Soundscape of War in the Jazz Album Music Under Siege by Volodymyr Balaba and Galyna Dub

This research investigates the underexplored intersection of soundscape of war and jazz music in Ukraine, with a particular focus on how these soundscapes redefine traditional aesthetic and performative boundaries in contemporary Ukrainian jazz music. The research is grounded in the observation that while soundscape of war in the Ukrainian context presents a unique confluence of cultural, historical, and technological factors that shape these artistic practices differently. One of the bright trends of contemporary Ukrainian jazz, which corresponds to the world directions of the development of modern jazz art, is the involvement of electroacoustic instrumentation (electronic music and sound effects) as its sound component. The jazz album Music under Siege was created by Volodymyr Balaba and Galyna Dub as a reaction of real living under Siege in beginning of 2022. Each part of this album presented a diary from a life of Chernihiv`s musicians. This album a vivid portrayal of human resilience during a period of extreme crisis. The chronological structure of the titles highlights key emotional and environmental milestones, creating a narrative that blends personal and collective experience.

Der „deutsche Geist“ als epochenübergreifende Denkfigur. Friedrich Meinecke zwischen spätem Kaiserreich und früher Bundesrepublik

Friedrich Meinecke, einer der führenden deutschen Historiker des ausgehenden 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, hat sein gesamtes Forscherleben ganz wesentlich der Frage und der Suche nach dem „deutschen Geist“ und dem deutschen Wesen gewidmet. Sein wissenschaftliches Œuvre wurde bislang jedoch noch nicht konsistent unter dieser Perspektive analysiert, die alle seine Arbeiten seit „Weltbürgertum und Nationalstaat“ (1907) durchzieht und zugleich verbindet. Der folgende Beitrag unternimmt diesen Versuch und geht dabei der Frage nach, ob und inwieweit Meinecke seine vor allem aus der deutschen Geschichte abgeleitete Definition des „deutschen Geistes“ über alle politischen Systemwechsel hinweg – vom wilhelminischen Kaiserreich über die Weimarer Republik und den Nationalsozialismus bis in die Gründungsphase der Bundesrepublik – beibehalten oder der jeweils veränderten politischen Situation angepasst hatte und wenn ja, auf welche Weise und warum. Die ideengeschichtliche Analyse der Hauptwerke und einschlägiger Briefe Meineckes lässt eine starke Kontinuität in seinem Denken hervortreten. Bei allem Festhalten am „deutschen Geist“ musste er die einst eruierten Merkmale – Individuum, Staat, Nation und Preußen – immer wieder verändern bzw. abschneiden, so dass am Ende nur noch der Individualitätsgedanke als einziges Merkmal übrig blieb. Der „deutsche Geist“ war damit auch bei Meinecke zu einer beliebigen Größe geworden. Der Aufsatz problematisiert am Beispiel des Berliner Historikers die politischen Implikationen und Defizite dieser idealistischen deutschen Identitätssuche vom späten Kaiserreich bis zur frühen Bundesrepublik und führt damit zugleich ins Zentrum des Spannungsverhältnisses von Wissenschaft und Politik.

Seth Bernstein, Return to the Motherland. Displaced Soviets in WWII and the Cold War. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press 2023

James Howard-Johnston, The Last Great War of Antiquity. Oxford, Oxford University Press 2021

Yorai Linenberg, Jewish Soldiers in Nazi Captivity. American and British Prisoners of War during the Second World War. Oxford, Oxford University Press 2023

What is History of Medicine About and Why Do We Need It? On the Institutionalisation and Professionalisation of the History of Medicine in Germany

This essay examines the institutionalisation and professionalisation of the academic discipline of the history of medicine within German medical faculties over the last 120 years, with a view to facilitating comparisons with East Asian developments. It traces the evolution of the field through periods of specialisation, de-institutionalisation and interdisciplinary integration, exploring the productive tensions between its medical and historical dimensions. The unique German context is analysed, including the integration of medical history into university curricula and its pivotal role in the education of medical ethics, especially since the introduction of the subject “History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine” in 2002. Key phases of the development include responses to scientific medicine, post-war humanisation efforts and reckoning with medical crimes commited during the Nazi era (1933–1945). These have all contributed to the transformation of the discipline into a vital site for reflection and cultural memory. It is demonstrated how German medical historians have legitimised their academic niche, contributed to interdisciplinary discourse, and fostered coherence amidst growing thematic diversity. Ultimately, the German experience exemplifies the field’s role as a bridge between science and the humanities, offering essential orientation and critique for contemporary medical practice and education.

The Investment Standards Construct – An Operational Model for Contemporary Challenges in International Investment Law (With Ukrainian Case Study)

Contemporary investment law is marked by deep fragmentation: a network of thousands of treaties that are not always primarily focused on governing international investment relations, overlapping treatment and protection standards, as well as only partially crystallised customary rules shaped by arbitral practice. Currently this fragmentation is increasingly exacerbated by growing global geopolitical competition and international conflicts, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, thereby intensifying the tension between state security imperatives and the evolutionarily established system of foreign investor protection. The article introduces the concept of the investment standards construct – a holistic methodological model for the systemic analysis of International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and for the design of their modernised content. The proposed legal engineering approach moves beyond conventional element-by-element examination of investment treatment and protection standards (such as fair and equitable treatment, national treatment, prohibition of expropriation, etc.) and instead considers them in their dynamic interplay with procedural and other guarantees as well as legal limitations, including right to regulate and security exceptions. The new model’s applicability is demonstrated through doctrinal analysis and arbitral practice, including the current Ukrainian case cluster and other significant disputes. The study shows how the construct functions as an operational tool for both assessing disputes in contexts of economic development and conflict, as well as for designing more resilient and balanced IIAs capable of aligning investor protection with contemporary regulatory needs.

The Dilemma of Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) in Times of Political Crises: The Application of the Russia-Ukraine BIT and its Implications on Interstate War

This paper navigates the legal challenges of BIT implementation during wartime by examining key dispute cases between Russia and Ukraine and aims to analyze the legal applicability of BIT in times of political crises, the necessity of such applications, and the feasibility of its implementation. The paper aims to clarify the legal basis for protecting foreign investments during political instability. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, various investment disputes have arisen between the two countries. The cases involving Ukrainian investors and the Russian State share several common features that help analyze the role and impact of BITs and investor-state dispute settlement in political crisis situations. In terms of legal applicability, even in the absence of an explicit clause, conflict does not, in itself, suspend the treaty. Regarding necessity, upholding BIT can be considered in light of its core purpose of protecting investors, maintaining the rule of law, and preventing further political crises. In implementing BITs in crises, the political and economic feasibility must also be considered, with attention to procedural matters and the enforcement of arbitration awards.

Metaphor: Bill Clinton’s rhetorical weapon to foster peace between Jordan and Israel

This study seeks to survey the types of metaphor in Bill Clinton’s two speeches delivered in the Jordanian Parliament and the Israeli Knesset in 1994, and how these metaphors are used to intensify different emotions to foster peace between Jordan and Israel. I argue that Clinton uses metaphorical language in his speeches because it is emotionally more intense (Charteris-Black, Jonathan. 2011. Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor . New York: Palgrave Macmillan), which consequently heightens the effect of his messages. I also argue that Clinton used prophetic sayings, which were expressed in metaphors, to communicate the values of peace contrasted with the negatives of war. The findings indicate that the epideictic forms of Clinton’s oratory in fostering peace between Jordan and Israel are facilitated in part by transferring socio-pragmatic meanings through the use of metaphors “designed” (Martin, James R. 1999. Grace: The logogenesis of freedom.  Discourse Studies  1(1). 29–56) in accordance to the audiences’ “cultural rhetorical resources” (Liebersohn, Yosef Z., Yair Neuman & Zvi Bekerman. 2004. Oh baby, it’s hard for me to say I’m sorry: Public apologetic speech and cultural rhetorical resources.  Journal of Pragmatics  36(5). 921–944) to arouse the audience’s feelings. Further, Clinton’s use of prophetic sayings wrapped in metaphors aims at viewing himself as “sounding right” with “right intention” (Charteris-Black, Jonathan. 2011.  Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor . New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 20).

Resistance effect in Ukrainian president Zelenskyy’s international war discourse: cognitive-constructionist perspective

The paper explores the formation of resistance effect in Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s international war speeches, applying the idea-turned-effect procedure. It reveals how a belief, verbalized at the beginning of a text by linguistic units evoking particular cognitive structures, transforms it into an effect, i.e., an intended impact on the addressee. The suggested procedure mainly rests on the interaction of morphosyntactic constructions with image schemas, conceptual metaphor, and worldview which evoke different feelings, emotions, or basic needs. The undertaken analysis reveals that the speeches are aimed at creating four main types of resistance effect: solo, depicting Ukraine as a single fighter against the aggressor during the first days of the war; united, portraying the support of other countries throughout the initial war period; bidirectional, implying Ukraine’s resistance to two aggressive sources; global, taking the struggle over to the international level.