From laissez-faire to supranational planning: the economic debate within Federal Union (1938–1945)

This article focuses on the early years of Federal Union (FU), the leading British federalist association created in 1938. It sets out to demonstrate that FU members heavily disagreed about the economic powers of the future Federation and that these divisions weakened the appeal of the federalist cause. Archival evidence suggests the organisation shifted from economic neutrality, favoured by allegiance to nineteenth-century liberalism, which emphasized the benefits of free trade while keeping a minimum of centralized force in order to prevent interstate rivalries from boiling over into war, to a radical advocacy of supranational planning, aimed at enforcing social rights and welfare entitlements granted to all the citizens of the member-states. This swing to the Left had several implications, including abandoning the prospect of an Anglo-American union, developing a more sympathetic attitude towards the Soviet system, and breaking ties with influential members of the British establishment who had initially lent support to FU, such as Lionel Curtis and William Beveridge. By pointing at the tension between the models of ‘Federation Pure and Simple’ and ‘Federation Plus’, this article also highlights the supple and muddled nature of federalism as an ideology.     

Simple Homogenization-Topology Optimization Approach for the Pushover Analysis of Masonry Walls

ABSTRACT

A topology optimized rigid triangular FE macro-model with non-linear homogenized interfaces for the pushover analysis of in plane loaded masonry is presented. The shape of the mesh and the position of the interfaces is evaluated through a topology optimization approach that detects the main compressive stress fluxes in the structure. Different values of the horizontal action are considered to derive an adaptive mesh or an optimal discretization that is suitable for multiple loads. Masonry properties are calibrated by means of a homogenization approach in the nonlinear range. To tackle elastic and inelastic deformations, interfaces are assumed to behave as elasto-plastic with softening in both tension and compression, with orthotropic behavior. The two-step procedure competes favorably with classic equivalent frame approaches because it does not require a-priori assumptions on the mesh and on the length of the rigid offsets. An example of technical relevance is discussed, relying into a multi-story masonry wall loaded up to failure.     

From Risorgimento to Il Politecnico: impegno and intellectual networks in the Einaudi publishing house, 1945

The article unveils the (dis)continuities between two post-WWII journals, Risorgimento and Il Politecnico, both published by Einaudi in 1945. By reassessing the publishing history of Risorgimento from a genealogical perspective, the article aims to chart the evolutions of the then current intellectual debate on impegno. Specifically, by analysing the relevant contributors’ correspondence and the essays that were published in the journals, the article examines the journals as sites of networking but also tension between different intellectual habitus. This will illuminate not only how the two editors-in-chief (Salinari and Vittorini, respectively) took different positions in relation to both the literary field and the PCI (Italian Communist Party), but also the opposition of editorial staffs – based, respectively, in Rome and in Milan – in relation to the publisher Einaudi.     

Book reviews

The Political Environment of Planning in Iran, 1971–83: From Monarchy to Islamic Republic. By Hossein Razavi and Firouz Vakil. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1984. xi + 194 pp.

An Historical Geography of Iran. By W. Barthold. Translated by Svat Soucek. Edited with an Introduction by C. E. Bosworth. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984. xv + 285 PP.

The Soviet Union and Iran: Soviet Policy in Iran from the Beginning of the Pahlavi Dynasty until the Soviet Invasion of Iran in 1941. By Miron Rezun. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijthoff and Noordhoff International Publishers; Geneva: Institute Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales, 1981. xi + 390 pp. Illustration, Notes, Tables, Appendices to p. 395. Bibliography to p. 419. Index to p. 425.

Iran: Politics and Government under the Pahlavis: An Annotated Bibliography. By Dariush Gitisetan. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1985. 201 pp.

Artisans and Guild Life in the Later Safavid Period. By Mehdi Keyvani. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1982. xii + 339 pp. No price indicated. Paperback.

The Reign of the Ayatollahs: Iran and the Islamic Revolution. By Shaul Bakhash. New York: Basic Books, 1984. x + 250 pp. Notes to p. 262. Index to p. 276. Cloth, $18.95.

The Path of God's Bondsmen from Origin to Return (Mersad al‐'ebad men al‐mabda’ ela ‘1‐ma'ad); A Sufi Compendium by Najm al‐Din Razi, Known as Daya. Translated from Persian, with introduction and annotation, by Hamid Algar. Persian Heritage Series, edited by Ehsan Yarshater, No. 35. Delmar, New York: Caravan Books, 1982. 537 pp.

Cities & Trade; Consul Abbott on the Economy and Society of Iran, 1847–1866. Edited with an Introduction by Abbas Amanat. London: Ithaca Press, 1983. xliv + 256 pp. £14.50.