Strassburg, 1605: The Origins of the Newspaper in Europe

English-language examinations of the history of the press oftenbegin with the 1620s or the 1640s, when this new medium beganto be more widespread in England. On the continent, however,around the year 1600 all the necessary technical, infrastructuraland communication elements were already in place for the developmentof the modern newspaper. Book-printing techniques enabled themass production of news reports; a regular relay post system,available to the general public, served the needs of a networkof professional correspondents from around the world. The timewas right for the first periodical news sheet, which appearedin Strassburg in 1605. The change from hand-copied to printednewspapers was of far-reaching significance, as the mass circulationof news gave regular publicity to the events and personalitiesof political life. By the 1620s a variety of newspapers werecirculating in central Europe, and in the second half of theseventeenth century newspapers were the most widely read secularmaterial. They provided a seedbed for the broadening politicaleducation which fostered the development of the Enlightenment.     

Leveraging diplomatic power and influence on the UN Security Council: the case of Australia

ABSTRACT

There is scepticism about whether a state like Australia can secure its interests and exercise influence on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). A case study of Australia’s experience as a UNSC member in 2013–2014 shows that it directly influenced UNSC decision-making in a number of ways: first, in the response to the MH17 incident; second, pushing forward UNSC practice through the first-ever resolutions on both ‘small arms and light weapons’ and police in peacekeeping; and third, as chair of three sanctions committees, influencing the decision-making environment towards greater transparency. While Australia did not achieve all its objectives, it made its views well-known. A second case study demonstrates that Australia’s opportunities to influence UNSC decision-making are not limited to stints of membership. Australia was able to achieve many of its foreign policy objectives in East Timor in 1999 through strategically engaging with key UNSC players through an informal diplomatic grouping: the Core Group on East Timor. Both case studies show that Australia’s diplomatic engagement with the UNSC is desirable, necessary and strategic, whether or not it is a current or prospective member.     

Does size matter: the role and significance of cereal grains in the Indus civilization

Cereal grains play a pivotal role in the rise and character of the Indus civilization. Archaeologists have traditionally focused their attention on the large-grained crops of wheat and barley while often minimizing the importance of the smaller-grained millets. Both environmental and cultural variables influence crop selection in the past as well as today. This paper explores the role and significance of cereal grain size during the evolution of the Indus civilization.     

Pour une Épistémologie de la Controverse Historiographique

The great historical debates were generally fought on different fields at the same time. The present article tries to analyze the actual debates in the context and perspective of different research experiences, aiming to highlight their theoretical and empirical results. In focussing on the controversies about the history of society and historical anthropology it questions in the same time the recurrencies recalling the crisis at the end of the 18th and the beginning of 20th century and their epistemological consequences.