Land titling and political alternation: seeds of Mexico's drug war

Abstract The Mexican drug war has escalated dramatically since 2007, yet its roots lie in municipal turf wars of the 1990s and early 2000s involving the main drug‐trafficking organizations operating in the country. We trace these turf wars to two concurrent shocks: the weakening of the PRI's long‐standing dominance in local offices, and PROCEDE, the programme that converted PRI‐dominated communal ejidos into individually titled parcels. By transforming untitled land into marketable property, PROCEDE made rural parcels far easier to acquire or extort. At the same time, opposition victories at municipal and state levels dismantled PRI‐brokered protection networks, leaving incumbent cartels exposed. Together, marketable land and vanishing political cover created fertile ground for rival organizations to invade and clash. Using a difference‐in‐differences framework, we show that municipalities exposed to both shocks—the PROCEDE rollout and opposition victories—experienced a rise in organized‐crime deaths during 1995–2006. The surge is strongest when an opposition mayor is elected in the same year that the governorship also turns against the PRI, signalling the collapse of protective networks. Cartel‐presence data also reveal that these municipalities attract both first‐time entrants and multiple rivals, confirming that violence stems from competition over newly contestable territories.

On the Political Economy of Conflicts in the Middle East and Africa

ABSTRACT In this research, we aim to identify the main factors that explain the occurrence and intensity of armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. We extend the conventional linear Bayesian Model Averaging procedure by incorporating conflict intensity, which is measured across a spectrum of violence levels, departing from the typical binary classification of war or peace. We provide strong evidence that not only demographical, institutional, and socio‐economic but also environmental factors must be considered when analysing conflict onset and intensity. Notably, institutional variables become more significant when accounting for neighbouring effects. Furthermore, institutional, economic, and historical factors are essential for understanding the role of environmental factors in shaping conflict dynamics. Finally, we show that model averaging predictions for ordered categorical outcomes improve upon the existing out‐of‐sample conflict prediction techniques.

Epidemiology of Maxillofacial Injuries in the Swords of Iron War: Insights From a National Registry

ABSTRACT Background Maxillofacial injuries (MFI) in warfare present significant challenges due to the concentration of vital structures in the facial region and the high‐energy mechanisms of injury. This study analyzes the epidemiology, severity, and outcomes of MFI during the Swords of Iron conflict using data from the Israeli National Trauma Registry. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on casualties from October 7, 2023 to August 1, 2024. Injury characteristics, surgical interventions, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mortality rates were assessed. Logistic regression identified predictors for severe head injury and surgical intervention. Results Of 1654 casualties, 324 (19.6%) sustained MFI, predominantly from explosions (85.2%). Fractures were associated with higher ICU admission rates (60.6% vs. 20.0%, p  < 0.0001) and greater surgical intervention requirements (65.4% vs. 36.4%, p  = 0.0001) than soft tissue injuries. Orbital fractures (59.6%) were the most common and strongly correlated with severe head injury (OR 9.33, CI 4.29–21.54, p  < 0.001). Zygomatic (OR 8.47), maxillary (OR 5.81), and mandibular fractures (OR 12.61) significantly predicted the need for surgery, whereas orbital fractures often did not. Airway management was required in 26.5% of MFI cases, significantly higher than in other injuries (12.6%, p  < 0.001). The overall mortality rate was low, with 7.7% in the fracture group and 0.9% in the soft tissue injury group. Conclusion MFI in combat settings demands specialized trauma care, particularly for fractures requiring surgical intervention and intensive care. The high prevalence of orbital fractures and their association with severe head injuries highlight the need for early recognition and intervention despite their being less prone to surgical correction. These findings can inform trauma care protocols to optimize management and outcomes in future conflicts.

A century of art dealing in New York. The rise of American art

Abstract We study art trade in New York between 1870 and 1970, analysing returns on investment by the renowned Knoedler gallery to shed light on the evolution of the American art market. A generalist art gallery should allocate investments to equalize expected returns, with differences in effective returns depending on purchase prices, number of traded works per artists, search costs, and shocks. We confirm these principles, finding that returns were higher for cheaper artworks, by more frequently traded artists, in stock for a shorter time, after solo exhibitions for the authors, or during booms and after the death of the artists. A key interest in the story of New York's leading gallery is in its connection with the history of American art over a crucial century. We find that the returns on European old masters follow an inverse U‐shape, peaking during the First World War and declining thereafter, whilst the returns on American modern artists increase consistently throughout the century. This pattern aligns with a shift in demand towards American art that began in the 1920s and was instrumental in promoting the innovations of the New York school from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art.

Equal but Different? Catholic Universities in Central and Eastern Europe

ABSTRACT This study examines the institutional identity, governance, academic strategies, and societal roles of Catholic universities (CUs) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), focusing on Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Ukraine. It analyses how CUs balance their Catholic identity with secular higher education standards amidst pressures of globalisation, secularisation, and political change. Drawing on documentary analysis and semi‐structured interviews with university leaders, the research highlights the distinctive strategic positioning of CUs, their governance structures tied to Church authorities, and their emphasis on holistic education, research, and community engagement. Despite convergence trends with secular universities, CUs in CEE maintain a unique identity grounded in faith‐based values, contributing to societal resilience, particularly in contexts of historical oppression and current crises such as the war in Ukraine.

Erratum to “The shaken realist: Bernard Williams, the war, and philosophy as cultural critique”

The date and context of the Astronomer's Life of Louis the Pious

The Astronomer's Life of the emperor Louis the Pious (814–40) is a canonical source for scholars of Frankish history. It sits at the centre of recent debates about the nature and tone of Carolingian political discourse, and about the crisis of the empire in the 830s. Yet the date and precise context of the text's composition have hardly ever been debated. The consensus position, codified in Ernst Tremp's definitive 1995 edition, is that it was written very shortly after the death of its subject, during the succession war fought between his sons. In this article I argue that this reading is not as secure as is usually assumed, and that a later dating may be preferable. I propose a new interpretation of the text as a product of Charles the Bald's reign and argue that this context reinvigorates the Life's value as a source for ninth‐century history.

Do Chinese Firms' ESG Activities Mitigate Stock Price Crash Risk?

ABSTRACT We investigate the impact of firms' Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities on stock price crash risk during crises. We use the US–China trade war as a negative external shock and find that higher levels of ESG activities in Chinese firms help mitigate the crash risk. ESG activities help firms gain more resilience as a strategic tool for managing investor expectations by providing more information transparency and improving corporate governance. Further analysis shows that the mitigation effects are more pronounced for privately owned firms than their state‐owned counterparts and for firms challenged by higher market competition than those facing lower competition.

“When home is gone”: Challenges faced by families evacuated from war zones—a qualitative study

ABSTRACT Objective This qualitative study examined how forced evacuation during a national crisis disrupts parenting among families with adolescents. Background Parenting under displacement creates unique challenges, especially when caregivers face trauma, fear, and uncertainty. Guided by the theory of emotional availability, the study highlights how evacuation strains parents' ability to remain emotionally present and supportive. Methods The study included 18 parents (12 mothers, six fathers) of 38 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years who were evacuated during a large‐scale emergency. Semistructured interviews were thematically analyzed. Parents represented diverse family contexts, offering perspectives from both mothers and fathers. Results Evacuation triggered fear, helplessness, and emotional disorientation. Some parents described dissociation, while others adopted practical strategies to protect and comfort their children. Maintaining parental functioning in temporary housing was difficult due to lack of privacy, strained family dynamics, and uncertainty. Adolescents showed stress reactions, withdrawal, anxiety, and regression that further taxed parents' resources. School experiences varied: Some families faced disruption, while others emphasized the stabilizing role of supportive educators. Conclusion Evacuation undermines parental emotional availability and boundary‐setting during crisis. Implications The findings underscore the need for coordinated psychosocial, educational, and emergency support systems to meet the complex needs of displaced families and adolescents.

Pentraxin‐related protein PTX3 alleviates blast‐induced acute lung injury by promoting efferocytosis to eliminate ferroptotic alveolar epithelial cells in vitro

Blast injuries are common in both peacetime and war, and one of the main types is lung injury, characterised by internal severity, rapid changes in condition, high mortality, and complex injury patterns. The primary pathological manifestation is pulmonary haemorrhage caused by damage to alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) and capillary endothelial cells. Treatment is complex, making it essential to fully understand the characteristics and pathogenesis of blast‐induced acute lung injury (bALI) to improve treatment efficacy. In this study, a rat blast‐injury model was established through a fuel‐air explosion, and significant injury to the lungs and AECs was detected. Transcriptome sequencing analysis showed that ferroptosis and efferocytosis are significant in bALI; among several common lung injury biomarkers, pentraxin‐related protein PTX3 was significantly increased, which was further confirmed by subsequent experiments. Additionally, to study AEC injury, we treated cells with extracts from the lung tissue of bALI rats undergoing in vitro simulation experiments, confirming the injury of AECs and ferroptosis with an increase in PTX3. As an important mediator of inflammation and a biomarker significantly increased in many ALIs, the role of PTX3 in ALI remains poorly understood. In this study, we detected increased efferocytosis efficiency of alveolar macrophages in ferroptotic AECs by increasing endogenous PTX3 expression. These findings are of great significance for the clearance of low‐efficiency ferroptotic cells, as they can reduce the efferocytosis burden on alveolar macrophages, mitigate secondary lung injury, and may provide new molecular insights for delaying the progression of bALI and improving treatment.