Magic everywhere? On the Conceptualisation of Jewish Amulets in Museums

Magic is a topic that fascinates scholars and curators as well as visitors to museums. The numerous exhibitions on magic are an expression of the great academic and non-academic interest in this field. This can be understood in the context of the appreciation discourse (‘Aufwertungsdiskurs’) on magic, which Bernd-Christian Otto ascribes to the present day. Previously, in the course of its 2500-year history, the term magic appeared in Greek, Roman, and Christian sources to designate phenomena that were branded as harmful, immoral, fraudulent, or ineffective. Persons defamed as magicians were therefore excluded, devalued, and sometimes threatened with the death penalty. It is therefore not surprising that the use of the term as a positive self-designation was the absolute exception until the end of the 19th century. It is interesting to note that for some observers, similar phenomena could be described pejoratively as magic when encountered outside of the observer’s own context, and yet as miracles when found within it. In its beginnings, the study of religion adopted the negative connotations of the term magic from its roots in Christian theology and the European Enlightenment. Thus, magic as an academic meta-category appeared as the inferior opposite of either religion or science and was especially attributed to non-European cultures

War in Syria: UN peacekeeping mission and deal with Russia are imperative

NATO member states should expel Turkey from membership unless, it withdraws its troops from Syria. To secure the northern border, the UN could offer the immediate deployment of troops to Afrin, which could be extended to a Grand Bargain for other oppositioncontrolled areas. This deal would have to include Russia. Provided that major alliances among the armed opposition consent, shared responsibility for protection by the UN and Russia provides an opportunity for ceasefires, the deployment of UN blue helmets, a reformed state system without Assad and deradicalization programmes. It could be achieved through a Grand Bargain. If Russia is to change its role from an aggressor to that of a mediator, the attacks in eastern Ghouta, Idlib, Hama countryside and elsewhere must stop with immediate effect. The strategic forced relocation of radical fighters by the regime alliances to areas controlled by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), for instance, leads to local populations being terrorized. Growing poverty and financial incentives draw fighters towards extremist groups. Expertise by Russia and the United Nations must be combined to develop and implement de-radicalization programmes if further escalation of terror is to be stopped locally and globally. The moderate civil-political opposition, e. g. Higher Negotiation Committee should be a key actor to shape political reform in the Grand Bargain and to create an internationally acceptable democratic and inclusive framework. Donors should, therefore, continue the financial and ideational support of the opposition. This support, however, ought to be coordinated and allow for self-determined prioritisation of needs (e.g. legal advice, negotiation training)

Engaging refugees and migrants as peace advocates: how Germany can contribute to peace in Syria and Afghanistan

German policymakers - especially of the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), the Federal Ministries of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and of the Interior (MoI), and federal states - and educational organisations should draw upon the engagement of refugees and migrants from Afghanistan and Syria as agents of change who have a positive influence on peace processes. Civic and peace education organisations (such as adult education centres, Civil Peace Service - Ziviler Friedensdienst) should jointly develop new civic engagement for peace programmes that refugees and migrants themselves can join to engage for peace for their country of origin. These programmes should build on refugees' and migrants' past experiences of war, politics and future visions specific to their respective country of origin so that they are meaningful for those engaged and the population groups they represent. GFFO, BMZ, MoI and state governments should provide decentralised funding through civic education institutions (political foundations, bpb, lpbs, ifa) for two types of addressees conducting civic education for peace programmes: Civic and peace education organisations and direct funding for Syrian- and Afghan-led initiatives. They should provide longer-term project funding, funding for independent initiatives, funding to rent meeting spaces and support unbureaucratic and transparent funding application processes. The GFFO should consider providing funding in addition to existing funding lines by the MoI to join expertise on civic education (MoI) and peace support (GFFO). The GFFO should act as a facilitator in linking Afghan- and Syrian-led peacemaking initiatives in Germany with official track 1, 2 and 3 peace processes mediated by bodies like the United Nations (participation, advisory roles)

Meaningful political participation: lessons learnt from UN mediation in Afghanistan and Syria

In this Policy Brief, we present lessons learnt and sub-sequent policy implications from an in-depth analysis of the UN peace processes on Afghanistan and Syria. We argue that in both processes, the ability of peace process participants who come from Afghanistan and Syria to politically participate in their respective process was and is severely limited, thus hindering the prospects of successful conflict transformation. By political participation, we mean that peace process participants not only attend negotiations (“are being included”) but are in a position to (co-) determine who is negotiating the agreement (incl. which representation mechanism is adequate), what is the format of peace-making (incl. methods of consultation), and what are the issues negotiated in which order (agenda-setting). We call this ‘meaningful political participation’. Emphasising “inclusivity” in peace processes over meaningful political participation is highly problematic for potential progress towards longer-term/ sustainable peace. Potential organisers of peace negotiations and related pre- and post-peace agreement measures (whether outside actors or ‘indigenous’) should strengthen political participation and process legitimacy for representatives from the populations concerned. This would contribute to opening a new pathway towards more sustainable peace processes, also beyond the Syrian and Afghan cases

Beyond Doha and Geneva: peacemaking engagement of Afghans and Syrians in North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany

For several decades now, Germany has become home to significant numbers of Afghans, and more recently Syrians, who have fled war. In this Working Paper, we analyse the political engagement for peace by Afghans and Syrians in Germany since the beginning of violent conflict in Afghanistan (1978) and Syria (2011). Departing from an understanding of peace processes as more than summits and diplomatic events, we focus on peacemaking initiatives ‘from below’ by Afghans and Syrians in Germany, with a particular emphasis on activities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), in a long-term perspective. As a guiding research question for this Paper, we ask: To what extent have Afghans and Syrians in NRW and other parts of Germany been able to engage in peacemaking, and how are these efforts linked to official talks and the situation inside Afghanistan and Syria? We argue that the different types of engagement we give evidence of, for instance, rallies, publications, the establishment of associations and even privately initiated dialogue forums for peace, constitute significant building blocks in peace processes. They demonstrate the agency of individuals and groups of Afghan and Syrian background to engage for peace and the potential impact they could have if acknowledged more widely. However, the same individuals and initiatives are usually excluded from official negotiations. In NRW, Königswinter near Bonn hosted the UN-Talks on Afghanistan in 2001, but only few representatives of Afghans in Germany were invited to participate. Similarly, the state of NRW, and Germany as a whole, are home to the highest number of Syrian refugees in Europe, yet hardly any individuals have been part of the Syria negotiations in Geneva. Our research highlights how history writing and research have sidelined organically emerging initiatives for peace from among societies facing war— including among those living abroad. The evidence in this Paper, however, demonstrates that bottom-up engagement of exiles has initiated activities from the grassroots to the highest level, that is comparable to official Track 1 talks that comprise representatives of the major armed factions of a conflict. In conclusion, we argue that such Afghan- and Syrian-led initiatives should receive significantly more scholarly attention and that their consideration will likely change the history writing of war and peace with a much clearer emphasis on the perspective of those who are concerned the most

Situated sustainability: a research programme for conflict-affected settings and beyond

Sustainability is not a universal concept. Instead, research should acknowledge that it is anchored and expressed in many different variations of local practices, understandings and imaginations of resource use across and within significantly different contexts. Presently, the SDG discourse supersedes other understandings of sustainability. Even where it claims to be participatory, it tends to streamline visions and practices of sustainable living along SDG-principles. Researchers should seek deep engagement with stakeholders and disadvantaged communities who are not being given a voice in these processes (slum-dwellers, undocumented migrants, etc.). Researchers, policy and development practitioners should make efforts to balance the ecological bias in sustainability research and implementing practice and acknowledge insights from social science and interdisciplinary fields such as urban planning, peace and conflict research as well as forced migration/ refugee studies. Situating sustainability means co-production of knowledge through input from academics and laypersons alike in research design, analysis, dissemination and implementing change. Urban spaces represent particularly fruitful sites for research because it is here that people of different backgrounds (e.g.migrants, the forcibly displaced, established communities) mix and competing as well as complementing ideas of sustainability might coexist. By combining the three dimensions of the suggested research agenda, i.e., contextualizing sustainability, acknowledging alternative ideas beyond the SDGs and conducting transdisciplinary research, scholars could aid societal transformation that is not only ecological but will eventually call for socio-political changes towards more inclusive, equal and just societies. The research agenda of Situated Sustainability could mitigate associated ethical risks

Safe zone for Syria: mitigating the humanitarian crisis

The protection of civilians remains an urgent task in Syria. Mass atrocities may resume if the political impasse is not overcome. While the government’s allies have gained significant ground with the fall of Aleppo, those who remain in opposition areas, and the governorate of Idlib in particular, face an immediate risk of mass-scale assault. In these areas, targeted aerial attacks on civilian neighbourhoods and infrastructure persist notwithstanding the present ceasefire. A no-fly zone exempting the country’s IS-controlled east is the only effective means of preventing a military resolution of the conflict, which may result in mass atrocities. Given that all parties to the war have continuously violated the provisions of international humanitarian law, none of these actors should be entrusted with the task of preventing atrocities on the ground. While a conflict of interests is likely to erupt between Russia, Hezbollah and Iran as for their respective roles in Syria’s political future, neither of these forces could secure that a renewed escalation of violence is prevented. The mission of the UN Special Envoy de Mistura can regain traction if supported by a new UN Security Council resolution and by offering to opposition forces and Russia as the main guarantor behind the Syrian government to freeze the military status quo through UN troops. The unprecedented scale of displacement has created a high dependency on aid, yet aid distribution has strongly privileged areas under government control. Pull-effects of populations towards those areas where aid is accessible have been the result. The presence of UN troops would not only safeguard safe return by those displaced, but it could also help ensuring a readjustment of imbalances in aid. Small-scale safe zones could prompt unpredictable mass movement towards these zones, which would further enhance IDPs vulnerability to attack. Equally, small-scale safe zones would neither resolve the hardships of forced displacement nor would they protect millions of civilians at risk from attack throughout the country

Schrift als Schutz

Geht man von der Annahme aus, es gäbe ein eindeutiges Magieverbot in der Tora, wäre zu vermuten, dass die Herstellung und Verwendung von Amuletten im Judentum verboten sei. Dies wird jedoch angesichts der zahllosen jüdischen Amulette, die in Museen und Sammlungen weltweit aufbewahrt und auch heute noch hergestellt und genutzt werden, mehr und mehr in Frage gestellt. Der vorliegende Aufsatz basiert auf ersten Recherchen zu meiner religionswissenschaftlichen Dissertation über jüdische Geburtsamulette an der Philipps-Universität Marburg. Dabei soll keine eigene Bewertung der jüdischen Amulett-Tradition vorgenommen werden, sondern es sind die Strategien nachzuzeichnen, durch die die Verwender_innen von Amuletten ihre Praxis als legitimen Bestandteil der jüdischen Religion ausweisen. Dazu wird ein jüdisches Amulett aus den Beständen der Religionskundlichen Sammlung in Marburg als Beispiel dienen.Peer Reviewe