The Baha'is and the Constitutional Revolution: The Case of Sari,Mazandaran, 1906–1913

Accounts of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran have tended to ignore the role of the Baha'is in that event. This paper looks at the case of Sari, capital of Mazandaran province, where the Baha'is of the city played a major part in initiating the move towards Constitutionalism and in educating people about the reforms envisaged and about the modern world. They also led the way in carrying out some of these reforms. In particular, the Baha'is established the first modern schools in the town. In this process, they were opposed by the Muslim ‘ulama in the town, who equated Constitutionalism and the Baha'i Faith, and persecuted the Baha'is of the town relentlessly for both reasons, leading eventually to the killing of five of the leading Baha'is of Sari in 1913. A brief account is also given of the attitude of the Baha'i leader ‘Abdu'l-Baha (1844–1921) towards the Constitutional Movement and the role of the Baha'is in it. This paper follows the events of the seven years 1906–13 in Sari and describes seven swings of the pendulum of power in the town alternating between the Baha'is and Constitutionalists on the one hand and the ‘ulama and the royalist forces supporting Muhammad ‘Ali Shah on the other. It points out that the neglect of the Baha'i aspect of these events by historians has led to a failure to account adequately for some of the events of these years.     

The origins of the Brazilian nuclear programme, 1951–1955

In the early years of the atomic era, several developing countries attempted to establish a nuclear programme, yet Brazil's case is less well-known. As new documents show, from 1951 Brazil aimed to acquire the nuclear fuel cycle capability in spite of legislation imposed by the United States to limit the emergence of new nuclear powers. This article will analyse the origins of the Brazilian nuclear programme from 1951 to 1955 and will explore its cooperation in the atomic field with international partners.     

The Impact of the Franco-Prussian War on Veterans: The Company-Level Career Patterns of the French Army 1870–1895

Abstract

The German Army generally failed to capitalize on early developments in mechanization and armoured vehicles during the second half of the First World War. This article argues that, while the German military was certainly not technophobic nor resistant to change, the developments in 'machine warfare' were fundamentally inimical to the dominant cultural assumptions held by German officers concerning the nature of war, and that this goes a long way in explaining the decision not to mass-produce armoured vehicles.     

The people and the professors: socialism and the educated middle classes in Italy, 1870–1915

This article examines the role of the educated middle classes in the Italian socialist and syndicalist movements from 1870 to 1915. After discussing the problems of defining the educated middle classes and the intellectuals, this article looks at the role of the creative free-floating intellectuals within the socialist movement of the 1890s. The importance of positivist and 'evangelical' socialism is highlighted and illustrated through the influence of Cesare Lombroso and Edmondo De Amicis. The article then focuses on the role of Filippo Turati and the Italian Socialist Party's Socialist Parliamentary Group, which was largely composed of individuals from the educated middle classes. In this part of the article, the author evaluates the influence of the educated middle classes in the Italian Socialist Party before 1915. This article concludes with a discussion on the nature of Italian intelligentsia socialism and its influence on Gramsci. Questo articolo esamina il ruolo delle borghesie intellettuali nel movimento socialista e sindacalista in Italia tra il 1870 ed il 1915. Dopo aver preso in considerazione le problematiche inerenti alla definizione sia delle borghesie intellettuali che degli intellettuali, l'articolo dedica spazio al ruolo creativo di intellettuali indipendenti all'interno del movimento socialista negli anni intorno al 1890. Si dÀ particolare rilievo all'importanza del socialismo positivista ed 'evangelico' attraverso l'analisi del pensiero di Cesare Lombroso e di Edmondo De Amicis. Si passa, infine, a considerare il ruolo di Filippo Turati e del gruppo parlamentare del Partito socialista, il quale era principalmente composto da personalitÀ di estrazione borghese intellettuale; l'autore valuta l'importanza e l'influenza delle borghesie intellettuali nel Partito socialista, nel periodo che precede il 1915. L'articolo si conclude con un'analisi della natura dell'intellighenzia socialista italiana e della sua influenza su Gramsci.     

The ideals and origins of the Franco-German,sister cities movement, 1945–70

Vattel's Mélanges de littérature, de morale et de politique (Thoughts on literature, morals and politics) was published at Neuchâtel by the Editeurs du Journal Helvétique in 1760 and this is the first English translation. It was republished under the title, Amusemens de littérature, de morale et de politique in 1765. Vattel's text provides evidence of his response to the issues facing Europe's states in the 1750s, and in doing so provides another perspective on his best known work, Le droit des gens (Law of Nations) of 1757. Vattel emerges as a reformer steeped in debates about the future of the European state system, and particularly Europe's small states and republics like Switzerland.