In from the margins? The changing place of Africa in International Relations

This article surveys recent literature on Africa and International Relations (IR) and reviews the current place of Africa within the discipline. It notes that critical debates continue around claims of a mismatch between Africa and ‘mainstream’ IR theories and concepts. However, alongside this set of issues, there is in fact a burgeoning literature on many aspects of Africa's international relations. While some of these studies utilize existing IR theories, and others explore empirical cases that could deliver important lessons for the wider discipline, much of this promise goes unfulfilled. The article reviews literature on China's role and on HIV/AIDS governance in Africa to illustrate how the study of African international relations, the wider IR discipline and international policy could all benefit from a closer engagement between Africa and IR. The article concludes by setting out three challenges for a renewed agenda: a need to address the problematic relationship between universal analytical concepts and regional particularities; a need to give recognition to, and analyse, African agency in international politics; and a need to address inequalities in knowledge production in the field of Africa's international relations.     

Where Are the Coast-Watchers’ Bones?

In October 1942, five British civilians and 17 New Zealand coast-watchers were executed by Japanese military forces, at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands (Kiribati), in the central Pacific. The bodies were buried in a mass grave, the location of which became obscured when the Japanese constructed military fortifications. A battle was fought at Tarawa in November 1943 whereby the US Marines defeated the Japanese defenders and took control of the island. In the battle more than six thousand men died and their bodies were buried in hastily prepared and often unmarked graves. Since the end of the war the remains of hundreds of Americans and some Japanese have been located and recovered from Tarawa but nothing among the remains has been identified as belonging to the 22 British subjects. A problem in locating the grave of the British has been a lack of any record of its position. In this paper the authors consider the documentary evidence including an important map and a report on the first attempt, using local knowledge, to locate the grave. The specific area of the grave is identified, the date of the executions is confirmed and the reasons behind the order to execute are discussed.     

The Body as Method? Reflections on the Place of the Body in Gender History

This article offers a critical examination of the term ‘body’ as an ambiguous and elusive historical concept. The first part of the essay probes the often unspecific yet seductive invocation of the body in many recent historical studies and reflects on the methodological implications of placing bodies at the heart of historical investigation. The second part analyses a particular moment of rupture in twentieth-century German history, when bodies became more powerful markers of the dichotomy between male and female citizens, namely at the end of the First World War, during the November Revolution and amidst the founding of Weimar democracy.     

Studying the International,Serving the Nation: The Origins of International Relations (IR) Scholarship in Germany, 1912–33

This paper examines the dynamics of internationalist and nationalist political thought in the formation of International Relations (IR) scholarship in Germany during the early twentieth century. It argues that while liberal internationalism played a significant role in shaping the discipline, IR scholars were often devout nationalists and worked for their government rather than for international peace. German institutions for the study of IR, like their Anglo-American counterparts, were founded in the aftermath of the First World War. Celebrated during the 1920s as ‘bulwarks of democracy’, they were nationalised by the Nazi government, lost their academic profile and since then have been largely forgotten. This paper explains the origins of IR research at the Institut für Auswärtige Politik, based in Hamburg and directed by Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy, as well as at the Deutsche Hochschule für Politik, led by Ernst Jäckh in Berlin. Formally inaugurated in 1923 and 1920 respectively, both institutions drew on pre-war intellectual traditions as well as wartime networks. In light of recent re-appraisals of inter-war IR scholarship in other countries, the German case offers new and important insights into the complex intellectual traditions of what has traditionally been oversimplified as a first ‘great debate’ between ‘idealists’ and ‘realists’.     

The Future of International Criminal Evidence in New Wars? The Evolution of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA)

This article explores the intellectual formation of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA). It illuminates how the development of the CIJA was an attempt by state and non-state actors to affect the course of international criminal justice in Syria and Iraq. First, this article argues that the CIJA was the result of four factors: the UK Foreign Office’s desire to support human rights activists in Syria; lessons learned from previous international criminal tribunals; attempts by non-state legal practitioners to invent new ways to overcome the gaps and limitations of the international criminal justice system; and the willingness of Syrian civil society to risk their lives and use the law to hold those responsible for mass atrocities to account. Second, the article argues that as non-state actors with a focus on evidence management, the CIJA may represent an innovative approach to investigating mass atrocities, particularly for activists and civil society actors who wish to play a role in evidence management in new wars. Lastly, it shows how the CIJA may work in parallel with international mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other inter-state actors, to collect evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in new wars, particularly when the ICC is unable to do so. This study combines qualitative research with empirical analysis and draws on a range of primary and secondary sources, including a number of interviews conducted with CIJA personnel, former ICC practitioners, and other practitioners in international criminal law.     

Close Relations? Bringing Together Gender and Family in English History

There have been surprisingly few historical interpretations of English history which knit together both family and gender. Family history remains dominated by empirical, local or comparative approaches, rooted in paradigms of modernisation, struggling to respond to longstanding feminist critiques. Gender history, while deeply concerned with questioning history's grand narratives and methodological assumptions, seems to have avoided much exploration of family life. It is this gulf and the ways it is being bridged which are explored in this article, in the context of English historiography of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, firstly by seeking explanations for each approach's reluctance to engage with the other, and secondly by tracing their points of convergence and cross-fertilisation.     

Equality of Women's Economic Status? A Major Bone of Contention in the International Gender Politics Emerging During the Interwar Period*

This study brings together the often disparate scholarship on the League of Nations and the ILO. It follows the interactions between the League, women internationalists, and the ILO, which evolved around the question of woman-specific labor legislation and the equality of women's status. These interactions resulted in a broadening mandate of international gender policies while deepening the institutional and legal distinction between women's ‘political and civil’ as opposed to their ‘economic’ status. The ILO insisted on certain forms of women-specific labor regulation as a means of conjoining progressive gender and class politics, and was anxious to ensure its competence in all matters concerning women's economic status. The gender equality doctrine gaining ground in the League was rooted in a liberal-feminist paradigm which rejected the association of gender politics with such class concerns, and indeed aimed to force back the ILO's politics of gender-specific international labor standards. As a result of the widening divide between the women's policies of the League and the ILO, the international networks of labor women reduced their engagement with women's activism at the League. The developments of the 1930s deepened the tension between liberal feminism and feminisms engaging with class inequalities, and would have problematic long-term consequences for international gender politics.     

The Ideational Dimension of Federalism: The ‘Australian Model’ and the Politics of Equalisation in Canada

This article examines the ideational dimension of federalism and its consequences for the analysis of policy development. With this objective in mind, the article offers an explanation for Canada's rejection of the two main aspects of the ‘Australian model’ of equalisation: the assessment of expenditure needs and the existence of an arms-length commission to determine payments. As argued, the ideological prevalence of provincial autonomy in Canada explains why federal officials opted to reject the ‘Australian model’ as they prepared to establish the country's program and why subsequent reforms never introduced a needs-assessment dimension or created an arms-length agency to administer equalisation. At the theoretical level, this article shows how ideational factors can shape policy outcomes.     

Kowtowing before the Kaiser? Sino-German Relations in the Aftermath of the Boxer Uprising

While most discussions of Germany's response to the Boxer Rebellion have focused on the Kaiser's infamous ‘Hun Speech’, few have scrutinised the attitude of the Kaiser and the institutions of the German state towards the Chinese after the war. This article demonstrates that Sino-German relations after the Boxer War were mishandled by Berlin, particularly the Kaiser. Despite having insisted on a public apology from the Chinese emperor for the Boxers' anti-European violence, the subsequent Chinese royal mission to Berlin saw the Germans lectured by the visiting Chinese on appropriate standards of civilised conduct before being offered a non-apology. Despite these very public snubs, the Chinese delegation were feted all over Germany and awarded imperial honours before returning home, having comprehensively won the peace. By looking more closely at the dynamics of this so-called ‘Atonement Mission’, this paper highlights how the Chinese Empire transformed a publicly staged act of abasement into an assertion of Chinese dignity and defiance that embarrassed the Kaiser in the eyes of Europe.     

Where Have All the Children Gone?: The Archaeology of Childhood

Current images portray childhood as primarily a time of play and learning, de-emphasizing children's economic contributions and relegating them, like women, to the less-visible realm of the home. Ethnographic and historic literature amply demonstrates that age categories are constructs and, thus, exhibit considerable temporal and cross-cultural variability. Nevertheless, archaeologists have tended to ignore prehistoric children, perhaps viewing them as only peripheral to central research concerns, or to treat them stereotypically. The archaeological record provides opportunities for the exploration of numerous aspects of childhood and archaeologists are encouraged to respond to the challenge.     

Gender Equality Policies in Rwanda: Public Relations or Real Transformations?

This article examines Rwanda's gender equality policies with the intention of contributing to the ongoing debate in the literature on the meaning of gender equality initiatives in authoritarian states. The article evaluates the transformative potential of Rwanda's gender equality policies with reference to deep‐rooted societal norms and practices within which gender inequalities are embedded. To this end, the article draws on in‐depth interviews conducted in Rwanda with a range of stakeholders, as well as on documentary research. It explores the factors informing the Rwandan commitment to gender equality, and the positive developments this has brought about, before identifying five trends that threaten the transformative potential of Rwandan gender equality policies. The authors conclude that while a strong political will and target‐driven policies offer opportunities for promoting gender equality, the transformative potential is jeopardized by the dominance of an underlying economic rationale; the neglect of the ‘invisible labour’ of women; the formalistic implementation of gender policies and their focus on quantitative results; the limited scope for civil society voices to influence policy; and the lack of grassroots participation.     

Gender: A Useful Category in the Analysis of Ego-Documents?

The article discusses the significance of the concept of gender for historical analysis, particularly on the basis of the importance of different types of ego-documents for the self-expression of the sexes. Attention is focused mainly on the status of autobiographies as a historical source, with some consideration of other types of life writing. It is shown how the form of this genre affects the sexes’ access to self-expression and how their differing ‘cultural space’ opens up opportunities for people's self-creation. The development is viewed in an international light, with reference to both ego-documents and history in general, and it is shown how sources of this kind and women's perspectives are necessary preconditions for the humanities to be able to achieve an important reinterpretation of older historical arguments. Each can provide scholars with opportunities to investigate material that has previously defied their analysis.     

The Magic of Narrative in the Emplotment of State‐Subject Relations: Who's Telling Whose Story in the Native Title Process in Australia?

Since 1992 Australian Aboriginal communities have been engaged in a complex and fraught legal process for the recognition of their traditional rights to country (‘native title’). In this article I argue that it is theoretically and critically illuminating to investigate the broader ‘meaning effects’ of the native title determination process on the subjective experience of the state in Australia. The article demonstrates this through examining the narrative effects of certain discursive moments through which identities get objectified. Through examining such moments in the discourse and practice of native title from the perspective of a participant‐observer, I seek to advance our theoretical understanding of how the narrative properties of speech (or other performative behaviours) in specific contexts structure the subjective experience of the state.