Post‐Colonialism,Orientalism, and Understanding: Religious Studies and the Christian Missionary Imperative

This article explores issues related to the worldviews of Friedrich Max Müller and Monier Monier‐Williams, and contemporary critique of their work. Their indebtedness to their own age is explored, especially fulfilment theology and the missionary imperative, noting similarities and differences in their agendas. The conclusion considers how post‐colonial critique can be applied. While accepting the validity of such critique, it is suggested that it makes vast and sweeping judgments, engaging in a totalising narrative. It is argued that, applied too harshly, such critiques can ignore the positive contributions to understanding other faiths and cultures made by such figures. It ends with some reflections upon both their and our place within the evolving tradition of the study of religion, and the need for both understanding and critical judgment.     

Establishing Stage‐Discharge Relationships in Multiple‐Channelled,Ephemeral Rivers: a Case Study of the Diamantina River,Australia

The method for deriving a stage‐discharge relationship has a significant impact on the shape of the river's rating curve. We compare rating curves for a single gauging station on a mutiple‐channelled river in Australia compiled using three different methods – the Urban Runoff and Basin Systems (URBS) rainfall‐runoff model, an empirically‐based velocity‐area method, and the predictive Hydrologic Engineering Centre‐River Analysis System (HEC‐RAS) computer model. The rainfall‐runoff model was found to predict lower discharges for stage heights over 3.5 m than both the empirically‐based velocity‐area method and the HEC‐RAS model. The empirically‐based velocity‐area model predicts similar discharges to the rainfall‐runoff model for stage heights less than 3 m but much higher discharges for larger flood events. The HEC‐RAS model predicts higher discharges than both other rating curves at all stage heights probably due to under‐estimation of the impact of surface roughness on flow velocity. The three models are discussed with particular reference to their use on multiple‐channelled rivers.     

The new politics of protection? Côte d'Ivoire,Libya and the responsibility to protect

In March 2011, the UN Security Council authorized the use of force to protect civilians in Libya. This was the first time that the Council has ever authorized the invasion of a functioning state for such purposes. International society's relatively decisive responses to recent crises in Côte d'Ivoire and Libya has provoked significant commentary, suggesting that something has changed about the way the world responds to violence against civilians. Focusing on these two cases, this article examines the changing practice of the UN Security Council. It argues that we are seeing the emergence of a new politics of protection, but that this new politics has been developing over the past decade. Four things are new about this politics of protection: protecting civilians from harm has become a focus for international engagement; the UN Security Council has proved itself willing to authorize the use of force for protection purposes; regional organizations have begun to play the role of ‘gatekeeper’; and major powers have exhibited a determination to work through the Security Council where possible. However, the cases of Côte d'Ivoire and Libya also help to highlight some key challenges that might halt or reverse progress. Notably, states differ in the way they interpret mandates; questions are being asked about the UN's authority to act independently of specific Security Council authorizations; the overlap of regional organizations sometimes sends conflicting messages to the Security Council; and there remains a range of difficult operational questions about how to implement protection mandates. With these in mind, this article concludes with some suggestions about how the future challenges might be navigated in order to maintain the progress that has been made in the past decade.     

A century on the edge: from Cold War to hot world, 1945–2045

The article argues that the century from 1945 is likely to prove seminal in terms of human progress. It marks the period when the human community has to come to terms with its capacity for self‐destruction through the invention of weapons of mass destruction and its ability to exceed the homeostatic capabilities of the global ecosystem in an era of deep socio‐economic divisions. Two‐thirds of the way through this century the progress has been mixed. Nuclear war has been avoided more by luck than by wisdom, there remain risks of nuclear proliferation and it is not evident that humankind has acquired the ability to deal with the destructive potential of bio‐, nano‐ and other emerging technologies. Recognition of the extent of anthropogenic impacts on ecosystem stability is evident, but not at the level necessary for the radical responses required. Even so, there are signs of progress and potential for change, suggesting that the final one‐third of the century will be singularly important in ensuring long‐term emancipation and environmental sustainability.     

The ‘Prentice’s Bracket’ at Gloucester Cathedral

The 14th-century ‘Prentice’s bracket’ in the south transept of Gloucester cathedral has usually been thought to represent the fatal plunge of a young mason, watched by an older colleague. The implicit parallel is with Icarus and Daedalus, which suggests a moral lesson about the risks of Pride for artisans who worked at dangerous heights. However, this reading of the imagery may not be correct. In light of what is actually shown — the younger man is clearly attached to a vault — it seems more likely to represent a rescue through supernatural intervention. Numerous parallels for such rescues exist in medieval sources, particularly in the praise literature dedicated to the Virgin Mary.