International Relations Commons^™

Review Of: Christianity And Human Rights Reconsidered, John Ashworth

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of: The Life And Thought Of H. Odera Oruka: Pursuing Justice In Africa, Robert Press

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of: Election 2024 South Africa: Countdown To Coalition, Gary Prevost

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Darfur And Sudan Recommended Webinars

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Escalation Pathways To The April War And The Dynamics Of Sudan's Political Economy, Salih Mustafa, Osama Hassan, Nagi Alassam

The Journal of Social Encounters

This paper analyzes the escalation processes that led to the outbreak of the April 2023 war in Sudan, based on Wolfram Lacher's theoretical framework of "escalation processes". The paper focuses on tracing the escalatory trajectories that preceded the war, analyzing the complex interplay between structural, political, and economic factors, as well as the impact of the political economy on the dynamics of the conflict and its escalation to full-scale war.

The Sudanese Identity In The Mirror Of Colonial And Post-Independence History, Abdalla Galaleldeen

The Journal of Social Encounters

After independence, Sudan’s political elite adopted colonial-inspired policies that sought to divide the country into North and South (Arabs versus Africans). This policy was further reinforced by the civil wars and by the failures of the Sudanese political elite to construct a cohesive national identity. In the post-independence period, one elite group aligned itself with an Arab identity, while another embraced an African identity. Logically, therefore, both identities—Islamic-Arab and African—encompass the majority of the population. Yet, while Islamists and Africanists each claimed to represent this majority, neither addressed the contradictions inherent in their positions. As the tension between the Islamic-Arab …

The Conflict In Sudan: An Overview, Mad Gabriel

The Journal of Social Encounters

It has been more than two years since the war erupted in Sudan. Although the crisis initially started between two warring parties, it has expanded beyond the two with the involvement of multiple actors. However, the current conflict is complicated and has deep historical origins. It increased after the 2019 revolution, with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battling for power and control. On the other hand, the situation has deteriorated dramatically, as the economy suffered from the continuation of the war, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Additionally, Health systems have crumbled, schooling has …

Sudan: A War Of Atrocities Report Of The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission For The Sudan, - Annual Report Of The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights And Reports Of The Office Of The High Commissioner And The Secretary-General

The Journal of Social Encounters

This report documents attacks on civilians and objects essential for their survival in Sudan. It concludes that both parties to the conflict violated international human rights and humanitarian law, with most violations amounting to war crimes. The Rapid Support Forces’ conduct may also constitute crimes against humanity, including persecution and extermination. The report calls for accountability and sets out a roadmap for justice.

Introduction: Continuing The Exploration Of The Darfur And Sudan Crisis, Mawa Mohamed, Ron Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

The Late Father Rev. John Anthony Kaiser: “A Case For Justice”, Mbuthi Gathenji

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

On The 25th Anniversary Of The Political Assassination Of A Human Rights Hero From Minnesota, Fr. John Kaiser, Ron Pagnucco, Peter Kimeu Ngui, Elizabeth M. Brown, Mary Wangari Sebastian

The Journal of Social Encounters

We here at St. John's University (SJU) in Minnesota, a co-publisher of the JSE, share a special connection with Fr. John Kaiser, the subject of these articles in his honor. Fr. Kaiser was born in a parish in the Diocese of St. Cloud in 1934, in which the university is located, and graduated from SJU's preparatory high school and matriculated at SJU for two years before leaving to join the U.S. Army in 1954. He later entered the seminary and in 1964 was ordained a priest in the Mill Hill religious order, which sent him to Kenya. In August 2000, …

Enhancing Peacebuilding For Integral Human Development: Caritas Good Practices And Lessons Learnt, - Caritas Internationalis

The Journal of Social Encounters

Today’s geopolitical context, with big powers choosing bilateralism over multilateralism, is fostering a proliferation of conflicts and violence throughout the globe. The Caritas Confederation has been working actively for peacebuilding for decades, especially since the Rwanda genocide in 1994. Indeed, there is a growing consensus within the Confederation supporting the urgent need to enhance peacebuilding efforts globally. This document explores best practices and lessons learnt, with a strategic focus on the importance of involving women in peacebuilding. Each best practice is illustrated by one or two projects implemented by Caritas Member Organisations.

Dalit And Tribal Women As Ecological Victims, Dhinakaran Savariyar

The Journal of Social Encounters

The essay examines the ecological marginalization of Dalit and tribal women in India, especially by analysing the three points of intersection, namely, caste, patriarchy, and gender. Though it starts with a global outlook on the African water crisis, it substantiates the argument with Indian realities of water inequality and resource depletion. While showing caste as the root cause of water discrimination in the country, it exposes the abetting roles of patriarchy and gender in keeping the Dalit and tribal women at the lowest position in the Indian social fabric. Environmental casteism and exclusion from decision-making processes add to the invisibility …

The Origins Of The Pax Christi International Movement: The Pax Christi In Regno Christi Crusade, François Mabille

The Journal of Social Encounters

The Pax Christi movement was created in 1944 by a French laywoman. Its original name was "crusade of prayers for the conversion of Germany", the term crusade referring to a very specific political and religious imagination, marked in particular by the intransigent Catholicism of the beginning of the 20th century and by a specious analysis of the origins of the Nazism. This article, resulting from a thesis devoted to the history of the movement from 1944 to 1983, reviews the genesis of Pax Christi, and its evolution during the first 5 years of its existence, from a "crusade of prayers" …

Engaging The Somali Diaspora: A Case Study Of One Agency’S Community Programming Approach, Farhia Abdi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This case study investigates how a local community agency engages with the Somali diaspora to design and implement culturally responsive services, such as the Settlement and Integration Program. It also explores the potential of fostering meaningful dialogue with community members to inform the development of culturally sensitive programming. The research question guiding this study was developed by findings from previous research, which highlighted the significance of community engagement, sustained dialogue, and the necessity for agencies to design clearly defined programs. These programs should prioritize active participation from community members in both the creation and implementation of tailored initiatives.

Hezbollah's Military Setback: From Strategic Strength To Political Dilemma—A Comprehensive Analysis, Habib Albadawi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This study examines the unprecedented military transformation of Hezbollah from 2024 to 2025, analyzing how technological superiority and strategic constraints have fundamentally altered the effectiveness of irregular warfare organizations. Through extensive analysis of organizational adaptation, technological disruption, and external dependencies, this research investigates the paradox of how advanced military capabilities, when constrained by external dependencies, can become operational liabilities rather than strategic assets. The study employs multiple theoretical frameworks to understand this transformation and its implications for future irregular warfare.

Dalit Poetry On The Eve Of Indian Independence: Gurram Jashuva And The Quest For Critical Consciousness And Collective Remembering, Chris Conway

The Journal of Social Encounters

The Dalit Literary movement irrupted on the scene in the early 1970s in the state of Maharashtra, India. Unblinking in its criticism of casteism and unnerving in its depiction of Dalit oppression, the movement sought to concretize the political aims of B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) through cultivating a critical Dalit consciousness liberated from caste identity and history. The movement enjoyed success in uniting Dalit groups across the country under this new name. However, fifty years later a new generation of Dalit and Dalit-supporting thinkers have begun to critically examine the implications of Dalit identity focusing particularly on its rootedness in suffering …

Democracy, Rights, Historical Memory, And Interfaith Relations In The Works Of Fatima Mernissi And Asma Uddin, Jon Armajani

The Journal of Social Encounters

The works of Moroccan-born Muslim scholar Fatima Mernissi (1940-2015) and United States-born Muslim scholar Asma T. Uddin (b. 1980) are distinctive contributions in modern conversations about the intersections of Islam, law, human and civil rights as well as historical memory and interfaith relations (AncestryLibrary, n.d.; Fox, 2015; Florida Bar, n.d.; Justia Lawyers, n.d.; Rodoski, 2011; Sadiqi, 2018).[i] Mernissi, who was a professor of sociology at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, and Uddin, who is an attorney and scholar based in the United States, are influential and delve into the intricate relationships between Islamic ideas and modern legal frameworks, …

Restorative Nostalgia And Religious Nationalism: Lessons From Srebrenica, Noreen Herzfeld

The Journal of Social Encounters

Svetlana Boym uses the term restorative nostalgia to describe a collective nostalgia, based on an idealization of the past that is used by nationalist groups to motivate their followers. When linked with religion, this type of nostalgia is particularly damaging, frequently leading to sharp ethnic or religious divisions, a demonization of the other, and even war or genocide. The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina presents an example of such nostalgia on the part of the Serbs. An idealization and its resultant rhetoric on the part of Serbian political and religious figures envisioned an imagined future rooted in nostalgia for a …

An Interfaith Paradise Lost? Religion And The Memory Of The Lebanese Civil War In Postwar Novels, Wilbert Van Saane

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay analyzes three Lebanese postwar novels: Nathalie Abi-Ezzi’s A Girl Made of Dust, Jad El Hage’s The Myrtle Tree, and Hoda Barakat’s The Tiller of Waters. I argue that these novels narrate the memory of war with reference to religious imagery and theological structures, especially the idea of a paradise lost as described in John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost. The paradise these novels present consists of a harmonious relation between people of different faiths. The root of violence is situated in a distortion and misrepresentation of the narratives of others. The novels also include the theme of a …

Christianity In Relation To Judaism: Historical Memory And Polemics In Constructing The Story Of Christian Faith, John Merkle

The Journal of Social Encounters

Throughout most of Christian history, Christians have told a replacement story: Christianity has replaced Judaism and is the one valid pathway to God. As both Judaism and Christianity are based on historical events, the story of Christian faith is inevitably told with reference to events in Jewish history, especially events recounted in the Hebrew Bible (or the Christian Old Testament) that contextualize the emergence of Christianity and situate events concerning Jesus of Nazareth within a Jewish context. But over the last seventy years or so, a growing number of Christian scholars and church leaders have acknowledged that traditional Christian ideas …

Introduction To The Special Issue On Historical Memory And Interfaith Relations, Jon Armajani

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Autumn 2025 issue of Parameters. We open with two In Focus commentaries. The first, “A Case for Military Proportionality: Disabling Nuclear Plants” by Henry Sokolski, offers practical ways in which military planners can disable civilian targets, such as nuclear infrastructure, without undermining operational goals, alliance cohesion, or long-term political objectives. Our second commentary, “The Consequences of Declining Patriotism in the United States” by Neil N. Snyder, presents findings from a national survey showing a decline in patriotism, especially among Generation Z nonveterans. His article highlights a growing civil-military values gap with implications for recruitment and national …

The Consequences Of Declining Patriotism In The United States, Neil N. Snyder

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Patriotism, an important determinant of American civil-military relations, is in decline among many Americans. This article analyzes the results of an extensive national survey fielded to assess Americans’ attitudes and finds that more veterans value patriotism than Generation Z nonveterans, that Americans’ trust in their military is correlated with their value for patriotism, and that members of Generation Z are more likely to consider serving in the US military if they value patriotism. Although patriotism is normally a source of national unity, it may now be a source of division between veterans, nonveterans, and Generation Z.

Russian Arctic Land Forces And Defense Trends Redefined By Nato And Ukraine, Troy J. Bouffard, Lester W. Grau, Charles K. Bartles, Mathieu Boulègue

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that Russia’s Arctic land forces have been weakened by the Russia-Ukraine War and NATO’s northern expansion, creating a strategic window for Western militaries to bolster their Arctic capabilities. Unlike existing studies that focus on maritime operations and the Northern Sea Route, it integrates technical assessments of ground-based Arctic platforms with analysis of military-district reforms. Using a mixed methodology that incorporates equipment specifications, Russian government documents, media reports, and NATO strategic-response evaluations, this article constructs a comprehensive baseline understanding of Russia’s Arctic land-force potential and readiness. Policy and military practitioners will benefit from actionable insights into Arctic force-design …

Parameters Autumn 2025, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Humanitarian Intervention And Just War Theory, Nathaniel R. King

The Ozark Historical Review

Since the end of World War II, the United States has engaged in a new type of warfare. No longer fighting conventional wars, the United States has begun to enter into an intervention style of warfare. Often, intervention occurs on humanitarian grounds, rather than for reasons of conquest, which can often lead to unwanted destruction and alienate local populations. At the same time America’s military tactics shifted the world saw the resurgence of universal human rights. Increasingly included within these rights was the right to protection, or R2P. Just war theory becomes joined with humanitarianism when the action of intervening …

For Richer Or For Poorer: The Security Environment Index To Measure Effects Of Security Assistance, Lam Huynh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops and validates the Security Environment Index (SEI), a multidimensional, empirically grounded framework to assess the political and military effects of U.S. security assistance—specifically Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and International Military Education and Training (IMET)—on partner nations. Drawing from the need for more robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks in the security assistance space, this study addresses a longstanding gap in how policymakers measure the outcomes of military aid. The SEI consolidates publicly available indicators into a cohesive structure capable of capturing both internal and external changes in the recipient nation’s security environment.

This research employed an explanatory …

Towards All-Under-Heaven: China’S Geoeconomic Strategy In The Asia-Pacific Region, Alfariza Dika Azzani

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

This research aims to understand China’s geoeconomic strategy in reshaping the alternative international order in the Asia-Pacific region. China’s economic rise increased its geopolitical influence and significance as a global great power. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government, under Xi Jinping, has adopted classical ideas in its foreign policymaking, including tianxia. Tianxia is a classical concept of a hierarchical Sinocentric international order. An empirical study was conducted on several cases of China’s economic policy and analysed with the congruence method to determine the correlation between the tianxia concept and China’s economic policy. Tianxia served as a paradigm and justification for …

Defending Nato’S Northern Flank: Power Projecting And Military Operations, Nate Ostdiek

Space and Defense

This review evaluates Defending NATO’s Northern Flank: Power Projection and Military Operations, edited by Lon Strauss and Njord Wegge. The volume offers a comprehensive assessment of NATO’s evolving Arctic posture, combining doctrinal analysis, historical context, and alliance dynamics. Contributions examine Russia’s military strategy, U.S. Arctic policy, and intra-alliance complexities involving Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. While the anthology provides valuable insights into NATO’s strategic challenges, it notably underrepresents Canada’s role. Overall, it stands as a timely and rigorous contribution to understanding Arctic security and NATO’s internal decision-making amid rising geopolitical competition.

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