bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Weaponizing Civilian Protection
Authors: 9780198897392  , Gregory Thomas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Civilian protection is often seen as an external restraint on wartime violence, as something that can limit the death and destruction inflicted upon the civilian population. Weaponizing Civilian Protection contests this view, showing how militaries have used it to re-calibrate their violence to make it more effective and to mitigate the harm caused to civilians to make it appear more legitimate. Focusing on the recent conflict in Afghanistan, the book traces how coalition officials tried to re-imagine civilian casualties as a martial concern rather than a humanitarian consideration—as a strategic problem that could imperil the mission. Drawing on interviews with coalition officials and numerous declassified documents, it examines the restrictions coalition officials imposed on combat operations to minimize civilian casualties and the post-incident responses that officials used to rationalize these deaths, including counting the casualties and issuing condolence payments to the victims. Despite claiming to prioritize civilian protection, this book shows how these measures worked to devalue and dehumanize Afghan civilians, leaving their lives profoundly losable and their deaths eminently ungrievable within the prevailing normative framework. Moreover, the book shows that these enhanced protections are more fragile than they might appear, with commanders able to relax these restrictions—or remove them entirely—in conflicts where protecting civilians is not considered critical to mission success.
Introduction
Authors: Gregory Thomas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the arguments outlined in this book. It will explain how and why coalition officials tried to re-imagine civilian casualties as a martial concern rather than a humanitarian consideration during the recent conflict in Afghanistan—as strategic setbacks that could imperil operations rather than collateral damage that is incidental to mission success. The chapter outlines what was behind these changes and the measures that this change enabled, including the restrictions that were imposed on combat operations to minimize civilian casualties and the post-incident responses that were supposed to mitigate their effects. Crucially, it shows how these measures worked to devalue and dehumanize Afghan civilians, constituting their lives as losable and their deaths as ungrievable.
Calibrating Violence
Authors: Gregory Thomas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter contextualizes coalition attempts at weaponizing civilian protection, showing why reducing civilian casualties and mitigating the strategic consequences was considered so important to mission success. It begins with an overview of the biopolitical imperatives that shape contemporary counterinsurgency doctrine, which transform the civilian population from innocent bystanders that have been caught up in a conflict outside their making into a military objective. It then discusses the necropolitical imperatives that follow, explaining what counterinsurgency doctrine says about calibrating lethal force, minimizing unnecessary harm, and mitigating the consequences of these casualties. This chapter reveals why the coalition reframed civilian casualties as a strategic setback rather than a humanitarian concern, linking the political tensions these casualties were creating to strategic concerns about how civilian casualties might increase support for insurgents.
(Not) Compensating Civilians
Authors: Gregory Thomas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Coalition officials disbursed millions in ex-gratia payments to Afghan and Iraqi civilians to make amends for the harm inflicted upon them. These ex-gratia payments were intended as an expression of sympathy rather than an admission of fault, and the programme itself has been criticized for the arbitrary, inconsistent, and low valuation of civilian lives. Rather than viewing ex-gratia payments as a humanitarian response to civilian suffering, this chapter argues that these payments were used as a weapon to legitimize this harm, and to prevent tactical victories becoming strategic setbacks. The chapter will begin with an overview of the ex-gratia schemes introduced during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and then move on to examine the literature on compensating civilians. It will then trace how the coalition tried to weaponize money during these conflicts in order to secure local support, and to prevent civilian casualties jeopardizing this support.
Conclusion
Authors: Gregory Thomas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This concluding chapter connects the arguments outlined throughout the book to nascent debates about developing new policies on protecting civilians, focusing specific attention on the United States Department of Defense Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan and Department of Defense Instruction 3000.17 on Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response. It argues that the documents give commanders considerable latitude to disregard these restrictions in conflicts where protecting civilians is not considered mission critical, and it shows how coalition officials chose to disregard these measures during the latter stages of the conflict in Afghanistan, and during Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Iraq. Against efforts to weaponize civilian protection, the book insists that civilians are neither collateral damage nor strategic setbacks. It maintains that civilians do not deserve to die, and should not be exposed to violence, no matter how carefully it is calibrated.
Administration of Estates in Early-Modern Europe
Authors: Rüfner Thomas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
In early-modern Europe, the administration of estates was governed by a complex interplay of customary rules and provisions derived from Roman and Canon law (ius commune). The chapter demonstrates the characteristic interaction of local custom and the ius commune, taking the regions of northern France and Saxony as the main paradigms. The central issue was the settlement of debts of the estate. Unlike ancient Roman law or modern civil law systems, customary law tended not to make the heir or heirs fully liable for the estate debts. Over time, however, the liability rules became stricter. Since the heir’s liability was originally limited to certain assets of the estate, customary law favoured the automatic acquisition of the estate by the heir without formal entrance upon the inheritance. The position of a testamentary executor was relatively weak under early-modern law. This foreshadows the rules of the French and German civil codes.
Administration of Estates in France
Authors: Pérès Cécile 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter describes and analyses the French rules on estate administration. It begins with a historical overview leading up to the reform of 2006; this confirms the classic principles on which French succession law is based—transmission of assets upon death, immediate apprehension of assets by heirs, unlimited liability for debts—while multiplying and reinforcing the adjustments to these principles. The chapter continues with a study of the acquisition of rights, of administration and administrators of the estate, and of the settlement of debts, and touches on some of the criticisms that have been made against the unlimited liability of successors.
Administration of Estates in Hungary
Authors: Vékás Lajos 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Hungarian succession law is notable for the strength and endurance of tradition. Some of the institutions and solutions have a history of more than 150 years even if, to an outsider, they may appear unusual. On death, the estate of the deceased accrues automatically to the heirs. Their liability, in turn, is limited to the value of the estate. Notaries public have traditionally played an important role in the administration of estates even if, due to automatic accrual, estate proceedings have declaratory rather than constitutive effect. Among the distinctive features of Hungarian succession law are the exceptions to the principle of universal succession and also the recognition of legacies per vindicationem. The smooth functioning of everyday practice and the intense discussions during the preparatory work for the Civil Code of 2013 have convinced the legislator that the traditional solutions of Hungarian law remain viable and deserve to be preserved.
Administration of Estates in English Law before the Wills Act 1837
Authors: Jones Neil 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The English law of succession historically differentiated between freehold land and personal property, the former passing by automatic inheritance to the deceased’s heir, as determined by law, the latter being capable of passing by will or testament through the hands of executors or administrators. The English system conceded primary jurisdiction over wills and intestate estates of personal property to the ecclesiastical courts, thereby diverging both from the assumptions of the Roman and Canon laws and from practice in other European jurisdictions. But the ecclesiastical testamentary jurisdiction was not exclusive. The court of Chancery came to exercise an important jurisdiction in contentious cases, and the common law courts entertained a range of claims by and against executors, including actions to recover debts owed by or to the deceased. This chapter examines will-making practice in the period, together with the rules and principles applied in testamentary cases by the various jurisdictions involved.
Administration of Estates in Canada
Authors: Popovici Alexandra , Smith Lionel 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
In the Canadian federation, Quebec has a civilian private law, while the common law governs in the other provinces and in the territories. Estate administration in the common law jurisdictions conforms closely to the system of English law, with some local variation; the ‘personal representative’ plays a central role. Quebec law is derived from French law, but with some significant modifications under the Civil Code of Québec. While the assets and liabilities pass directly to the heirs, they remain in a divided patrimony and under the management of a ‘liquidator’ until liquidation is complete. Federal law may intervene in two ways. First, in relation to those members of First Nations to whom it applies, federal law grants wide powers to the relevant minister to intervene in estate administration. Secondly, an estate may be bankrupt in the technical sense, attracting federal regulation with a distinct regime of administration.
Yearning for a Partnership of Equals
Authors: Wolf Reinhard 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The chapter demonstrates that shifts in perceived dis/respect profoundly affected Russia’s behavior towards the West, and the United States in particular. Revealingly, the Kremlin reacted most vividly to American actions that seemingly showed that Washington was unwilling to treat Russia as a fully-fledged great power with equal rights and voice opportunities. Confronted with alleged American high-handedness, Moscow responded with costly acts of assertiveness, which largely elude established theories of great power politics. Moreover, Russia’s negative reactions show that the Kremlin primarily objected to the way in which Washington disregarded its claim to eye-level treatment. To make America respect Russia’s equal role in international crisis management, policy-makers were even willing to sacrifice Russia’s reputation as a ‘good citizen’ of international society, i.e. parts of its international prestige. On the other hand, the chapter also reveals that the Kremlin responded positively to Washington’s respect overtures during the Obama administration’s ‘reset’.
The Significance of Respect for Scholars and Practitioners
Authors: Wolf Reinhard 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
There is strong evidence that the experience of respect or disrespect often influences a government’s willingness to cooperate in ways that go beyond an instrumental rationality. In that context, most policy-makers care more about attaining respect for their countries’ status roles than for ‘proper’ representations of their nations’ presumed status markers. Evidence further shows that the (negative) effects of disrespect tend to be stronger than the (positive) consequences of renewed respect. Paying greater attention to the respect concerns of others is thus often helpful for improving interstate interactions and for avoiding confrontations—especially in an international society that seems to get more diverse and dynamic. However, making others feel respected usually means giving them real influence. While promoting a more harmonious relationship, demonstrating genuine and lasting respect also tends to constrain one’s own freedom of action. Showing respect is useful, but also costly.
Introduction
Authors: Smith Adam I. P. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Why, when, and how did Gettysburg become the most memorable, and, in most accounts, the most consequential battle of the American Civil War? This book explains why a battle came to be fought there, why it ended how it did, and what it has meant ever since. This is the story of a battle that has acquired meanings far beyond the purely military. Gettysburg is the most famous small town in America and the most American small town. As a place and an event, it has become a repository of the values and ideals different groups of Americans have wished to place upon it. Accounts of the battle often begin with the observation that these two vast armies clashed there because all the roads in the region converged in the center of the town. Similarly, it so often seems that all investigations into what the United States is and has been led, and still lead, in one way or another, through Gettysburg.
The Confederate Invasion, June–July 1863
Authors: Smith Adam I. P. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter describes the Army of Northern Virginia’s incursion into Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863. As generations of historians have recorded, the Battle of Gettysburg was a “meeting engagement,” meaning that neither side had planned to fight there at that time. Even so, Gettysburg was a natural point for the collision to happen. It had strategic importance thanks not only to its location at the hub of the region’s road network but also because of the railroad to Harrisburg which provided a supply route for the Union Army, and this was why Confederate control of the town after the first day was potentially threatening.
Gettysburg as the Nation’s “Turning Point,” c.1880–1933
Authors: Smith Adam I. P. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter develops the idea of Gettysburg as the turning point of the war, describing the memorialization efforts of the early twentieth century, including the reunions of veterans on both sides, especially the grand semi-centennial reunion of 1913, which foregrounded soldiering as a test of heroic masculinity and obscured the politics that explained why the war was ever fought. This way of framing the war was sentimental and theatrical. It celebrated the role of the individual amid the mass of modernity; it dwelt on contingency not structure.
Global Theories, Chronologies, and Geographies of Realism
Authors: Bowers Katherine , Vaysman Margarita 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter discusses global theories, chronologies, and geographies of realism, laying out the organizational principles of The Oxford Handbook of Global Realisms. Realism is an artistic practice that aims to faithfully represent reality. Historically, realism has been practiced across different media, from early pictorial art and epic oral narratives through literature and visual arts to film, music, and digital media. However, an understanding of what it means to “faithfully represent reality” is not universal; rather, it varies from culture to culture. This handbook brings the diversity of global realisms—literary, visual, sonic, dramatic, and digital; Victorian and modernist; socialist, capitalist, magical and marvelous, postcolonial, environmental, and posthuman—to the fore. By foregrounding theories, practices, and forms of realism that are less well known to anglophone readers than “classic” realisms, the handbook revises the Eurocentric geography of the concept. It offers a broad chronology that overcomes the habitual fixation in studies of realism on the nineteenth century as its starting point and offers, instead, a more flexible timeline of this artistic practice. This chapter offers an overview of the handbook’s four sections—“Theories of Global Realism,” “Practices of Global Realism,” “Global Realisms and the Novel,” and “Intermedial Global Realisms”—as well as a short summary of each chapter. This chapter, and the volume as a whole, present therefore a global view of realism through contextualized case studies, which showcase previously underrepresented and marginalized theories, practices, forms, and media of realist cultural production.
Get(ting) Out of the American Dream/Nightmare
Authors: Mask Mia 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Jordan Peele’s Get Out is one of the most significant films of this century for its deft subversion of the racial contract and its indictment of U.S. racial politics. Released on February 24, 2017, the film seemingly took newly elected President Donald Trump’s racist, sexist, and xenophobic politics to task and commented on racial profiling and anti-Black police brutality. Get Out is a multi-layered text that also has far-reaching cinematic implications. Employing abjection, postcolonial, psychoanalytic, and critical race theories, this chapter demonstrates how Get Out calls upon horror movie audiences to rethink three genres: (1) the social-problem picture as romantic comedy (such as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner); (2) the self-reflexive horror film (like Night of the Living Dead, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, or Scream franchises); and (3) the transgressive cult movie (i.e., The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Myra Breckinridge, or Casablanca).
Mary Magdalene across Borders in the Global South
Authors: Córdova Quero Hugo , Mor Cristian 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter explores the figure of Mary Magdalene and her significant influence on the religious imagination of the Global South, encompassing Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Historically, Mary Magdalene has been subject to varied interpretations, from being a follower of Jesus to his closest companion, stirring emotions in communities across the Global South. The term “Global South” highlights global inequalities and postcolonial perspectives, emphasizing these regions’ varied social, political, and economic contexts. It addresses how her story has been received and adapted within various cultural contexts, focusing on the impact of colonialism and local interpretations. The dual process of her narrative integration illustrates how colonialism introduced Mary Magdalene through missionary work. Yet, local communities also had their pre-existing visions of her, demonstrating a complex interplay between external imposition and local adaptation. The chapter highlights the intrinsic need for people of faith to see themselves reflected in religious characters driven by race/ethnicity, gender, geography, and culture. Such appropriations provide spiritual comfort and contextualize faith in personal terms. Mary Magdalene’s veneration exemplifies how sacred narratives adapt to resonate with diverse communities. By focusing on Asia, Latin America, and Africa, the chapter reveals Mary Magdalene’s central role in religious diversity, underscoring her adaptability and enriching the understanding of Christian faith in the Global South. It uncovers the complexity and richness of Christian faith in a globalized and diverse world through selected examples.
The Natufian Archaeological Culture in Southwestern Asian Epipalaeolithic Context
Authors: Stutz Aaron Jonas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter reviews current research on the Natufian archaeological culture of the Levant. The Natufian may be situated within the Late period of the regional Epipalaeolithic chronology, which stretches overall from c. 23,000–10,000 bc. As an archaeological culture, the Natufian is widely recognized as important because it consists of traces of the last forager societies in the Near East that entirely lacked farming neighbours. The internal chronology of the Natufian is generally divided into Early and Late components, dating to 13,000–11,500 bc and 11,500–10,000 bc, respectively. The Early Natufian component is marked by a relatively dramatic increase in the use of durable stone-foundation architecture at hamlets, seasonal campsites, and special ritual locales. These architectural features persist throughout the Late Natufian component, which begins in the centuries prior to the Younger Dryas global climatic reversal, which brought cool and dry conditions to the eastern Mediterranean, after c. 10,900 bc. Recent research confirms that the Natufian culture involved year-round settlement at some hamlet sites, but other social technologies—including ritualized memorialization of the dead, long-distance exchange, and use of specialized foraging and food-preparation gear—seem to mark an accelerating departure from Palaeolithic patterns of smaller co-resident group-size and higher residential mobility across ecological zones.
Early and Middle Holocene Climate and Environmental Change
Authors: Crombé Philippe 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The Mesolithic corresponds to a period of abrupt global warming resulting in a series of profound environmental changes, such as rapid sea level rise, decreased river discharge and lake levels, increased drought and forest fires, and a radical overturn of both fauna and flora. The latter includes the rapid replacement of cold-tolerant species occurring in an open tundra environment by temperate-boreal species, adapted to the forested environment of the Early and Middle Holocene. However, global warming was repeatedly interrupted by short but abrupt cooling events, the impact of which on both ecosystems and humans remains largely unexplored.
Hunter-Gatherer Mobility and Sedentism
Authors: Holst Daniela 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Mobility has always been in the focus of Mesolithic archaeology and forms one of the important clues for the understanding of this period. Still the evidence remains few, diverse, and controversial. Recent investigations in Mesolithic land use and communication networks that consider different aspects and scales of mobility and sedentism partly convert traditional conceptions. Several references indicate reduced residential mobility already in early Mesolithic communities. Land use systems seem to be characterized by long-lasting residences in restricted, permanently managed territories, where local resources were harvested, maintained, and storaged. Contemporaneously, individuals or small groups increased their movements and maintained long distance communication and exchange networks.