Hydrogen peroxide etching proves useful for germanium

Influence of process variations in the etching of germanium with hydrogen peroxide has been studied, along with damage effects due to radiation. The work advances the knowledge of the etching process for germanium

Weak localization in superconductors: A study of radiation-damaged Nb_3Ir

We have studied the critical temperature T_c, upper critical field, and magnetotransport variation as a function of radiation damage in the low-T_c A15 superconductor Nb_3Ir. We find a nonmonotonic variation in Tc with disorder and analyze these results in terms of the competition between density-of-states effects and weak localization. Magnetoresistance measurements confirm the presence of electron interaction effects associated with weak localization

Populism in world politics: a comparative cross-regional perspective

Populism has become more salient in multiple regions in the world, in developed as well as developing countries. Today it is largely a reaction to social dislocations tied to processes of neoliberal globalisation. As a concept, populism has had a long and contentious history. We suggest that populism has been on the rise alongside new imaginings of what constitutes the ‘people’ and ‘elites’, as the meanings attached to these labels are continually reshaped in conjunction with new social conflicts. These conflicts are intensifying across the globe together with new kinds of social marginalisation, precarious existence and disenchantment with the broken promises of liberal modernity. The article introduces a special issue on Populism in World Politics that seeks to understand general processes involved in the emergence of populist politics along with specific circumstances that affect how it is expressed in terms of identity politics, political strategies and shifting social bases

Populism and feminist politics: The cases of Finland and Spain

While populism has been subject to growing scholarly interest, its relationship to feminist politics has remained conspicuously understudied. This article investigates this relationship by analysing two cases of European populism: left populism in Spain (Podemos), and right populism in Finland (the Finns Party). The questions asked, and the challenges posed to feminist politics from populist political forces are intriguing: How is feminist politics articulated in both left and right populism? What differences can be discerned between left and right populism for feminist politics? To explore this, the article analyses three core dimensions: (1) political representation: descriptive representation (numbers of women, men and minority positions) and substantive representation (policy content in relation to gender equality); (2) populist parties’ formal and informal gender institutions such as internal quotas, gender equality plans and institutional culture; and (3) dedicated spaces for feminist politics such as women’s sections or feminist groups. It is argued that political ideology matters for feminist politics, and while left parties are more responsive to feminist concerns and populism poses specific problems for feminist politics, it is the gendered culture of political parties that ensures both left and right parties are problematic for feminist politics

‘Repeal the 8th’ in a Transnational Context: The Potential of SRHRs for Advancing Abortion Access in El Salvador

This article undertakes a discursive feminist reading of citizenship and human rights to understand, through the cases of Ireland and El Salvador, domestic abortion rights movements as part of a transnational women’s rights movement. While abortion has been partially decriminalised in Ireland, approximately 42 per cent of the world’s women1 of reproductive age still live in a country where abortion is prohibited entirely or only permitted to save a woman’s life or health (Singh et al., 2018, p. 4). In El Salvador, abortion is illegal and those suspected of having the procedure are prosecuted. As in Ireland, since 2012/2013 numerous controversies have brought the issue to wider public attention and have further galvanised the feminist movement to campaign for reform. Feminist abortion rights campaigns in both countries have connected important sites of activism and contestation: civil society, national parliaments, regional human rights systems and the United Nations