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The historical use of toxic chemicals to cause intentional harm has evolved from blister agents in World War I to highly lethal organophosphates and emerging families of chemicals, such as Novichok. In turn, medical or recreational substances like fentanyl, lysergamides, and phencyclidine pose a growing risk of hostile use, particularly related to the rapid proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPSs). A narrative literature review was conducted covering specialized databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, SciELO, Google Scholar) and sources from international organizations (OPCW, UNODC, ONU), analyzing historical and recent cases of the use of nerve agents in conflicts and the use of NPSs for hostile purposes. The main families of conventional agents (G, V, A series, and Novichok) and NPSs (lysergamides, PCP, fentanyl derivatives) were identified, highlighting their ease of synthesis, high toxicity profiles, and the regulatory gaps that facilitate their illicit production. In this scenario, it is essential to strengthen regulatory frameworks, surveillance systems, and ethical protocols in chemical research, as well as to promote international cooperation to prevent these substances from becoming chemical threats. Full article

This article examines how digital innovation ecosystems have emerged as strategic institutions of power in contemporary world politics. It argues that, unlike Cold War technological rivalries driven by centralized, state-led control, today’s digital competition depends on states’ capacity to orchestrate scalable, multistakeholder ecosystems. Using a cultural–institutional framework, we explain how differences in strategic culture and institutional governance impact the ecosystem’s vitality and performance. A qualitative comparative analysis of the United States, China, and Russia reveals that constructive orchestration, aligning state institutions with generative, commercial-to-national innovation flows, enhances digital leadership, whereas rigid, obstructive governance limits it. This highlights ecosystem governance as a critical dimension of statecraft in the digital age. The findings underscore that the positions of great powers in the global technological hierarchy depend not only on resources or capabilities but also on the effectiveness of ecosystem governance as an evolving instrument of geopolitical power. Full article

In G. E. M. Anscombe’s extensive correspondence with G. H. von Wright, one of the many topics that come up is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. What she says in these letters is significant because of the interest in what she wrote elsewhere about the use of atomic weapons. It is especially interesting because she might seem to imply here that only a person with religious faith is capable of being just. This paper quotes the relevant passages from the correspondence, explores what she might have meant, and concludes that she is not committed to the view that only the faithful can be just. Full article

This paper analyzes the historical genealogy of conspiracy theories about a global supergovernment by focusing on one period of American history in which it attained particular visibility. The formation of the United Nations in 1945 and the onset of the Cold War galvanized speculation on the political margins that a shadowy, malevolent international government was seeking world domination by targeting the United States and its political culture. At the same time, mainstream United States foreign policy was marked by a desire to both reshape international institutions to resist Soviet influence while also avoiding any domestic changes that might result from international engagement. This paper suggests that conspiracy theory functioned as a mechanism resolving the vicious circle occasioned by these competing foreign policy priorities. Through a narrative analysis of conspiratorial sentiments in North Dakota Representative Usher L. Burdick’s warnings about the United Nations as a threat to American liberty and sovereignty, this article highlights the continuities between mainstream American exceptionalism and conspiratorial ideas. Full article

This review paper presents a comprehensive overview of DNA preservation in hard tissues (bones and teeth) for applications in forensic and archaeogenetic analyses. It presents bone structure, DNA location in bones and teeth, and extensive information about postmortem DNA location and preservation. Aged bones are a challenging biological material for DNA isolation due to their low DNA content, degraded DNA, and the potential presence of PCR inhibitors. In addition, the binding of DNA to the mineral matrix necessitates the inclusion of a demineralization process in extraction, and its contribution to the resulting increase in both DNA quality and quantity is explained. Guidelines and recommendations on bone sample selection to obtain higher DNA yields are discussed in terms of past, recent, and possible future recommendations. Interskeletal and intraskeletal differences in DNA yield are also explained. Recent studies have shown that current recommendations for the genetic identification of skeletal remains, including femurs, tibias, and teeth, may not be the most effective sampling approach. Moreover, when mass disasters and mass graves with commingled skeletal remains are considered, there is a greater possibility that the recommended set of skeletal elements will not be available for sampling and subsequent genetic testing. This review highlights interskeletal and intraskeletal variability in DNA yield, with a focus on studies conducted on poorly preserved skeletal remains, including both postwar (1945) victims from Slovenia and ancient human skeletons. Special emphasis is placed on anatomical differences and potential mechanisms influencing DNA preservation, as demonstrated in research on both modern and historical skeletons. Finally, the petrous part of the temporal bone and tooth cementum were reviewed in greater detail because they have been recognized as an optimal sampling type in both ancient DNA studies and routine forensic case analyses. Our experiences with the Second World War and archaeological petrous bones are discussed and compared to those of other bone types. Full article

Hundreds of Japanese features of war (field positions, tunnels, and fortifications) were constructed in Hong Kong during World War II. However, most of them were poorly documented and were left unknown but still in relatively good condition because of their durable design, workmanship, and remoteness. These features of war form parts of Hong Kong’s brutal history. Conservation, at least in digital form, is worth considering. With the authors coming from multidisciplinary and varied backgrounds, this paper aims to explore these features using a scientific workflow. First, we reviewed the surviving archival sources of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. Second, airborne LiDAR data were used to form territory digital terrain models (DTM) based on the Red Relief Image Map (RRIM) for identifying suspected locations. Third, field expeditions of searching for features of war were conducted through guidance of Global Navigation Satellite System—Real-Time Kinetics (GNSS-RTK). Fourth, the found features were 3D-laser scanned to generate mesh models as a digital archive and validate the findings of DTM-RRIM. This study represents a reverse-engineering effort to reconstruct the planned Japanese defense tactics of guerilla fight and Kamikaze grottos that were never used in Hong Kong. Full article

The film Defiance (2008) explores the true story of the Bielski Partisans in the Second World War, led by the brothers Tuvia and Zus Bielski. While the film is in many ways a conventional action-packed war story of resistance to Nazi domination during the war, the filmmakers conscientiously depicted the myriad and sundry ways Jews resisted Nazi racial hatred and the attempted extermination of European Jewry. The Bielski partisans are portrayed as violently opposing the Nazi domination and their Belorussian supporters in armed conflict; as engaging in acts of sabotage and destruction to hamper the Axis war effort; as preserving and engaging in Jewish culture and religion to ensure its propagation, even in the most extreme of circumstances; and as continually struggling for survival against Nazi efforts to murder them. Their struggle for freedom from oppression inspires these acts of resistance. Furthermore, the filmmakers explore the theological problem of understanding the Jews as God’s chosen people as they fight for their lives against Nazi policies of extermination. Full article

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities of balancing cultural preservation, tourism investment, and community resilience in historic Syrian cities during the post-war recovery period. The Syrian conflict has imposed considerable harm upon the nation’s cultural heritage, encompassing UNESCO World Heritage sites, thereby interrupting not only the urban infrastructure but also local economies and social networks. Utilizing a comprehensive methodology that includes a literature review, stakeholder interviews, and local surveys, this research investigates the potential for aligning cultural preservation with tourism investment to promote sustainable economic revitalization while simultaneously enhancing social cohesion and community resilience. The results underscore the significance of inclusive governance, participatory planning, and capacity enhancement to guarantee that post-conflict urban redevelopment fosters enduring environmental, social, and cultural sustainability. By framing the Syrian case within the broader context of global urban sustainability and resilience discourse, the study offers valuable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and heritage managers working in post-conflict or post-disaster environments worldwide. In the end, the study highlights that the revitalization of historic cities transcends being a simple technical or economic endeavor; it is a complex process of re-establishing identity, strengthening communities, and fostering sustainable, resilient urban futures. Full article

Globalization and the spread of technological innovations have made world markets and economies increasingly unified and conditioned by international trade, not only for sales markets but above all for the supply of raw materials necessary for the functioning of the production complex of each country. Alongside oil and gold, the main commodities traded include industrial metals, such as aluminum and copper, mineral products such as gas, electrical and electronic components, agricultural products, and precious metals. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine tested the unification of markets, given that these are countries with notable raw materials and are strongly dedicated to exports. This suggests that commodity prices were able to influence the stock markets, especially in the countries most closely linked to the two belligerents in terms of import-export. Given the importance of industrial metals in this period of energy transition, the aim of our study is to analyze whether Industrial Metals volatility affects G7 stock markets. To this end, the BEKK-GARCH model is used. The sample period spans from 3 January 2018 to 17 September 2024. The results show that lagged shocks and volatility significantly and positively influence the current conditional volatility of commodity and stock returns during all periods. In fact, past shocks inversely influence the current volatility of stock indices in periods when external events disrupt financial markets. The results show a non-linear and positive impact of commodity volatility on the implied volatility of the stock markets. The findings suggest that the war significantly affected stock prices and exacerbated volatility, so investors should diversify their portfolios to maximize returns and reduce risk differently in times of crisis, and a lack of diversification of raw materials is a risky factor for investors. Full article

This study investigates reformulation in a substandard variety of Italian, italiano popolare, from the early 20th Century, focusing on a collection of letters and postcards from semi-literate Sicilian peasants during World War I. The analysis identifies three reformulation markers: cioè, anzi, and vuol dire. These markers are affected by hypercorrection, interference, and structural simplification, reflecting the sociolinguistic dynamics of italiano popolare. Additionally, the study of these markers sheds light on the relationships between reformulation and related discourse functions, namely paraphrase, correction, addition, and motivation. By positioning occurrences of reformulation along a continuum between the spoken and written mode, the findings suggest that this discourse function is employed more as a rhetorical strategy that characterizes planned written texts, rather than as a feature of disfluency that is typical of unplanned speech. Ultimately, examining reformulation in italiano popolare provides valuable insights into the relationship between sociolinguistic variation and language change in the beginning of the 20th Century, a key phase in the spread of Italian as a national language. Full article

This article examines the intersecting forces of gender, class, and education in early twentieth-century Britain through a feminist reading of Pip Williams’ historical novel The Bookbinder of Jericho. Centering on the fictional character Peggy Jones—a working-class young woman employed in the Oxford University Press bindery—the study explores how women’s intellectual ambitions were constrained by economic hardship, institutional gatekeeping, and patriarchal social norms. By integrating close literary analysis with historical research on women bookbinders, educational reform, and the impact of World War I, the paper reveals how the novel functions as both a narrative of personal development and a broader critique of systemic exclusion. Drawing on the genre of the female Bildungsroman, the article argues that Peggy’s journey—from bindery worker to aspiring scholar—mirrors the real struggles of working-class women who sought education and recognition in a male-dominated society. It also highlights the significance of female solidarity, especially among those who served as volunteers, caregivers, and community organizers during wartime. Through the symbolic geography of Oxford and its working-class district of Jericho, the novel foregrounds the spatial and social divides that shaped women’s lives and labor. Ultimately, this study shows how The Bookbinder of Jericho offers not only a fictional portrait of one woman’s aspirations but also a feminist intervention that recovers and reinterprets the overlooked histories of British women workers. The novel becomes a literary space for reclaiming agency, articulating resistance, and criticizing the gendered boundaries of knowledge, work, and belonging. Full article

Love and intimate relations between German men and Norwegian women were a widespread phenomenon during WWII. Like in many other European countries, these women were stigmatized and humiliated both by the authorities and by the civilian population. In this article, I discuss four postmemory literary works that address this issue: Edvard Hoem’s novel Mors og fars historie (The Story of My Mother and Father, 2005), Lene Ask’s graphic novel Hitler, Jesus og farfar (Hitler, Jesus, and Grandfather, 2006), Randi Crott and Lillian Crott Berthung’s autobiography Ikke si det til noen! (Don’t tell anyone!, 2013), and Atle Næss’s novel Blindgjengere (Duds, 2019). I explore how the narratives create a living connection between then and now and how they deal with unresolved questions and knowledge gaps. Furthermore, I discuss common themes such as the fate and identity of war children, national responsibilities versus individual choice, and norms connected to gender and sexuality. I argue that these postmemory interpretations of wartime love affairs not only aim to retell the past but to investigate the normative frameworks within which these relationships took place. My contention is that the postmemory gaze pays primary attention to the power of cultural constructions—of nationality, identity, and gender—as well as their context-related historical changes. Full article

In the context of the globalization process, the interplay between geopolitical dynamics and international trade fluctuations has had significant effects on global economic and business stability. Recent crises, such as the US–China trade war, the invasion of Ukraine, and the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted how changes in the structure of international trade can amplify the risks of business failure and reshape global competitiveness. This study aims to analyze in depth the transmission of business failure risk within the global trade network by assessing the sensitivity of industrial sectors in different countries to disruptive/critical/significant events. Through the integration of data from sources such as the World Trade Organization, national customs, and international relations research centers, a quantitative, exploratory, and descriptive approach based on graph theory, random forest, multivariate regression models, and neural networks is developed. This quantitative system makes it possible to identify patterns of risk propagation and to evaluate the degree of vulnerability of each country according to its commercial and financial structure. The mechanisms that relate geopolitical factors, such as trade sanctions and international conflicts, with the oscillations in the global market are analyzed. This study not only contributes to our understanding of how the macroeconomic environment influences business survival, but also provides analytical tools for strategic decision making. By providing an empirical and theoretical framework for early risk identification, it brings a novel perspective to academia and business, facilitating better adaptation to an increasingly volatile and uncertain business environment. Full article