International Refugee Law and the Principle of Non Refoulement: Revisiting the case of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and Co vs The People of Cameroon

This paper examines the principles of international refugee law, with a particular focus on the non-refoulement principle as the main pillar of international protection against the forced return of individuals to countries where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. This principle is enshrined in Article 33(1) of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention and reaffirmed by various regional and international human rights instruments. This paper critically examines the highly contested case of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and others v. the People of Cameroon, in which leaders of the Anglophone separatist movement who had sought refuge in Nigeria were allegedly arrested by Nigerian authorities in January 2018 and refouled to Cameroon. On the basis of an analysis of legal scholarship and case law, this paper examines the circumstances surrounding the abduction or arrest of Sisiku and Co. This paper also explores whether the actions of the Nigerian and Cameroonian governments constitute a violation of the principle of non-refoulement and other commitments under international law (legality of arrest). Finally, legal and institutional reforms are recommended to improve adherence to international refugee protection standards not only in Africa but also throughout the world

Stepping into the Void? Examining the Political Trajectories of Cinema and Bande Dessinée in France

In a wonderfully-titled article published in Paragraph in 1992 – ‘How to avoid becoming a middle-aged fogey, with reference to three recent popular French films’ – Keith Reader discusses the literary-inspired, ‘determinedly non-realistic’ (97) direction of late ‘80s film-making in France, considering his chosen films as ‘symptomatic of the ideological and political watering-down of French society’ during the Mitterrand era (108). Despite later reflections from film scholars such as O’Shaughnessy (2010) noting the re-emergence of politically-engaged French cinema from 1995 onwards, by 2015 the then-editor of Cahiers du Cinema, Stéphane Delorme, would lament in a cover story for the journal the ‘vide politique’ of contemporary French cinema, resolutely restricted, as he saw it, to ‘des imageries coupées du réel’. A visual medium more traditionally associated with such a description, the bande dessinée, appears to have followed an opposing thematic trajectory to that of cinema in recent decades. Once largely restricted to juvenile subject matter – although frequently harnessed as a propaganda tool aimed at maintaining already-dominant ideologies amongst its young readerships – the Francophone bande dessinée has, since its 1990s transformation, increasingly engaged with political questions via a growing number of approaches. This article considers how this art form, contrary to the recent thematic evolution of French cinema, has developed since the Mitterrand era to become, arguably, the visual medium of choice for political activism in current-day France. It studies the progression of thematic trends from the emergence of BD reportage in the mid-1990s, to the visual chronicling of French presidential elections from the turn of the millennium onwards, before finally examining the mobilisation of the form in the last ten years as a form of artistic challenge to political decision-making in France and its adoption to this end by journalists and film-makers previously unfamiliar with bande dessinée creation

Advancement and innovation in ancient wine research

This article reviews how recent advances in archaeological and scientific methodologies have introduced a new era of research into ancient wine production and grape cultivation. Our understanding has progressed enormously since early studies in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Analytical tools can now detect and interpret the presence of wine at increasingly granular levels, while collaboration between archaeologists and scientists has explored links between ancient and modern viticulture. We discuss the development and application of ancient DNA, archaeobotany and palynology, organic residue analysis, aerial photography, and geophysical prospection in relation to the cutting-edge exploration of key debates around ancient wine: the evolution of grapevine domestication; identification of production facilities and wine drinking, storage, and transport vessels; characterization of wine properties; and the archaeology of vineyards. In doing so, we also explore future possibilities for the field, including current challenges and limitations in data and method

Preserving History in Copper: Richard Rawlinson’s Collection of Printing Plates

This article examines Richard Rawlinson's remarkable collection of engraved copper plates, a significant yet largely overlooked part of the Bodleian Library's holdings. Rawlinson (1690–1755), renowned as an 18th-century collector and antiquary, amassed a substantial collection encompassing various antiquarian artefacts. This study, rooted in four years of doctoral research, delves into the provenance, manufacture, and intended usage of these plates, integrating traditional archival methods with innovative imaging technologies to reveal new insights into Rawlinson's collecting practices. Notably, the research highlights Rawlinson's unusual acquisition of numerous second-hand plates, which raise questions about his motivations as a collector. Despite the intention to utilise these plates for printing, their potential remained largely unrealised due to resource limitations at the Bodleian Library. The article presents case studies that highlight the transformative potential of modern methodologies in understanding cultural heritage, showcasing the significance of Rawlinson's contributions to the preservation of history through his extensive collection

Layering London’s History: Digital Mapping and Spatial Technologies in Historical Research

The opening decades of the twenty-first century have seen an explosion of spatial approaches to urban history, which have allowed historians to combine analyses to gain new cultural and experiential perspectives on historical cities. New tools and resources have introduced both ways to use historical maps as sources in new light, and new ways to create maps as part of historical research. London has often been at the heart of many of these developments. These approaches have unlocked new ways of understanding the historical city through historical map sources, as well as new ways of conceiving of other kinds of sources through a spatial lens

The Creation of “Medieval” Woodblocks

Elizabeth Savage FSA and Edward Potten FSA reveal intriguing antiquarian dimensions of purported medieval woodblocks

Temporary Protection for Ukrainians in the EU, UK, and Canada

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022, led to the biggest armed conflict in Europe after WWII and forced more than 6 million Ukrainians to flee. This mass exodus induced the implementation of temporary protection policies worldwide, including the unprecedented activation of the Temporary Protection Directive by the Council of the European Union. Although occasionally applied, temporary protection is a relatively understudied concept, prompting the author to investigate its first-ever wide-scale application. The paper compares the temporary protection policies implemented for Ukrainians in the EU, UK, and Canada. The analysis includes descriptions of temporary protection policies in the chosen jurisdictions, their extensions, and the good and bad practices of their implementation. Since the Russo-Ukrainian War has become a protracted armed conflict, preventing most Ukrainians from a safe return, the paper also explores possible ways of their local integration in the EU, UK, and Canada. By comparing temporary protection policies in the mentioned jurisdictions, the author outlines the most preferred policy, making recommendations for policymakers on improving the delivery of current and future temporary protection policies

Reframing the Windrush Scandal as an International Statelessness Crisis

The 2018 so-termed ‘Windrush Scandal’ highlighted the discriminatory actions of the British State against Commonwealth migrants who, having legally settled in the United Kingdom in the postwar period, found their right to remain wrongly challenged by the Home Office. The controversy led to threats of deportation and incarceration for some, while others found they were locked out of the country indefinitely. This article examines some of the ways in which racialised and minority groups can encounter ‘statelessness-like’ experiences in their everyday interactions with the state, as well as exploring some of the far-reaching and unexpected consequences of measures that have historically attempted to limit migration from the Caribbean and the broader Commonwealth to the United Kingdom. Drawing on extensive oral history interviews conducted as part of the project ‘The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context’, this paper argues that the Scandal provides statelessness scholars with a much-needed window into the distinct ways Global North countries have sought to prevent migrants and their descendants, many of whom see themselves as citizens, from full enjoyment of their rights. Ultimately, the author proposes that the (re)positioning of the Windrush Scandal as a crisis worthy of international attention will firmly embed the inclusion of this controversy into the field of statelessness studies, while opening new opportunities for cultural, political and legal exploration of the broader ways in which people’s claims to citizenship recognition can be thwarted, overridden or ignored by the state

The application of geophysical prospection to understand ancient Greek rural island landscapes: Magnetometry survey at Palaiopyrgos, Paros (Cyclades)

Geophysical prospection in Greece has predominantly been applied at ancient urban sites on the mainland and Crete. It is rarely used on Cycladic islands and even less so in rural contexts, despite their centrality to the eastern Mediterranean region and the ability of geophysical techniques to efficiently cover extensive rural spaces and identify archaeological traces of agriculture and landscape exploitation. This study applies magnetometry for the first time on Paros, around the so-called Hellenistic Palaiopyrgos tower, with the aim of detecting the presence of buried ancillary structures and archaeological indications of agricultural activity. Several sub-surface features were identified and are compared to those at similar tower sites in the Cyclades and Greece. We highlight challenges to this approach and possible pathways forward specific to the investigation of rural landscapes. The data captured in this study will also play a central role in the protection of the Palaiopyrgos archaeological site, highlighting a methodological approach to be deployed in other areas that are experiencing rising pressure due to tourism and rapidly expanding development

The ‘Threat’ of “Channel Migrants”: An Exploration into How the UK Media Portrayed People Claiming Asylum

This paper explores how print media in the UK portrayed so-called “channel migrants” during a two-year period preceding a pivotal moment in UK asylum history, where national policy and practice became increasingly exclusionary. This study adopts a corpus linguistics approach to examine the language associated with people on the move in 741 press articles. The findings show during 01/05/19 - 30/04/21 “channel migrants” were predominantly portrayed as ‘a threat’ in newspapers, with some nuance depending on the publication type and terminology used to refer to people on the move. Where possible, findings are disaggregated by gender, showing significant discrepancies between the media framing of female and male “channel migrants”. Finally, this paper offers reflections on a potential relationship between media portrayal and policymaking in the asylum context