This article aims to analyse the specifics of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s international activities by examining the country’s pursuit of consensus between cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the execution of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which focuses on affordable and clean energy. The research employs diverse qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess the impact of the BRI and SDGs on enhancing international cooperation, particularly within the context of Kazakh foreign policy relations. Key materials include decrees, strategies, and reports from the Republic of Kazakhstan and China, as well as data from the UN and various statistical agencies. The findings highlight the significant role of Kazakhstan in supporting transports, logistics, economic, and other connections between China and Europe via the BRI. The study reveals that while Kazakhstan has made progress in aligning with SDG 7, challenges remain due to the environmental impact of large-scale Chinese investments. The analysis underscores the need for Kazakhstan to balance economic benefits with environmental sustainability and to integrate robust regulatory frameworks to ensure compliance with SDG 7. The research concludes that international collaboration and the integration of environmental sustainability principles into economic policies are crucial for Kazakhstan to achieve its sustainability goals. While the country has initiated reforms for a ‘green’ transition, significant reforms are still required to fully align with SDG 7 and enhance its international reputation. The study emphasizes the importance of a multi-vector foreign policy and continuous engagement with global partners to realize large-scale international initiatives and improve energy regulation compliance.

This article offers a view of the prospects of nuclear fusion as a sustainable energy source, with a focus on magnetic confinement fusion and tokamaks. It highlights the key theme of integration and presents the EUROfusion programme as a model for coordinated fusion R&D in Europe while stressing the need for public–private partnerships to bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and industrial implementation. A crucial element is human capital development, i.e. the training of a new, diverse generation of scientists, engineers, and technicians. A broader educational effort is called for, with industry–academia collaboration, hands-on training, and mechanisms to retain and transfer knowledge from legacy projects such as JET.

This article aims to explore the social representations of the Spanish Second Republic and the Transition epochs among university students of various national identities within the Spanish state. A free-association exercise elicited by the words ‘Second Republic’ and ‘Transition’ was completed by 477 university students of the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, and Madrid, who were also asked about their national identity ideological orientation. Lexical analysis was used to analyse their responses. The results demonstrate how these two periods are strongly anchored in the ideological affiliations and social identity of the participants. Furthermore, we observed that the Spanish identity and right-wing ideology were related to a narrative crafted by the political elites during the inception of the current democratic period. Meanwhile, the peripheral national identities and left-wing ideology were associated with a contentious narrative that responds to the contested narrative. In addition, the results also reveal the current relevance of these two periods through their symbols and transmission, whose senses and meanings differ based on the ideological affiliation and national identity of the participants.

To honour the memory of Albert Bandura and David Magnusson, a few years after their deaths, the current status and perspectives of research on Personality is addressed. There is a growing demand for psychological knowledge to enable our societies to value their human capital. To this end, contemporary research on Personality moves beyond traditional rivalries among competing theories and addresses the whole personality by focusing on the unique properties that account for humans as agentic and moral beings, and for the social conditions that enable us to unveil and nurture the best of our humanity.

This article explores the concept of the ‘Trump effect’, defined by a technological disconnection and evaluated through alterations in export specialization among various economies. It scrutinizes if there were any shifts in the techno-nationalist trends of the EU, China and the US in terms of domestic value-added exports in technology sectors after 2017. The research covers the period from 1995 to 2020 and utilizes a fluctuating difference-in-differences approach. The findings suggest that technological global value chains (GVCs) were minimally affected by Trump’s policies, showing scant evidence of significant disconnection in the economies under study. Consequently, the research underscores the robustness of GVCs against the measures taken by the Trump administration.

Cities play a crucial role in green transformation and need strategies to address environmental, social and cultural issues. This article explores how Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) contribute to strengthening urban resilience, restoring biodiversity, improving air and water quality, and adapting to climate change. The integration of natural solutions with renewable energy systems and circular economy strategies reduces greenhouse gas emissions, enhances energy efficiency, strengthens resource resilience, and supports public health and economic stability. Important EU initiatives such as the Mission ‘100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities’, the Mission ‘Adaptation to Climate Change’, and the New European Bauhaus, provide a framework for integrating sustainability, inclusiveness and aesthetics into urban development. Technological concepts such as Digital Twins and Building Information Modelling help to adapt these innovations to local contexts. Examples of European cities (such as Barcelona Super Block, Aspern Smart City, Rotterdam hydrogen-fuel transport, etc.) clearly demonstrate benefits such as reduced emissions, increased biodiversity, and improved quality of life. This article underscores the role of interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation labs, and creative funding in advancing inclusive, climate-resilient urban transformation across Europe.

The goal of a fifth EU freedom – the ‘freedom of knowledge’ – emerged from working towards a unified European research area, expanding upon the four basic freedoms of the Single Market. This additional freedom is not yet guaranteed and so this task should be taken up anew. Here, I support this goal by explicating the meaning of the ‘fifth freedom’, then justifying its importance via four arguments concerning scientific progress, freedom of research, the economic and technological progress of societies, and the democratic ideals of the European project. To end the main article, I then argue that this freedom should be viewed as a right. In the supplementary material, I present problems that arise in the administration, funding, and organization of science within the EU to demonstrate that the fifth freedom is still a long way from being a reality. The evidence includes cases of national rules and practices that reduce or block the mobility of EU researchers and weaken collaboration and progress. For each type of problem, I present specific policy proposals for advancing the fifth freedom goal. The proposals are directed at academic administrations, funding agencies, and political actors at the regional, national, and European levels.

The Optimal Currency Area (OCA) theory is utilized to evaluate if Brexit is supported in the context of economic integration. In brief, the greater the conformity to the criteria motivated by the OCA model, the greater the feasibility of a monetary integration between the UK and the EU. Logically, if conditions are conducive for a monetary integration, Brexit – which is a disintegration – is thus unsupported. On the other hand, if circumstances are unfavourable for monetary integration, further economic integration with the current customs union of the EU is not indicated, hence Brexit is not contradicted.

Writing histories of world literature was, for the longest time, an almost exclusively European, or in any case Western, enterprise. Moreover, it was overwhelmingly centred on European, or again Western, literature. To do away with such Eurocentrism was the avowed aim of the project upon which an international set of literary scholars embarked in 2006, and which resulted in the four-volume Literature: A World History published in 2022. In the articles to follow, five scholars (Pettersson, Trivedi, Utas, Zhang, D’haen) directly involved with the project look back on their experience and reflect on the pros and cons, the successes and the failures, the achievements and the shortcomings, of the enterprise. As counterbalance, six scholars (Ette, Hajdu, Hawas, He, Larsen, Rydholm) not involved with the project reflect on the (im)possibilities of writing world histories of literature.

Academic freedom is founded on two fundamental principles: professional autonomy and the public good. These dual foundations are necessarily in tension with each other. Academic freedom is not a civil right, as is freedom of speech, nor is it an individual employment benefit provided to those in a restricted number of academic appointments. It is, instead, a freedom belonging to the academic profession collectively to pursue inquiry and teach freely, limited and guided by the principles of that profession and of a scholar’s respective disciplines. Academic freedom guarantees both faculty members and students the right to engage in intellectual inquiry and debate without fear of censorship or retaliation. It grants considerable scope to the consciences of individual teachers and researchers, but functions ultimately as the collective freedom of the scholarly community to govern itself in the interest of serving the common good in a democratic society. Academic freedom must protect not only independent research and classroom teaching, but a scholar’s expression as a citizen of both the university and the broader polity. Hence, to thrive, academic freedom depends on a democratic and constitutional system that guarantees the rule of law. Academic freedom has always been contested and vulnerable, to be sure, but in recent years it has faced a series of escalating challenges almost everywhere, amounting to a major crisis. In this context, calls for ‘institutional neutrality’ must be critically examined.

Academic freedom is widely accepted both as a fundamental value of present-day higher education and as a prerequisite for well-functioning democratic societies. Yet, in recent years, major concerns about the state of academic freedom in Europe have been raised by higher education stakeholders, including policymakers and members of the academic community. In response to these concerns, the European Parliament launched in 2022 its Academic Freedom Forum. The studies undertaken for the Forum show that academic freedom is eroding in practically all EU Member States. In this article we will discuss these studies and, on the basis of their findings, introduce six categories of threats to academic freedom in Europe. These categories allow for more structured studies on academic freedom in Europe and can contribute to a better understanding of differences and similarities in academic freedom trends among European countries.

This article discusses the history of wine in (what is now) Portugal, within the global history of the region. The Phoenicians brought wine and viticulture to the southern and western coasts of Iberia in the eighth century bce. The Romans expanded viticulture to the entire Peninsula in the late second century bce. Wine survived the ‘Barbarian’ invasions and centuries of Islamic rule. A revival of viticulture followed the capture of Lisbon by Afonso Henriques in 1147. In the early days of the age of exploration, Portugal developed trade routes to Africa, India, the Far East, and South America. The long-distance sailing was facilitated by the colonization of the Madeira and Açores (Azores) archipelagos. The wines produced there became famous, especially in England and North America. The fortification of wine in the late seventeenth century resulted in the emergence of modern Madeiras and Ports. Following the 1755 ‘Lisbon’ earthquake, Pombal imposed strict geographical delimitations and winemaking rules in the Douro. Napoleon’s Peninsular War devastated the Portuguese economy, and then viticulture was badly hit by oïdium and phylloxera, the First World War, the Great Depression, Prohibition, and the Second World War. Portuguese wines finally emerged on the world scene after the Salazar dictatorship.

Macro-financial stability plays a crucial role amidst global crises and can significantly impact the economic security of European Union members. It is crucial to have sufficient resources to address macroeconomic challenges since economic vulnerability can worsen risks, threats and instability, ultimately resulting in greater inequality. The article aims to investigate the influence of EU macro-financial stability on the economic security among EU member states with different development levels. Indicators that serve as the foundation for assessing the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP) have been chosen for studying the economic security of advanced, emerging, and developing economies within the EU. Studies utilizing correlation and regression analysis have revealed an interconnection between the EU’s macro-financial stability and its member countries’ economic indicators. This correlation is found to be significant regardless of the country’s level of development. The findings highlight the vulnerability of national economies to macro-financial shocks within the EU and the potential adverse effects on the economic security of member countries. Insights into the impact of macro-financial stability on economic security help identify destructive trends and risks arising from macro-financial destabilization, proving beneficial to EU members and countries aspiring to EU membership. The novelty lies in establishing the link between financial stability and economic security of EU member countries at the macroeconomic level, regardless of their development level, and elucidating potential consequences of macro-financial destabilization on economic indicators.

This study chronicles the major discovery of textual evidence about the eastward diffusion of two major world religions, Christianity and Manichaeism, along the Silk Road, and their eventual arrival in Tang China. It begins with the well-known discovery of the Xi’an Monument (once called the Nestorian Monument) in the seventeenth century and the controversy it stirred up in European scholarship because it was a relic of the (Christian) Church of the East. The study then focuses on discoveries of both Christian and Manichaean material made at the eastern end of the Silk Road, especially at Kaochang (medieval Qočo) and Dunhuang, which authenticated the Monument and inaugurated the study of the history of these two religions in pre-Modern China. The final part of the study chronicles the survival of these two Near-Eastern religions in China and asks whether our knowledge of Christianity in China under the Mongols contributes to the ongoing debate on the historicity of Marco Polo’s visit to China proper.

The first comprehensive history of World Literature to be published in English was Literature: A World History (4 vols, 2022). As an editor-contributor of this work, I here examine in retrospect the decisions we collectively took about basic structural issues such as periodization, division of the world into six macro-regions, their proportional representation, and the multi-tier process of writing, editing and coordination. In the process, I point out several aspects of our project that in my view did not go as well as they could have, and conclude by acclaiming nonetheless the undoubted success of our pioneering endeavour.

Regulations are necessary for the governance of health products in order to protect public health and safely introduce new technologies. This article examines the history of regulations in the USA and EU for food, medicines and medical devices, to uncover the original motivations and objectives for legislative initiatives. The foundation of the US FDA in the early twentieth century resulted from concerns about adulteration of foods. Drug regulation in the 1930s was precipitated by the sulfanilamide scandal. The development of regulations for medical devices during the 1970s was accelerated by concerns about deaths attributed to devices, and complications with the Dalkon shield intrauterine device. In the EU, pharmaceutical regulation in 1965 followed the thalidomide scandal while the first directives for medical devices after 1990 followed petition from manufacturers and earlier concerns about pacemakers and heart valves. In Europe and the USA, pharmaceutical and device regulations have been initiated reactively in response to crises, as well as perceived deficiencies in regulatory frameworks. The European Commission is now conducting a review of the medical device regulations to consider possible legislative changes. This review of the history of regulations provides an opportunity to reconsider what is needed, proactively and on scientific and clinical grounds.

Agricultural exports influence ecological outcomes by promoting sustainable farming and eco-friendly technologies, aligning with international standards, and contributing to decarbonization and environmental sustainability. Türkiye has seen considerable growth in agricultural exports, but this rapid expansion raises concerns about its environmental consequences, especially regarding carbon emissions and overall ecological sustainability. This article investigates the impact of agricultural exports on environmental sustainability within the context of trade liberalization policies during Türkiye’s export-oriented agricultural expansion from 1990 to 2015, utilizing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. The findings demonstrate that agricultural exports significantly reduce environmental degradation over the long term. This is further validated by the Conditional Error Correction (CEC) model, which confirms that agricultural exports enhance ecological quality by lowering carbon emissions. Additionally, renewable energy consumption supports environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by presenting empirical evidence on the interplay between agricultural exports and environmental sustainability in Türkiye. This article suggests that policymakers focus on an export-oriented agricultural extension strategy to address environmental challenges. Such a strategy should be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and integrate agricultural exports as a key component of Türkiye’s long-term environmental sustainability plan.

The early development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the latter half of the twentieth century was marked by limited, hand-crafted systems and fluctuating perceptions of the field’s potential. Early research explored a range of paradigms – including symbolic, neural and probabilistic approaches – constrained by severe hardware and data limitations. Key technological advances, such as the invention of microchips, GPUs and later TPUs, significantly enhanced computational capacity, enabling more complex AI experimentation. Concurrently, the proliferation of digital data through the internet addressed longstanding bottlenecks in data availability. The most transformative shift, however, came from architectural innovations in neural networks, culminating in the deep learning revolution. This unfolded in two phases: the emergence of Recurrent and Convolutional Neural Networks, followed by the development of transformer-based models, which underpin today’s Large Language Models (LLMs).