Shared History Research Articles

History Politics in the Russian – Ukrainian Relations, the 2000s–2022: Shared Past as a Casus Belli

Abstract The article summarizes the history of the Russian–Ukrainian encounters in memory politics from the 1990s to the start of the 2020s. It compares and contrasts Russia’a and Ukraine’s perceptions of the issues, goals, tasks, and methods of historical policy. Having a shared history and similar challenges in developing identities and tackling the politics of commemoration, the cultural elites and governments of both countries approached the task of identity-building from opposite perspectives. These differences stemmed from different interpretations of one’s nation’s place and role in world history. The article summarizes all critical points of disagreement regarding how the two countries understood their shared past and interpreted it. It observes the history of the joint initiatives between Russia and Ukraine to reconcile confronting narratives. The analysis shows how the shared past perceived and conceived in divergent ways amounted to the mnemonic anxiety and securitization of the collective memory clash of antagonistic versions of the past and triggered the conflict and war.

Silent Stories: Reporting Armenia in Turkey's Independent Media

ABSTRACT Since the mid-2000s, civil dialogue initiatives between the Armenia and Turkey in journalism and media have sought to foster connections and responsible reporting. The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 disrupted these efforts mainly due to Turkey’s role in the conflict. This article explores the relationship between independent news media in Turkey and peace journalism in the context of Armenia-Turkey relations. Rather than assessing the effectiveness of peace journalism, the article aims to contribute to anthropological studies by examining how journalists interpret peace journalism principles in their coverage of Armenia. The research is based on interviews with independent journalists in Armenia and Turkey, mostly working in foreign news services of self-identified independent organizations. With examples on reporting the Armenian Genocide and the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, the article argues that despite civil dialogue promotion, peace journalism is not widely practiced in Turkey for two main reasons: (i) the political and economic precarity experienced by independent journalists under the conditions imposed by an authoritarian government, and (ii) deep-rooted and context-specific journalism norms. In the processes of continuity, selectivity, and interruptions in the transmission of journalistic culture, the independent media scene of Turkey hesitates to establish direct connections to the shared history with Armenia.

The refugee relief program for overseas Chinese students and Sino-British relations during the Pacific War

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, some students from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) went to the mainland of China. The British government started a refugee relief program that was initially meant to help students from HKU, but gradually expanded the program to cover ethnic Chinese students from other British colonies as well. The program was strongly opposed by the Chinese government because it was perceived as serving the purpose of continuing British jurisdiction over their colonial subjects. The Chinese government saw helping those students as its exclusive responsibility because they were considered Chinese nationals. The fact that China and Great Britain fought over this issue in 1943 when they were engaged in negotiating a new treaty is indicative of both the changes in how extraterritoriality was exercised and of the attempt of the Chinese government to assert its sovereign rights as a major world power. Hence, issues regarding overseas Chinese are intimately connected to China’s war against Japan and the country’s struggle against imperialism and colonialism. Taking advantage of the multiplicity of their status as overseas Chinese, as college student, and as wartime refuge, the ethnic Chinese students managed to receive aid from both the Chinese and British governments. Their story illustrates the shared history between HKU and the mainland of China during World War II and reminds us of the need to reexamine the unequal relationship between China and Great Britain since the mid-19th century from the ethnic Chinese angle.

Unique demographic history and population substructure among the Coorgs of Southern India

The fascinating genetic architecture of today’s Indian population is the result of thousands of years of population mixing and eventual isolation. The Coorgs are one such small and religiously/socioculturally homogeneous community in Karnataka, India, whose origins and demographic history are much debated due to their stark sociocultural contrast with surrounding populations. Here, we analyzed Coorgs using both autosomal (n = 70) and uniparental markers (n = 144). Our analyses suggest population substructure among Coorgs and showed significant population drift in Coorg3 in both allele frequency and haplotype-based analysis methods. Further sharing of haplotype and identity by descent suggests a shared genetic history of Coorg1 with the Palliyar population, and founder event analysis clearly indicates that the founder event in Coorg1 was around 40 GBP (Generations Before Present). The demographic models based on fastGlobeTrotter and Moments highlighted the recent admixture of Coorg3 with the northwest Indian Sikh Jatt population (~23 GBP); and also showed that Coorg2 was formed by mixing Coorg1 and Coorg3 at ~11 GBP, explaining their current sociocultural homogeneity. F-statistics-based admixture graph models suggest an as yet unknown lineage in Coorg3. mtDNA analysis revealed about 40% South Asia-specific mitochondrial lineages in Coorgs; while Y chromosome analysis revealed a predominance of Eurasian, Middle Eastern, and Indian-specific haplogroups, suggesting male-mediated migration and eventual assimilation with native females. These insights into ancient and diverse genealogies among Coorgs not only explain their unique status in the Indian diaspora but also encourage further research to identify unknown migrations to the Indian subcontinent and thus further unravel its unique demography.

Archaeology and Cultural Lineage in Of One Blood

The racial commentary in Pauline Hopkins' Of One Blood; or, The Hidden Self (1903) is initially explicit: as she proclaims in the title, all races are "Of One Blood," the product of a shared history. In reality, however, Hopkins presents a far more nuanced argument about the nature of race and knowledge. Several of Hopkins' characters explore this issue by embarking on an archeological expedition to Ethiopia that mirrors a practice of expedition common among certain Americans at the time of the novel's publication. This expedition is interesting because of its historical and textual contextualization within a transition in the field of archaeology from an atmosphere of amateur antiquarianism to one of scientific professionalism. This positioning allows Hopkins to question the modes of knowledge that both techniques represent. In so doing, she displays what is invisible to Western ways of knowledge by exploring an Africanist approach to thought. The nature and results of the archeological expedition to Africa in Of One Blood suggest that the inclusion of African Americans in historically white intellectual spheres was inadequate without the recognition and respect of a unique African American mode of knowledge. Hopkins's claim that humanity is "of one blood" (193) is not an argument for a desegregated western academia but for the inclusion and recognition of African American cultural lineage.

Land Governance and the Search for an Appropriate Model in Postcolonial Lesotho (1965–1979)

This article examines Lesotho’s complex land governance challenges, shaped by a unique history of traditional authority and colonial influence. Historically, land in Lesotho was held in trust by the king, who delegated governance to local chiefs. The British colonial administration later introduced Roman-Dutch Law, creating a dual legal system that divided governance between rural (traditional) and urban (statutory) areas. This legal duality disrupted customary land management and led to conflicts between chiefs and government authorities, as traditional leaders resisted policy changes that diluted their land governance powers. Using historical analysis, this study adds significant value to the broader discourse of land governance. It found that land governance challenges are unique to each country despite shared history and region. Southern Africa is characterised by large-scale conflicts and armed struggle over land; however, this study found that Lesotho’s land governance challenges stem mainly from legal pluralism. Despite repeated attempts at reform, unresolved land governance issues led to frequent amendments, complicating the Act’s implementation. This analysis traces Lesotho’s journey through various governance models, highlighting the enduring challenges to establishing a cohesive land governance framework.

What is left of BreadTube?

This contribution investigates the case of “BreadTube”, a leftist counterpublic that first formed on YouTube in opposition to the dominance of right-wing voices and networks on the platform. To gain a better understanding of the inner workings of this media-based collectivity, this article analyzes an internal controversy to reconstruct the tacit assumptions of various participants about the counterpublic’s aims, values, shortcomings as well as its economic and technological prerequisites. To capture the controversy for exploration, an innovative approach was employed that adapts Clarke’s Situational Analysis as a framework to integrate both interpretative mapping and computational network analysis to properly account for the videos high level of intertextual referentiality as well as their algorithmic interrelatedness. This digitally and visually enhanced Situational Analysis framework was able to deliver a comprehensive insight into the complex and dynamic constellation of perspectives and segments BreadTube is composed of and illuminated arenas in which adverse interests overlap and conflict arises over questions of representation, legitimacy, shared history, and resource allocation.

Interaction network of Phoradendron and its hosts and the influence of phylogenetic, geographic, and environmental factors on the probability of interaction.

Phoradendron (Santalaceae) mistletoes consist of approximately 230 hemiparasitic species across the Americas. As obligate hemiparasites, their distribution depends partly on the distribution of their hosts, reflecting a shared evolutionary history. Using network analysis and statistical modeling, we explored the bipartite host-parasite network, focusing on species organization and the likelihood of hosts sharing a Phoradendron species based on phylogenetic, geographic, and environmental factors. Our analysis suggests a modular and highly specialized interaction network influenced by evolutionary and biogeographical factors. Phoradendron parasitized hosts in genera from various families and orders, primarily Fabales, Malpighiales, and Sapindales. The network exhibited modularity and connectivity, with hosts sharing a higher likelihood of being parasitized by the same Phoradendron species when they were closer in phylogeny, geography, and environment, while phylogenetic distance emerged as the most relevant determinant. Moreover, we established a link between Phoradendron within-module connectivity and host phylogenetic distance, providing an evolutionary framework for understanding ecological patterns and network connectance. The network of Phoradendron-host interactions is highly specialized, and the structure of this network depends mainly on the phylogenetic distance of the hosts.

Archaeological Sites in the Midst of War: Khirbet Keila, Palestine, a Case Study

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the consequences of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on Khirbet Keila, one of Palestine’s archaeological sites, referenced in the Amarna letters and other ancient sources. To determine the extent and volume of recent looting activities at this site, we visited it six times over a nine month period and documented all looting pits, using written records, cameras, and drone photographs. Our research shows that this site, like other archaeological sites in the West Bank, has suffered significant damage from antiquities looters, demonstrating the ongoing threat to the site’s historical integrity. By highlighting the vulnerabilities of archaeological sites such as Khirbet Keila, this study advocates for immediate protective measures and increased international awareness of the preservation of cultural heritage in conflict zones, with the goal of fostering dialogue about how to protect our shared history in the face of ongoing turmoil.

Shaping the status of indigenous languages through policy: Kurukh in Bengal

ABSTRACT Imposed political boundaries have an enormous impact on language communities. In this paper, we explore the status of an indigenous language in a region that has a long, shared history and culture. Focusing on two areas across a political border, i.e. Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, this paper examines the major language policies and practices of the two regions in relation to Kurukh and compares the use of Kurukh with references to the policies across the border. Data was collected from six groups of Kurukh-speaking adult community members based in Rangpur (Bangladesh) and Alipurduar, West Bengal (India) which was analysed using the themes of ‘profit’ and ‘pride’ associated with Kurukh. The study revealed commonalities in the two contexts as well as identified important sociolinguistic differences that are likely to determine the trajectory of Kurukh. Informed by the data emerging from the study, we propose some policy recommendations that are feasible and can be useful in protecting the Kurukh language and culture in Bangladesh and India.

Towards multicultural memory: Struggles over a muslim cemetery in post-Civil War Asturias, Spain

This article traces struggles over a Muslim cemetery in post-Civil War Asturias, Spain, highlighting the centrality of multicultural memory in creating an inclusive contemporary society. Drawing on theories of multiculturalism put forth by Civil Sphere Theory and the British School of Multiculturalism, we shed light on the bifurcating cultural narrative of the civil (victim) and uncivil (perpetrator) and its grasp on collective memory, complicating this still-dominant perspective through the ambivalent and unsettling role of the Moroccan Muslim soldier. We argue that largely hidden Muslim cemeteries throughout contemporary Spain, such as our case study in Barcia built during the Spanish Civil War, serve as a starting point for thinking about enduring spatial and cultural exclusions in Spain’s civil sphere: that is, those who are deemed civil or uncivil in both present and past, kept apart through their association with danger, threat, and deviance from Spanish values/norms. We further emphasize not only national but also regional social, cultural and political configurations that give shape to understandings of who belongs, both in life and after death. Drawing on ethnographic visits to the cemetery, interviews with local stakeholders in the cemetery, as well as local and regional archives, we develop a theory of multidirectional memory, that is: the overlap and interference of memories that help to constitute the public sphere, specifically by expanding the range of imagined life experiences for the members of a society—thereby expanding the imagined community in the present through recognition of a shared history.

The Dimming of the Illuminated State

This is an attempt to set in poem the reintroduction of South Africa to international trade after apartheid and trace it to today, with its historic ties to its colonial masters and Western powers, its look eastward and its engagement with peers in the Global South and on the African continent. It is a journey with many twists. South Africa maintains strong ties with the European Union, United States and China, all major importers of its agricultural goods and commodities like gold. South Africa has played a leading role in shaping trade policy in southern Africa though it must tread carefully. It has also highlighted concerns of the Global South and taken steps to move away from investor–state dispute settlement. The African continent is rising and, alongside other nations, it has immense potential. The future belongs to Africa—if it is bold. South Africa must play its part. The Dimming of the Illuminated State In southern winds where dreams once ignited, The embers of which still glow red. Is the land of green, hurt and hope A leader amongst leaders, but will it lead? It met its peers emerging after seclusion. But looked away to those beyond For its burgeoning nation Needed succour most deep. A history there was of trade routes old, Diamonds and gold, a story told. Filled with colonial echoes, a heavy toll, Yet, resilience rises, a determined soul. Apartheid’s grip, a darkened hour, Trade shackled by an unjust power But winds of change began to blow Trade policies shifting, a hopeful glow. And so, it walked the path Of obsequious nature To beg through giving away The valued rule of law Replacing their courts, with others Though South Africa stood, a beacon bright. Trade policies unfurled their sail, A journey began to move forward by stepping back. To Europe’s shores, the gaze did steer, New alliances, dispelling fear. At what cost though, Trade is a bridge to unity. The needs of its nations together Focused it to itself. Therein it found the clash. In outward form to its internal needs Stepping forward once more It found its voice. In protecting its forests and people Its communities and its rules Leading to a battle it lost Twice, it fell, was punished through lawfare. For its friendship, for its giving nature Once it escaped with wounds On the horizon, a broader view, Trade not just with the red, white, and blue. In Africa’s embrace, a call resounds, Trade with neighbours, on common grounds. The neighbours, of the same place and mind Not only Cape to Cairo, a continent-wide span, But also, of a common Southward vision Across oceans wide, all standing after being held down. The movements from before Partly re-enacted. Coalitions formed of shared history. Of shared interest, however untrue The neighbours close, linked. Through trade past and future Chose to learn lessons together. Of protecting forest and people Across the savannas, rivers, and mountains Intra-African trade, a master plan. Borders fade, unity found, Trade the heartbeat, a rhythmic sound. Minerals and resources rich, Trade corridors, a strategic pitch. Investments bloom on African soil, A shared destiny, a common toil. Fear of harm done Of moneys thrown away Of having lost their will and favour Of their peoples, desperate for opportunities However, this inward-looking process Delays aspirations Sometimes stops the true cooperation. Hinders closeness and raises fears. Pretoria’s hills to the Eastern Cape’s shore, Trade policies evolving evermore. Bridges to be built, connections have grown, A tapestry woven, both fast and slow. First the path closes ranks with neighbours. Ideas grow and solidify. Concrete steps move the region together. Only for the need to break the walls. Through savannas wide, and deserts vast, Trade’s journey unfolds, a story cast. A symphony played, harmony and cacophony, In the trade of ideas, a global board. Then talks upon talks upon talks unfold. With others fighting off the yoke of history past The two steps forward, one step back The conversations are hard, deep, and effective. From Drakensberg peaks to Kalahari’s heat, South Africa’s trade, a heartbeat. In the dance of nations, hand in hand, A policy journey, across the land. On the continent an understanding grows. We stand together, centre Africa. All the while encouraging collective change. For all our peoples To work together, means no one runs ahead. Talk with one voice. Pull up those that need it. Leading without being a leader The dimming of the illuminated state A dire possibility, but is being fought against If only we hold onto newly forged friendships Newer ties as well as the old The tale continues, winds of change blow, Trade’s epic poem, in ebb and flow. In the Southern Cross’s guiding light, South Africa’s trade, a beacon bright.

“All the sisters of the world”: pan-Slavic conspiracies and the weaponization of womanhood

ABSTRACT The article looks at the development of the idea of pan-Slavism, historically dating back to the 19th century, and its reincarnation across Czech and Slovak online conspiracy spaces, particularly Telegram channels, focusing on how the notion of “sisterhood” is discussed and developed in them. The analysis highlights two dimensions of Pan-Slavic sisterhood: (a) an imagined community built on symbolic references to a shared history and (b) a unit of political organization that emphasizes the role of women in restructuring society according to a “tradition” based in this imagined history. It argues that sisterhood is, similar to the tradwife movement in the US, rooted in a deeper ideological critique of neoliberal society and, ultimately, employed as a tool of female empowerment. Methodologically, the analysis relies on ethnographic methods (participant and non-participant observation and ethnographic content analysis).

Let's Dare to Be Vulnerable: Crossing the Self-Disclosure Rubicon.

Physician self-disclosure is frequently employed intentionally to establish rapport, cultivate trust and reciprocity, convey empathy, offer hope and reassurance, or strengthen the credibility of clinical recommendations. Self-disclosure of mental health issues is very personal and is considered to be outside the scope of the patient-physician relationship. This narrative tells my story as a primary care physician trying to help a patient having anxiety and depression. As part of our ongoing motivational discussions, I shared my personal history of mental health issues. Does self-disclosure enhance client-patient rapport and treatment success, or does it hinder such processes?In this case, my self-disclosure successfully overcame impasses in the patient's treatment. Relevant self-revelation accelerated therapy and encouraged my patient to comply with his medication treatment.

Reimagining the (Supra)nation, Remaking the State: The Yugoslav Idea and Ante Marković's Party

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the reimagining and representation of the Yugoslav idea by the Alliance of Reformist Forces (SRSJ), a party established by federal Prime Minister Ante Marković in 1990. The SRSJ sought to reshape the structure of the federal state and revive the narratives of shared history and culture foundational to the Yugoslav multinational and supranational community. This conception includes both similarities with and departures from interpretations of Yugoslavism during the socialist and late‐socialist eras. The SRSJ's approach, which both challenged and was directly targeted by ethnic nationalisms, offers insights into Yugoslavia's failed transition, and these developments need to be understood within the broader context of the restructuring of the European political space between 1989 and 1992.

Interlocking Narratives: Reconnoitering the Bond and Intersection of Africana women and Africa in Haile Gerima films.

This article examines the bond and intersection between Africana women residing outside of the continent and Africa, as portrayed in the films of Haile Gerima. Employing qualitative analysis, it scrutinizes the narrative and thematic elements from his works Child of Resistance (1972), Bush Mama (1976), Ashes and Embers (1982), and Sankofa (1993). The focus of the analysis rests on the shared history and memory between Africana women and their African roots, using insights from the Africana womanist theoretical viewpoint. Africana Womanism emphasizes the special experiences and challenges faced by women of African descent. It also stresses the importance of male alliance with women to fight gender inequality and create a fair society. Identifying Gerima as a male filmmaker who is concerned with Africana women’s cinematic representation, the study of his films reveals links between African heritage and the complex issues of race, class, and gender related to their historical reality. Historical and social themes of slavery, anti-colonial struggles, and African culture connect these realities. He also uses the films to create stories that connect the burdens of past injustices with the strength and activism of Africana women today. Through this lens, Gerima’s works emerge as a vital male contribution to the discourse surrounding Africana women.

Încă o privire din Polonia asupra Moldovei

A „dossier” preserved in the Vatican Archives, entitled Regni et Regnum Poloniae in Valachorum, comprises a selection of Polish sources related to the history of Moldavia and Wallachia. The collection drew on humanist authors, such as Kromer, Wapowski and Gorecki, and covered a significantly period of time. Most likely, the file was prepared by the Polish court for pope Clement VIII or for his close collaborator cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini. The collage includes references to the origins of the Wallachians, to their language and customs, and to their history. As one would expect, special attention was paid to the historical relationship between Poland and Moldavia, from mid-fourteenth to mid-sixteenth century. To the same „dossier” was added a piece on the roxolans, viewed as pertaining to the Slavic and Orthodox sphere. The purpose of this „dossier” was to provide potential readers with key-sources on Polish-Moldo-Wallachian shared history.

Insights into Cordilleran collisional processes: Early shared history of the Eocene Siletzia and Yakutat terranes as a ridge-centered oceanic plateau

Abstract A regional network of dextral strike-slip faults along the northwestern margin of North America separates crustal fragments of early Eocene oceanic plateau crust by ~1600 km. In this study, we test the hypothesis that both the Siletzia terrane (Pacific Northwest) and Yakutat terrane (southern Alaska, USA) had a shared origin and early history prior to strike-slip separation. New high-precision U-Pb zircon geochronology (chemical abrasion–isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry) from the volcanic strata of the Yakutat oceanic plateau (Hubbs Creek volcanics; HCV) yield an eruption date of 56.26 ± 0.12 Ma, matching the age of the oldest part of Siletzia volcanic strata. The pelagic siltstone of Oily Lake overlies the HCV and is interbedded with a tuff that yields an eruption date of 55.672 ± 0.079 Ma. These strata are coeval with and have similar depositional settings as the precollisional strata of Siletzia. Our findings are consistent with the initial construction of both terranes as conjugate oceanic plateaus that formed on different sides of an Eocene spreading ridge offshore the Pacific Northwest.

Subspecies phylogeny in the human gut revealed by co-evolutionary constraints across the bacterial kingdom.

The human gut microbiome contains many bacterial strains of the same species ("strain-level variants") that shape microbiome function. The tremendous scale and molecular resolution at which microbial communities are being interrogated motivates addressing how to describe strain-level variants. We introduce the "Spectral Tree"-an inferred tree of relatedness built from patterns of co-evolutionary constraint between greater than 7,000 diverse bacteria. Using the Spectral Tree to describe over 600 diverse gut commensal strains that we isolated, whole-genome sequenced, and metabolically profiled revealed (1) widespread phylogenetic structure among strain-level variants, (2) the origins of subspecies phylogeny as a shared history of phage infections across humans, and (3) the key role of inter-human strain variation in predicting strain-level metabolic qualities. Overall, our work demonstrates the existence and metabolic importance of structured phylogeny below the level of species for commensal gut bacteria, motivating a redefinition of individual strains according to their evolutionary context. A record of this paper's transparent peer review process is included in the supplemental information.

Comparative Population Genomics Unveils Congruent Secondary Suture Zone in Southwest Pacific Hydrothermal Vents.

How the interplay of biotic and abiotic factors shapes current genetic diversity at the community level remains an open question, particularly in the deep sea. Comparative phylogeography of multiple species can reveal the influence of past climatic events, geographic barriers, and species life history traits on spatial patterns of genetic structure across lineages. To shed light on the factors that shape community-level genetic variation and to improve our understanding of deep-sea biogeographic patterns, we conducted a comparative population genomics study on seven hydrothermal vent species co-distributed in the Back-Arc Basins of the Southwest Pacific region. Using ddRAD-seq, we compared the range-wide distribution of genomic diversity across species and discovered a shared phylogeographic break. Demogenetic inference revealed shared histories of lineage divergence and a secondary contact. Low levels of asymmetric gene flow probably occurred in most species between the Woodlark and North Fiji basins, but the exact location of contact zones varied from species to species. For two species, we found individuals from the two lineages co-occurring in sympatry in Woodlark Basin. Although species exhibit congruent patterns of spatial structure (Eastern vs. Western sites), they also show variation in the degree of divergence among lineages across the suture zone. Our results also show heterogeneous gene flow across the genome, indicating possible partial reproductive isolation between lineages and early speciation. Our comparative study highlights the pivotal role of historical and contemporary factors, underscoring the need for a comprehensive approach-especially in addressing knowledge gaps on the life history traits of deep-sea species.