Greater Solidarity Research Articles

‘Russian warship, go fuck yourself’: Romantic narratives of the hero in the war of Ukraine

In times of war, ‘heroes’ play a key role. The romantic construction of the ‘heroes’ that defend a righteous cause against a more powerful and unjust enemy often serves as a means to legitimise political narratives and violent actions. The iconic phrase ‘Russian warship, go fuck yourself!’ uttered by a Ukrainian border guard during an imminent Russian attack on Snake Island in February 2022 became a globally known symbol of heroism and resistance that generated great solidarity against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Taking up notions of hero studies in political science and International Relations, and utilising a narrative analysis method that focuses on the elements of setting, characterisation and emplotment, this article examines how British media outlets ( The Guardian, The Times and The Sun) construct the figure of the romantic ‘hero’ within the context of the Snake Island incident, while it also delves into the possible consequences of such heroisation.

Political Attitudes and Sexual Identity in Germany: Examining the Sexuality Gap

AbstractThe association between LGB+ identity and political attitudes in Europe remains relatively underexplored, despite the growing visibility of LGB+ individuals in electoral politics. Existing research tends to focus on a limited range of political attitudes and seldom uses indicators that reflect LGB+ self‐identification. This research note presents new evidence based on original survey data (N = 1,599) from Germany in 2021, which directly measures sexual identity and its association with political attitudes. It shows that self‐identifying as LGB+ (9.63 percent; N = 154) is associated with left‐liberal political attitudes, confirming previous findings from studies in the US and Western Europe. However, in contrast to those studies, LGB+ individuals in Germany do not exhibit more liberal views on migration or greater solidarity with EU member states in financial need. These findings suggest that LGB+ individuals are not always more liberal than heterosexuals.

Education Motto of President Ho Chi Minh - Theoretical Basis of the Orientation of Constructing Philosophy of College Education in Vietnam Nowadays

From the philosophy of life and human morality, Ho Chi Minh's epistemology was raised to a high general level of dialectical thinking on the basic issues of the Vietnamese revolution. The outstanding characteristic of him is to perceive thoroughly and thoughtfully the nature and movement trends of things, phenomena and life processes in relationships, and then, correctly and appropriately solve the development requirements of real life. He grasped the laws of history, creatively applied them and developed them to a new level. The legacies that he left behind have created a system of comprehensive, diverse and rich philosophies, such as: The philosophy of human life, educational philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of great solidarity,... creating a Ho Chi Minh philosophy with the title of a sage, a philosopher, or a schoolman, brilliant thinker, practicing dialectician. Therefore, his educational philosophy and educational motto have profound theoretical and practical value in the direction of modern Vietnamese educational philosophy.

ENIGMA OF SUB-REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN AFRICA: THE CASE OF THE ECONOMIC AND MONETARY COMMUNITY OF CENTRAL AFRICA (CEMAC), 1994-2020

This chapter examines the enigma of Sub-regional economic integration in the Communauté Economique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Central (CEMAC) zone. The sub-regional integration idea was born out of the need for a united Africa during the immediate independence period, to be achieved through a gradual, but steady process. Although instituted in 1994, CEMAC was a re-make of the Economic and Customs Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) created in 1964. CEMAC was established, to promote sub-regional integration among central African states that shared a common legal tender, the CFA franc, through the promotion of trade, a genuine common market and greater solidarity. Albeit recording some inroads, CEMAC lagged behind its objectives, due to tardiness and overall poor implementation of policies, limited technical capacity, divergent attitudes of member states towards integration and absence of sanctions against states that disrespect community norms. The chapter sustains that such diverse political, economic, and socio-cultural impediments could only be halted through a joint approach, for remedial renewal by all stakeholders for a truly integrated economic CEMAC sub-region. This investigation shall be based on secondary and primary data, interpreted qualitatively and presented thematically.

Treatment of the wounded from the war in Ukraine in the trauma networks of the DGU-Requirement, reality and motivation over the course of 18months…

The war in Ukraine and the medical treatment of the wounded in hospitals in Germany has now represented achallenge for more than 15months. The majority of trauma patients were distributed via the general holding center (GMLZ) at the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) by the cloverleaf concept and the trauma networks. Initially, numerous offers of assistance were promoted with great solidarity. For documentation of the current motivation situation and also for identification of the potential for improvement, a2-stage survey of senior physicians in the organized and certified hospitals in the trauma networks was carried out. An online survey of senior physicians of the trauma network hospitals was carried out with asemistructured written questionnaire in December 2022 and afollow-up survey during the Trauma Network Meeting (TNT) Congress in September 2023 in Frankfurt. Of the questionnaires 113 could be evaluated in December 2022 and 70completed questionnaires in September 2023. The answers came from national trauma centers (ÜTZ), regional trauma centers (RTZ) and local trauma centers (LTZ) each with approximately one third. On average 2.7patients were treated in all participating hospitals up to December and up to September no more than 5in more than half of the hospitals overall. The main challenges for all participants at both points in time were the long hospital stay, the demanding pathogen status and sometimes unclarified or not completely covered reimbursement of costs. Nevertheless, more than 80% of the specialist departments received backing from their hospital sponsors as well as their personnel for the continuing treatment of the wounded from Ukraine. The medical and professional challenges in the treatment of the wounded from Ukraine are, as expected, characterized by the demanding injury patterns of the musculoskeletal system and the colonization with multidrug-resistant pathogens. This results in along course of treatment, where the remuneration does not always cover the costs. Despite these challenges the solidarity in the hospitals of the trauma networks is unbroken. Simultaneously, there are numerous possibilities for improvement in order to enhance the prerequisites for future comparable humanitarian assistance jointly with politics.

Marie-Justine Vauthier: vita di un’anarchica tra impegno e solitudine

Marie Vauthier is an anarchist, the only woman from Aosta Valley who took part in the Spanish civil war. Born in a small mountain village, she soon emigrated to France, first to Paris and then to Toulouse, where she came into contact with anarchist and anti-fascist ideas. It was in Toulouse that she was part of a transnational anarchist network. She devoted herself intensively to political engagement and always showed great solidarity. Disappointed by defeat in the war, she shut herself away in solitude, in a world that did not belong to her.

Kenosis to Solidarity: A Reflection on The Church Cracked Open by Stephanie Spellers

The journey of kenosis is the beautiful struggle that each one of us is invited to walk. To let go. To lay down life. In her book The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline, and New Hope for Beloved Community, Rev. Stephanie Spellers says that on this journey of kenosis we, “let die what needs to die, so that God’s new creation can be born. Let the cracks form, let the jar break, so the oil can finally flow free.” But embedded within that journey is a question that we are invited to live: where does the kenotic path lead? This reflection discusses the necessary direction of kenosis toward greater solidarity with all things.

How deep is your love? Patriotism, money and the people in Canton in the early phase of the Sino-Japanese War, 1937–1938

AbstractThis article studies how people, especially the business community, in the southern Chinese city of Canton, responded to the government's fund-raising campaigns in the early phase of the War of Resistance against Japan (1937–45). It challenges the conventional views that the whole city of Canton had wholeheartedly united together in the face of their encroaching enemy, and that people from all walks of life displayed a high degree of patriotism with their self-denying participation in the city's war efforts. Despite the common concern about the threat of looming attack on Canton by the Japanese, this commonality, however, did not help cement the populace into a nationalistic whole with great solidarity, as the state and its publicists hoped. This article also reveals the problem with interpreting socio-political events in this turbulent time through the narrow lens of Chinese nationalism.

Teacher’s stories about teaching newly arrived refugee youths at a vocational upper secondary school in Sweden

This article presents the stories of four teachers teaching newly arrived refugee youths at a vocational upper secondary school. The youths came to Sweden in 2015 and later, and they live in a so-called vulnerable area. This is a period when many unaccompanied children and adolescent refugees arrived in Sweden. The study aims to contribute to knowledge about teaching newly arrived refugee youths and the way these youths can influence teaching in a vocational school. The methodological and theoretical starting point for the study is based on a narrative perspective. The stories are analysed thematically and show that these students have great solidarity with each other, are ambitious, and create a good mood in the classroom. In addition, there is always “someone” who does not believe in democratic values, although most of the students value the Swedish democracy and equality between men and women. The expulsion decision that some students receive affects the teachers’ teaching as well, since it means that they also have to deal with teaching situations where their students’ lives and deaths are involved in the sense that they are refugees threatened by expulsion.

Disrupting Disruptions: Charting and Challenging Notions of Gender in Philippine Feminist Theologizing

The growing discipline of feminist theology in Asia and in the world, which involves many Filipinas, entails an increasing attentiveness to gender diversity beyond heteronormative expectations and a broader sense of solidarity among women and others who have experienced exclusion due to gender. An analysis of writings by Philippine feminist theologians Mary John Mananzan, Judette Gallares, and Agnes Brazal, using a threefold schema of “inclusion/addition,” “deconstruct and transform,” and “critique, reject, and start again,” reveals heteronormative gender assumptions and a pattern of moving beyond these. This shows that feminist theologizing is a very dynamic activity that adapts and responds to new ideas flexibly. One common theme that emerges out of feminist theologizing is the image of the babaylan, which provides an opportunity for greater solidarity with various gender identities as a vernacular resource and root metaphor.

Attitudes of Educated Nigerians towards Varieties of English

This study examines the attitudes of 102 Nigerians towards six varieties of English in terms of status and solidarity: Southern British, Scottish, General American, Acrolectal Nigerian, Non-acrolectal Nigerian, and Ivorian. Using the verbal guise technique, attitudinal evaluations were obtained via an online questionnaire with a six-point semantic differential scale and eight traits. A speaker identification task was also included to examine dialectal awareness. Results indicate that the British, American, and Acrolectal Nigerian varieties received more positive evaluations in terms of status, while greater solidarity was expressed towards the American and both Nigerian varieties. An examination of participants’ responses reveals that accent familiarity and the speaker’s degree of accentedness enhance the listener’s ability to make fine-grained distinctions. These findings are discussed in relation to the acceptability of an endonormative variety in Nigeria.

Crafting relations and feminist practices of access

ABSTRACT In this paper, I explore the terrain of craft knowing as an area of expansion for feminist relational theory toward materials, instruments, and design work. I argue that an un(der)-developed attention to craft marginalizes forms of deep knowledge and relational practice. A lens critically oriented to craft affirms the importance of paying attention to how bodies and materials become-together, especially in sites that are usually overlooked, undervalued, and marginalized. If crafting is inherently relational, then craft training is training to negotiate those relations, and attending to craft is a way of understanding such relations and appreciating the knowledges they express. By attending to craft, one moves into a space of being with others where what we might have been trained to perceive as ‘problems’ are just lived realities, and our bodily, practiced responses to them show up as indications of our tendencies and desires. That attention can, I suggest, be leveraged toward greater solidarity practices, including those of accessibility.

Book Review: Faith After Doubt by Brian D. McLaren

In Faith After Doubt, Brian McLaren formulates doubt as a means to enhance and enrich religious faith. In progressive fashion, doubt is reclaimed as a means to develop faith, such that believers can aim towards a greater solidarity with others and practice revolutionary love. By providing a nuanced analysis of faith, McLaren takes a phased approach where believers experience increased levels of wisdom and spiritual depth as they engage in different levels of doubt. This text may offer assistance to those who have been discouraged and fearful of entertaining doubt in their spiritual lives. Through invoking a healthy skepticism of inherited doctrines passed down by dogmatic Christianity, individuals are provided a means to further develop their faith as opposed to becoming disjointed from it. Much of this text constructs a progressive future for Christianity in an effort to ensure its relevance and continued survival. Beyond the complex analysis given to faith and doubt in this work, it is lacking a robust means to ensure that Christians will enact the revolutionary love McLaren aims to achieve. To impart such a vision of love requires practicing radical hospitality towards the most vulnerable, and believers cannot remain complicit to a toxic form of orthodoxy. Pursuing social justice aims necessitates an activist faith that critically probes dogmatic theology; and by making allowances for the faith commitments of all believers irrespective of consequence, this project remains a tepid means to further a truly progressive evolution of Christianity.

Analysis of different interface treatments between masonry of AAC blocks and reinforced concrete structure after uniaxial compression strength test

Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) masonry is widely used in civil construction but requires further investigation. Hence, this experimental study evaluated three types of interface treatment between the reinforced concrete structure and AAC masonry, in scale, after a uniaxial compression resistance test. The types of interface treatment considered are reinforcement with steel bars, with rough polymeric cementitious mortar, and without treatment. The maximum load capacity, displacements, and occurrence of cracks were analysed. The results showed that the maximum individual load capacity did not significantly differ among the examined groups. However, the analysis of the displacements and cracks showed that the group with steel reinforcement had the smallest displacements and largest cracks. This behaviour is owing to the greater solidarity of forces conferred by steel reinforcement.

COVID-19: ¿De dónde venimos y hacia dónde vamos?

COVID-19: ¿De dónde venimos y hacia dónde vamos?

Quintessence in Ruling the Nation in the History of Vietnam

Quintessence in ruling the nationis the typical features, becoming the culture and traditions of the nation, converging in the spirit, ideology, and personalities of a leader. The State governance by wisdom in Vietnamese history is associated with the consistency in ideology and people-based actions; putting national interests above personal interests; gracious, tolerant attitudes; promoting the spirit of great national solidarity; taking great importance to study ethics, taking significant advantage towards gifted people and practicing democracy widely. In order to practice the state governance by wisdom, the leaders need to put the national interests and national interests as the ultimate, constantly consolidating and promoting the strength of the great national solidarity, at the same time promoting the roles of the leader as well as well performing the work of cadres.

Christianity, Solidarity, and Law

This chapter deals with the connections between Christianity, solidarity, and law and argues that Christianity transformed the Roman law concept of solidarity by redefining it as love to the point of divinization. In this sense, Christian solidarity illuminates and enhances secular solidarity. To the extent that human beings act in greater solidarity with others, they discover their radical unity with all bearers of the divine image. The closer that human solidarity comes to the ideas of love, service, and gratuitousness, the more it manifests the solidarity of the Triune God. Solidarity permeates all dimensions of human existence: the legal, the political, the social, and the spiritual. Therefore, fully implementing solidarity entails a profound spiritualization of society. Christianity plays a decisive role in the achievement of some social objectives of solidarity, such as respect for all persons and their rights; the preferential option for the poor, the sick, and the weakest; the abolition of discrimination; the protection of the planet; and the development of a global law for humanity.

OIC Resolutions on the “Afghan Question” in 1980–1989

This article is devoted to a review of the political position of the Organization Islamic Conference (OIC) and its evolution regarding the Afghan armed conflict of 1980–1989. The source base for the article is the texts of the resolutions on the situation in Afghanistan and the final communiqués of the OIC Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers, the coordination meetings of the OIC Foreign Ministers and the Islamic Conferences at the highest level. The first section of the article examines the extraordinary session of the OIC Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in January 1980, which discussed the “Afghan question” and the decisions taken therein laid the foundations for the OIC's position on the Afghan armed conflict. The second section examines all subsequent OIC resolutions on Afghanistan and their features. The OIC solidarized with the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement in its attitude to the situation in Afghanistan, although there were differences in approaches to certain issues – for example, since January 1980, the OIC began to invite members of Afghan anti-government groups to all Islamic conferences as representatives of this country. The OIC member states in relation to the “Afghan issue” showed greater solidarity within the framework of this organization than the UN member states or the Non-Aligned Movement in relation to the same issue, although individual countries expressed reservations on the “Afghan” resolutions of the OIC. The position of the Organization of the Islamic Conference regarding the Afghan issue remained stable throughout the 1980s, undergoing minor changes.

Covid-19: Early Lessons From A New Paradigm in The Globalization Process

In this research, Covid-19 is analyzed as a disruptive element of the globalization process, which as a result of this pandemic has been demanding profound changes in the structures of global society. For the purposes of this purpose, the present investigation uses a mixed, descriptive type approach, with emphasis on a narrative design, taking into account that the events reported are living history, seen from the perspective of experts and specialists, in the scientific and economic areas. and historical, immersed in the full development of the events related to the pandemic, either as witnesses of exception or as analytical observers. Among the main conclusions of the research, the need to implement structural changes in the neoliberal economic development model is highlighted, to convert it or be replaced by another more integrative model with the environment, responding with greater solidarity among members in global society. The practical conception, under the new paradigm in the globalization process, is that they aim at the design of more inclusive, ethical and respectful, ecologically responsible global public policies, prioritizing the sectors: health, education, economic and financial, that seek to reinforce the systems of man-nature ecosystem, man-nature health, man-nature agriculture, man-nature education, man-nature trade, man-nature infrastructure and continuing investment in man-nature scientific research.

Salomea Kapuścińska wobec narodu i społeczeństwa

Issues related to the writer’s attitude towards his family, Polish literature have been discussed in connection with the hundredth anniversary of Poland regaining its independence falling in 2018. Social and national issues appeared in the works of Salomea Kapuścińska at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s. The Zmilczenia poetry collection (1980), containing references, among others to Słowacki and Sienkiewicz, was not fully legible before the edition of works remaining until 2018 in a typescript form and showing the rebellion of the great Solidarity from the perspective of the Romantic tradition.