Political Authority in International Relations:Revisiting the Medieval Debate

In international relations, accounts of medieval political authority are divided between those who see a heteronomous patchwork of overlapping authorities and those who claim that the era of the state started in the twelfth century. How can we overcome this divide? I argue that IR's current difficulties in grasping the nature of medieval political authority stem from shortcomings in how the notion of political authority itself has been conceptualized. Thus, rather than starting from a substantive definition of political authority, I focus on contestation over the categorization and authorization of rule, that is, on how authority is produced in historically specific ways as a result of contemporary contestation over what political authority is, who is authorized, and how rulers stand in relation to one another. This reorientation allows us to appreciate how medieval political authority emerged from the competition between four sets of ordering categories: iurisdictio, potestas, lord/vassal, and magistrate. Each one of these four categories understood authority, rulers, and the relation between rulers in different ways. The problem with existing accounts of medieval authority is that they attempt to find the single ordering principle of medieval international relations. In doing so, they not only fail to capture the features of the time but also reinforce a particular approach to political authority that is unhelpful for understanding medieval and modern politics alike.</p

CO2 emissions and mitigation policies for urban road transportation: Sao Paulo versus Shanghai

This paper compares the energy consumption, CO 2 emissions and public policies of two mega-cities, Sao Paulo (SP) and Shanghai (SH), in order to identify their GHG emissions mitigation policies. Both cities have experienced rapid growth of the automotive sectors resulting in sizable pollution and CO 2 emission challenges. SP has successfully implemented the ethanol and encouraged the growth of the fleet of light-duty vehicles. SH has coal-based power generation and restricted the ownership of the vehicles in an attempt to reduce GHG emissions, invested in public transportation and electric mobility. Tabular analysis of secondary data was adopted in this study, revealing also that SP has considerably expanded individual transportation. Despite investments in ethanol, the city could not contain the increase in CO 2 emissions from road transportation. SH invested in public transportation and inhibited individual transportation, but also failed to contain CO 2 emissions. Mitigation policies and measures taken were not sufficient to prevent growth of CO 2 emissions in both cities. To reduce CO 2 emissions in transportation, SP and SH should focus on public policies to encourage public and clean transportation and limit the burning of fossil fuels.publishersversionpublishe

Alta prevalência da infecção por Strongyloides stercoralis em idosos do Brasil

SUMMARY Little is known about the frequency of intestinal parasites in the elderly due to a lack of attention given to the occurrence of these infections among older adults. This study compares the frequency of Strongyloides stercoralis and other enteroparasites between elderly living in nursing homes (n = 100) and those noninstitutionalized (n = 100) from Uberlândia, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, associated with data of epidemiological and socio-demographic conditions. Through coproparasitological examination of both groups, enteroparasites were detected in 15 of 200 individuals examined (7.5%; CI: 5.1- 9.9). S. stercoralis was the most frequent parasite 10/200 (5%; CI: 4.2-5.8), being significantly higher in males and in individuals with autonomy for daily living activities. There were no statistical differences in the prevalence of parasites between the two groups compared. In conclusion, S. stercoralis infection was highly prevalent in elderly patients and it does not depend on whether the individual was institutionalized or not.RESUMO Pouco é conhecido sobre a freqüência de parasitas intestinais em idosos devido à falta de atenção dada à ocorrência destas infecções nesta faixa etária. Este estudo compara a freqüência de Strongyloides stercoralis e outros parasitos intestinais entre idosos residindo em lares para idosos (n = 100) e aqueles não institucionalizados (n = 100) de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, região sudeste do Brasil, associados com dados epidemiológicos e condições sócio-demográficas. Ambos os grupos foram submetidos a exames coproparasitológicos. Parasitos foram detectados em 15 dos 200 indivíduos examinados (7,5%; CI: 5,1 - 9,9). S. stercoralis foi o parasito mais freqüente 10/200 (5%; CI: 4,2 - 5,8), sendo significantemente maior em homens e indivíduos com autonomia das atividades diárias. Não houve diferença estatística entre a prevalência de parasitos quando os dois grupos foram comparados. Concluiu-se que a infecção por S. stercoralis foi altamente prevalente em idosos independente se institucionalizados ou não

Reconquest 2.0:the Spanish far right and the mobilization of historical memory during the 2019 elections

This paper brings together the literature on far right parties, medievalism and opinion leadership in order to more closely interrogate the memory politics of the far right. We address two broad questions: what does the mobilization of distant-past events do in far right discourse? And how do these memories circulate online? We unpack one specific case study: the mobilization of the topic ‘La Reconquista’ (The Reconquest) among the computer-mediated networks of one Europe’s newest national-populist parties: Spain’s VOX. First, we show three strategies through which the Reconquest trope reproduced a conservative historiography that creates a transhistorical, exclusionary and Catholic Spanish nation: the creation of memory sites, the glorification of heroes and a specifically antagonistic memory. Second, we show that the one-word nature of the historical narrative, through its Twitter circulation, gave it a crucial ability to mobilize in the context of an election. Finally, drawing from opinion leader theory we show how these Reconquest narratives were put forward by traditional elite actors such as political parties and newspapers, but relied on the role of ordinary citizens to spread and circulate

Phyllactis correae n.sp. (Cnidaria, Actiniaria, Actiniidae) from Atol das Rocas, Brazil, with notes on Phyllactis flosculifera (Lesueur, 1817)

Neste trabalho, descrevemos Phyllactis correae sp. n., provavelmente endêmica do Atol das Rocas, e registramos observações morfológicas, taxonómicas e biológicas sobre Phyllactis ilosculifera (Lesueur, 1817) Phyllactis correae sp. n. difere das demais espécies do gênero por: dimensões e colarinho menores e coloração mais clara, bem como pela ocorrência de um terceiro ciclo de mesentérios totalmente imperfeitos. Um exemplar utilizado para preparações histológicas era hermafrodita e continha plânulas; foi também observada localização anômala de gônadas em alguns exemplares. Sugerimos um adendo à diagnose do genero Phyllactis Milne—Edwards &amp; Haime, 1851 feita por CARLGREN (1949): todos os mesentérios perfeitos ou perfeitos e imperfeitos, hexâmera e regularmente dispostos. Na discussão, além dos problemas taxonômicos, incluímos os aspectos biológicos já observados em ambas as espécies, bem como os relativos á sua distribuição geográfica

The 'mighty girl' effect: does parenting daughters alter attitudes towards gender norms?

We study the effect of parenting daughters on attitudes towards gender norms in the UK; specifically, attitudes towards the traditional male breadwinner norm in which it is the husband's role to work and the wife's to stay at home. We find robust evidence that rearing daughters decreases fathers' likelihood to hold traditional attitudes. This result is driven by fathers of school-aged daughters, for whom the effects are robust to the inclusion of individual fixed effects. Our estimates suggest that fathers' probability to support traditional gender norms declines by approximately 3%age points (8%) when parenting primary school-aged daughters and by 4%age points (11%) when parenting secondary school-aged daughters. The effect on mothers' attitudes is generally not statistically significant. These findings are consistent with exposure and identity theories. We conclude that gender norm attitudes are not stable throughout the life-course and can significantly be shaped by adulthood experiences

Introduction:Historical International Relations

Disciplinary International Relations (IR) grew in part out of the discipline of History. Even so, the subfield of Historical International Relations (HIR) is a relatively new one. A mere decade ago, a handbook such as this one would have seemed unthinkable. Sure, there were books about History and IR (Elman and Elman, 1997) and more on the way (Bukovansky et al., forthcoming), people discussed the “problem of history” in IR (Armitage, 2004; Vaughan-Williams, 2005) and it was asked what history could be in IR (Hobson and Lawson, 2008). These takes nevertheless all supposed either the existence of a divide to be bridged or a continuum where the enterprises of History and IR were commensurable. The emergence and institutionalisation of a distinct subfield over the last decade has radically changed that landscape. Writing in 2020, it is obvious that a burgeoning subfield of HIR not only exists within the discipline, but that it has come to age and is thriving. As the ensuing chapters vividly demonstrate, so much material is being produced that a stock-taking exercise is both possible and necessary. This handbook attempts just such a stocktaking