both internal and external enemies.
Journals
2026 EN
Bajc Gorazd
Based on an analysis of documents preserved in the Trieste State Archives, this article describes the difficulties faced by the civilian population in the Venezia Giulia region at the end of the First World War. In particular, it examines the challenges encountered by women who did not have the right of residence ( pertinenza ) in the region and were therefore denied permission to return or remain. With the occupation of Venezia Giulia by the Italian army at the beginning of November 1918, the new authorities sought to control repatriation and implemented strict measures against various categories of civilians to prevent the resettlement of undesirable or potentially dangerous individuals. At the same time, those considered harmful to the occupation were required to leave the area. The status of non-pertinenza was thus very useful for the new authorities in preventing the repatriation of former refugee women or in stopping unwanted women from remaining in the region.
Journals
2026 EN
Salih Ali Mohammad · Erfani Goran · Larimian Taimaz
Major Kurdish cities, particularly Erbil, are experiencing rapid growth in population and territory. However, the housing development practices in Iraq since the 2003 war have led to a decline in local environmental quality, despite a burgeoning demand for urban housing. This study examines how environmental considerations are integrated into mass housing planning in post-war Erbil, focusing on the differences between government-led and private-sector developments. Data were collected and analysed from eight housing case studies through a triangulation of site analyses, document reviews, and semi-structured interviews with key professional stakeholders. Findings show that, despite Erbil’s rapid expansion since 2003, environmental concerns have not been sufficiently incorporated into housing planning processes. Government-led cases neglect environmental requirements, while private-led cases struggle to find a balance between delivering public services, environmental protection, and affordable housing. The study contributes to existing research on housing practices in the emerging world by offering a pioneering empirical examination of recent housing planning in Erbil. It also addresses the socio-cultural and geographical gaps in the literature on urban housing development within a Kurdish context. The findings highlight the urgent need for comprehensive environmental impact assessments and data-driven decision-making in housing planning, particularly in rapidly developing post-conflict urban contexts.