Exceptionalising democratic dissent: a study of the JNU event and its representations

This article analyses the politics around the infamous Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) ‘sedition’ case of February 2016, focusing particularly on its media representations. It shows how the case was, from its outset, embroiled in the politics of representation, with questions of truth and lies receding into the background to give way to clashes of opinion – however unfounded they may have been in information, fact or truth – broadly reflecting the nature of the public sphere in these ‘post-truth’ times. Further, it analyses how the protests at JNU following the event sought to project an image of the university countering right-wing representations, while also enriching debates on nationalism, democracy, dissent and freedom of speech. It concludes by showing how the hostile representations of JNU fitted well with overall politics, combining the hyper-nationalism and neoliberalism, promoted by the current regime led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the right-wing Hindu nationalist and supremacist paramilitary volunteer organisation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.     

A geography of residents' worry about the disruptive effects of contaminated sites

While the links between contaminated sites and adverse effects on human health and well‐being are being increasingly recognised, some argue that the magnitude of the health problem is inadequately addressed because it is largely invisible. Health geographies literature has sought to highlight this invisibility by focusing on the link between contaminated sites and health. This study adds to health geographies by presenting unique insights into the geography of residents' worry about the disruptive effect of environmental contamination on health and well‐being. It analyses a sample of residents (n = 485) living near 13 contaminated sites across Australia. Ordinal logistic regression analysis of closed‐format survey questions was combined with coding of open‐ended survey questions to reveal the geography of residents' worry about contamination from nearby sites. First, the study explores some of the main relationships between residents, their environs, and contaminants from nearby source sites, which determines their levels of worry: residents' demographics, residents' proximity to sites, contaminant boundaries and borders, and type of contaminant. Second, the study investigates how worry affects residents' health and well‐being, ranging from effects on their personal functioning through to their sense of ontological security, which depends in part upon their perceptions of contaminants' impacts. Despite having identified a range of diverse and negative effects of worry about contamination on residents, we found that worry for contamination can also prompt coping strategies and problem‐solving, reinforcing the need for more research on this subject.     

Rethinking Soft Power in the Post‐Blockade Times: The Case of Qatar

This study seeks to advance the understanding of the utility of “soft power” by exploring the case of Qatar. The country's approach is conceptualized as “nested power” through the examination of its political strategies before and after the regional blockade in 2017. The role of soft and nested power in Qatar has already been examined through various vantage points, such as small state diplomacy, mediation, and sports. Since the blockade has been for Qatar a great strategic dilemma, examination of how it affected power dynamics reveals the salience as well as the resilience of Qatar's soft and nested power. The article will discuss the concepts of “soft” and “nested” powers and their relevance to the state of Qatar in general and it will focus in the final section on the post‐blockade period. In doing so, we also seek useful approaches, which can be compatible with, and even advance “global international relations” (IR). The movement to make IR more global and inclusive is a welcome feature of the current century, reflective of the burgeoning role of the “Global South.”     

The Wadi al‐Hijr (Sultanate of Oman) in the third millennium BC

In 2010–11 a pedestrian survey of the western end of Wadi al‐Hijr in northern Oman identified 1507 archaeological features in a 124 km² area. Data were collected on each feature's architectural characteristics, associated artefact assemblages, topographic and environmental locations, condition of remains, and relations to other archaeological features. The majority of datable features belong to the third millennium BC and divide unequally between the Hafit and Umm an‐Nar periods. While the majority of these third‐millennium BC features were tombs, other feature types were identified, including towers, settlements, quarries, dams, enclosures, and possible platforms. Third‐millennium BC features were organised into clusters and ranged considerably in size, from a few features to several hundred. All of the clusters established during the Hafit period were maintained in the Umm an‐Nar period, suggesting a continuity throughout the third millennium. Some preliminary hypotheses regarding settlement patterns are suggested.