Search Results (715)

In October 2021 the Swedish government committee of inquiry, the Adoption Commission, was appointed, which presented its final report in June 2025. The Adoption Commission investigated irregular and unethical adoptions to Sweden from the 1950s until today, and it was a part of an ongoing global process of coming to terms with past concerning transnational adoptions. This qualitative media text study examines how the Adoption Commission was perceived by the Swedish adoption world’s three stakeholders, the adoptive parents, the adoption organizations, and the adoptees, between 2021 and 2024 and in relation to transitional justice theories, with a focus on the issues of retributive and restorative justice. Full article

Background: Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, countless forcibly displaced individuals facing not only material loss, but also deep psychological distress, have sought refuge across Europe. For those traumatized by war, the absence of a shared language in therapy can hinder healing and exacerbate suffering. While cultural diversity in psychotherapy has gained recognition, the role of native-language communication—especially from a person-centered perspective—remains underexplored. Methods: This narrative review with a thematic analysis examines whether and how psychotherapy in the mother tongue facilitates access to therapy and enhances therapeutic efficacy. Four inter-related clusters emerged: (1) the psychosocial context of trauma and displacement; (2) language as a structural gatekeeper to care (RQ1); (3) native-language therapy as a mechanism of change (RQ2); (4) potential risks such as over-identification or therapeutic mismatch (RQ2). Results: The findings suggest that native-language therapy can support the symbolic integration of trauma and foster the core conditions for healing. The implications for multilingual therapy formats, training in interpreter-mediated settings, and future research designs—including longitudinal, transnational studies—are discussed. Conclusions: In light of the current crises, language is not just a tool for access to therapy, but a pathway to psychological healing. Full article

This article investigates the role of space in the fiction of Jeffrey Eugenides, focusing on The Virgin Suicides (1993) and Middlesex (2002) through the lens of spatial theory. Drawing on key thinkers such as Henri Lefebvre, Michel Foucault, Edward Soja, Yi-Fu Tuan, and Doreen Massey, the study explores how Eugenides constructs spatial environments that not only frame but actively shape the identities, desires, and traumas of his characters. In The Virgin Suicides, suburban domestic spaces are shown to function as heterotopias—sites of surveillance, repression, and mythologized femininity—while Middlesex engages with transnational and urban spaces to narrate diasporic and intersex identity as dynamic, embodied, and liminal. The analysis reveals that Eugenides uses space as both a narrative device and a thematic concern to interrogate gender, memory, and power. Rather than passive backdrops, the novelistic spaces become charged arenas of conflict and transformation, reflecting and resisting dominant socio-cultural discourses. This study argues that space in Eugenides’ fiction operates as a critical register for understanding the politics of belonging and the production of subjectivity. By situating Eugenides within the broader field of literary spatiality, this article contributes to contemporary debates in literary geography, gender studies, and American fiction. Full article

Food sovereignty has gained significant political attention in recent years, proven by the recent change of the name of Italian Ministry of Agriculture. Coined by the transnational movement “La Via Campesina” in 1996, food sovereignty emphasizes sustainable food security and the right of populations to determine their own food policies. However, the concept is often misunderstood in the light of rising sovereigntist debate, and its original meaning, intertwined with long-term sustainability, is gradually disappearing. This study uses Q methodology to explore consumer perspectives on food sovereignty, identifying distinct groups that reflect how the concept has evolved and how it is perceived by the general population. The analysis is based on a sample of 24 participants from Italy. Starting from all sustainability issues contained in food sovereignty, relevant opinion groups have been identified. Results show that half of the groups still recognize their traditional meaning, while the other half understands food sovereignty as a modern form of autarchy. Full article

The essay offers an expansive and multi-stratified investigation into the role of esoteric traditions within the development of Russian modernity, reframing occultism not as an eccentric deviation but as a foundational epistemological regime integral to Russia’s aesthetic, philosophical, and political evolution. By analyzing the arc from Petrine-era alchemical statecraft to the techno-theurgical aspirations of Russian Cosmism and the esoteric visual regimes of the avant-garde, this essay discloses the deep ontological entanglement between sacral knowledge and modernist radical experimentation. The work foregrounds figures such as Jacob Bruce, Wassily Kandinsky, and Kazimir Malevich, situating them within broader transnational currents of Hermeticism, Theosophy, and Rosicrucianism, while interrogating the role of occult infrastructures in both late-imperial and Soviet paradigms. Drawing on recent theoretical frameworks in the global history of esotericism and modernist studies, the long-read article elucidates the metaphysical substrata animating Russian Symbolism, Abstraction, Malevich’s non-Euclidian Suprematism and Moscow Conceptualism. This study contends that esotericism in Russia—far from marginal—served as a generative matrix for radical aesthetic innovation and ideological reconfiguration. It proposes a reconceptualization of Russian cultural history as a palimpsest of submerged sacral structures, where utopia and apocalypse, magic and technology, converge in a distinctively Russian cosmopoietic horizon. Ultimately, this essay reframes Russian and European occultism as an alternate technology of cognition and a performative semiotic universe shaping not only artistic modernism but also the very grammar of Russian historical imagination. Full article

Environmental crime has been increasingly recognised as transnational organised crime, but efforts to build a coherent and effective international response are still in development and under threat from shifts in the funding landscape. This mixed methods study addresses the role of one significant group of actors in environmental crime enforcement, which are non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who gather intelligence that can be shared with law enforcement and regulatory agencies. The study compares their intelligence practices to findings from traditional intelligence sectors, with a focus upon criminal justice and policing. The research generated quantitative and qualitative data from NGO practitioners, which is integrated to discern three overarching themes inherent in these NGOs’ intelligence practices: the implementation of formal intelligence practices is still underway in the sector; there remains a need to improve cooperation to break down silos between agencies and NGOs, which requires an improvement in trust between these entities; the operating environment provides both opportunities and challenges to the abilities of the NGOs to deliver impact. The study concludes by positing that the characteristics of NGOs mean that this situation constitutes ‘green intelligence’, contextualising intelligence theory and highlighting areas in which agencies can further combat environmental crime. Full article

This article explores how the European Union (EU) promotes gender equality beyond its borders, situating the analysis within broader debates on external Europeanization and normative power. While most studies have examined the domestic impact of EU policies, this paper focuses on how gender equality norms are projected internationally and conceptually investigates the mechanisms involved in their diffusion. Drawing on existing theoretical literature, the article analyzes how EU-level normative strategies may interact with domestic political, institutional, and societal dynamics in third countries, often in complex and contested ways. Rather than providing empirical testing, the study identifies core mechanisms—such as strategic communication, partnerships, and funding tools—and reflects on their limitations and the role of local agency in interpreting or resisting EU-promoted norms. The findings highlight the difficulty of isolating EU influence from other international and transnational drivers of norm diffusion, and the need for caution in attributing policy shifts solely to EU action. The article concludes that a better understanding of these processes requires more attention to domestic contexts, as well as future empirical research to complement conceptual analyses of Europeanization in sensitive policy domains such as gender equality. Full article

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Remote Sensing (UAV-RS) has emerged as a transformative technology in high-resolution Earth observation, with widespread applications in precision agriculture, ecological monitoring, and disaster response. However, a systematic understanding of its scientific evolution and structural bottlenecks remains lacking. This study collected 4985 peer-reviewed articles from the Web of Science Core Collection and conducted a comprehensive scientometric analysis using CiteSpace v.6.2.R4, Origin 2022, and Excel. We examined publication trends, country/institutional collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence clusters, and emerging research fronts. Results reveal an exponential growth in UAV-RS research since 2015, dominated by application-driven studies. Hotspots include vegetation indices, structure from motion modeling, and deep learning integration. However, foundational challenges—such as platform endurance, sensor coordination, and data standardization—remain underexplored. The global collaboration network exhibits a “strong hubs, weak bridges” pattern, limiting transnational knowledge integration. This review highlights the imbalance between surface-level innovation and deep technological maturity and calls for a paradigm shift from fragmented application responses to integrated systems development. Our findings provide strategic insights for researchers, policymakers, and funding agencies to guide the next stage of UAV-RS evolution. Full article

Higher education has long been subject to feminist critique, contesting traditional practices, with calls for transformative pedagogies that empower marginalised students, address social injustices and promote gender equality. Despite this, most classrooms in Western European universities remain largely unchanged, with educators facing the difficulty of imagining and/or enacting decolonial futures within their curricula. However, some progress has been made, particularly the inclusion of transnational scholarship in syllabi and a turn to transformative pedagogies, which allow for alternative ways of interdisciplinary knowing to enter academia. In this paper, we examine this coming together of approaches which promote dialogue and personal reflection to restructure discussions on equality, gender and knowledge production in the ‘classroom’. Using a creative critical account of feminist ethnography conducted at a Western European university, we present and discuss two illustrative vignettes about cultural mapping and critical fabulation, considering how dissonant voices have challenged Western concepts, exemplifying transformative pedagogy working in tandem with transnational thought. Key insights from the study identify approaches for facilitation of more open and richer discussions to reshape staff and student perspectives of gender, equality and knowledge production. Full article

This study examines how U.S. immigration policies enact legal violence and multigenerational punishment through the spousal reunification process, particularly in mixed-status, transnational families. Building on the concept of “deportability,” we introduce “importability” to describe a beneficiary’s potential to secure permanent residency, which varies according to social markers such as race, gender, and region of origin. Drawing from a content analysis of threads on the Immigration Pathways (IP) web forum, we analyze discussions among U.S. citizen petitioners navigating marriage-based green card applications, with a focus on experiences involving administrative processing (AP) (i.e., marriage fraud investigations). Our findings show that couples who do not align with the state’s conception of “proper” family—particularly U.S. citizen women petitioning for Black African partners—face intensified scrutiny, long delays, and burdensome requirements, including DNA tests and surveillance. These bureaucratic obstacles produce prolonged family separation, financial strain, and diminished sense of belonging, especially for children in single-parent households. Through the lens of “importability,” we reveal how legal violence and multigenerational punishment of immigration policies on mixed-status families beyond deportation threats, functioning as a gatekeeping mechanism that disproportionately affects marginalized families. This research highlights the understudied consequences of immigration policies on citizen petitioners and contributes to a broader understanding of inequality in U.S. immigration enforcement. Full article

This study examines the added value of territorial cooperation within the LEADER approach, a key pillar of the EU’s rural development policy. Both interterritorial and transnational cooperation projects empower Local Action Groups (LAGs) to tackle common challenges through innovative and community-driven strategies. Drawing on over 3000 projects since 1994, LEADER cooperation has proven its ability to deliver tangible results—such as joint publications, pilot projects, and shared digital platforms—alongside intangible benefits like knowledge exchange, improved governance, and stronger social capital. By facilitating experiential learning and inter-organizational collaboration, cooperation enables stakeholders to work across territorial boundaries and build networks that respond to both national and transnational development issues. The interaction among diverse actors often fosters innovative responses to local and regional problems. Using a mixed-methods approach, including case studies of Italian LAGs, this research analyses the dynamics, challenges, and impacts of cooperation, with a focus on learning processes, capacity building, and long-term sustainability. Therefore, this study focuses not only on project outcomes but also on the processes and learning dynamics that generate added value through cooperation. The findings highlight how territorial cooperation promotes inclusivity, fosters cross-border dialogue, and supports the development of context-specific solutions, ultimately enhancing rural resilience and innovation. In conclusion, LEADER cooperation contributes to a more effective, participatory, and sustainable model of rural development, offering valuable insights for the broader EU cohesion policy. Full article

What can hybridity teach us? The answer I posit is–like water–to embrace movement in all its forms. We are currently experiencing the sixth mass extinction event on earth and yet few scholars give prolonged attention to how we are to sustainably move our human inheritances forward on this increasingly uninhabitable planet. Reflecting on the work of transnational poets, specifically South Korean poet Kim Hyesoon translated through Korean American poet Don Mee Choi and Lebanese American poet Etel Adnan, we are reminded of the myriad ways in which humans can move and survive in a foreign yet familiar world. This paper finds its support in the confluence of transnational contemporary feminist poetics, formalism, environmentalism, and posthumanism. Through the use of various critical discourses, this paper considers how movement and its hybrid capacities offer a new understanding of contemporary North American poetics. In this sense, a poem should be viewed as a dynamic temporal cybernetic system, a vessel, full of energy, simultaneously pulsing with the changing movements and constrictions of everyday life. Full article

The Altay oasis, located at the heart of the transnational ecological conservation zone shared by China, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia, is a region with tremendous potential for water resource utilization. However, with the continued expansion of agriculture, its ecological vulnerability has become increasingly pronounced. Within this fragile balance lies a critical opportunity: efficient water resource management could pave the way for sustainable development across the entire arid oasis regions. This study uses a decision tree model based on a feature threshold to map the spatial distribution of major crops in the Altay Prefecture oasis, assess their water requirements, and identify the coupling relationships between agricultural water and land resources. Furthermore, it proposed optimization planting structure strategies under three scenarios: water-saving irrigation, cash crop orientation, and forage crop orientation. In 2023, the total planting area of major crops in Altay Prefecture was 3368 km², including spring wheat, spring maize, sunflower, and alfalfa, which consumed 2.68 × 10⁹ m³ of water. Although this area accounted for only 2.85% of the land, it consumed 26.23% of regional water resources, with agricultural water use comprising as much as 82.5% of total consumption, highlighting inefficient agricultural water use as a critical barrier to sustainable agricultural development. Micro-irrigation technologies demonstrate significant water-saving potential. The adoption of such technologies could reduce water consumption by 14.5%, thereby significantly enhancing agricultural water-use efficiency. Cropping structure optimization analysis indicates that sunflower-based planting patterns offer notable water-saving benefits. Increasing the area of sunflower cultivation by one unit can unlock a water-saving potential of 25.91%. Forage crop combinations excluding soybean can increase livestock production by 30.2% under the same level of water consumption, demonstrating their superior effectiveness for livestock system expansion. This study provides valuable insights for achieving sustainable agricultural development in arid regions under different development scenarios. Full article

This article explores the potentialities of “translanguages” as a lens for interpreting transnational women authors whose writing navigates multiple languages. By “translanguages”, we refer to the generation of a collage that results either from the writer’s alternation of various languages within the same work or from their concoction of a language of their own that reappropriates the contents and expressions of various source languages. We will illustrate our tenets by exploring case studies from Assia Djebar and Maxime Garcia Diaz. By resorting to feminist close-reading methodology, we intend to interrogate the possibilities of interpretation (and their limits) from a socially situated position. This, in turn, involves our approach to how the authors’ multiple languages interact and operate upon one another to create meaning and, last but not least, our analysis of the extent to which the transnational and translingual position of these authors shapes our own situated interpretations of the texts as readers. Full article

From the mid-Ming to early Qing dynasties, Mount Jizu 雞足山 in Yunnan achieved unexpected prominence within China’s Buddhist sacred landscape—an event of regional, national, and transnational significance. Employing an explicit comparative lens that juxtaposes Jizu with China’s core-region sacred sites like Mount Wutai and Emei, this study investigates the timing, regional dynamics, institutional mechanisms, and causal drivers behind the rapid ascent. Rejecting teleological narratives, it traces the mountain’s trajectory through four developmental phases to address critical historiographical questions: how did a peripheral Yunnan site achieve national prominence within a remarkably compressed timeframe? By what mechanisms could its sacred authority be constructed to inspire pilgrimages even across vast distances? Which historical agents and processes orchestrated these transformations, and how did the mountain’s symbolic meaning shift dynamically over time? Departing from earlier scholarship that privileges regional and secular frameworks, this work not only rebalances the emphasis on religious dimensions but also expands the analytical scope beyond regional confines to situate Mount Jizu within national and transnational frameworks. Eventually, by analyzing the structural, institutional, and agential dynamics—spanning local, imperial, and transnational dimensions—this study reveals how the mountain’s sacralization emerged from the convergence of local agency, acculturative pressures, state-building imperatives, late-Ming Buddhist revival, literati networks, and the strategic mobilization of symbolic capital. It also reveals that Mount Jizu was not a static sacred site but a dynamic arena of contestation and negotiation, where competing claims to spiritual authority and cultural identity were perpetually redefined. Full article