Electronic copies of History and Politics journal articles. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/214 2026-09-26T16:08:02Z 2026-09-26T16:08:02Z Park, Hyeyoon http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38332 2026-09-18T00:32:45Z

Title: Two Narratives of Securitization and Norm Development in Transnational Governance of Critical Mineral Resources: Toward Realpolitik or Sustainability? Author(s): Park, Hyeyoon Abstract: Amid the rapidly increasing global demand for critical mineral resources driven by the energy transition and the AI revolution, critical mineral governance has become an urgent topic at the intersection of security and sustainability. Intensifying geopolitical turbulence from the Ukraine War and the US-China trade war has triggered the securitization of critical minerals, (re)shaping the core norm structure in the current transnational governance architecture. This paper examines competing approaches to securitizing critical minerals and the extent to which sustainability norms are developed in transnational governance institutions. Drawing on securitization and norm literature, this research traces institutional and discourse changes in 15 selected institutions, identified from a mapping exercise of 50 cases. The findings demonstrate two emerging securitization narratives: 1) a hierarchical national security-centered nexus, prioritizing national security norms over sustainability norms (norm-ordering), and 2) a horizontal multi-layered security nexus, emphasizing multiple norms interlinked, such as human rights, sustainability, peace and security (norm-layering). These competing approaches to securitization as a strategic practice of norm-making mirror normative fragmentations around accelerating bloc-alignments in the current geopolitical crisis. It signals a shift in the transnational governance architecture from conventional liberal multilateralism to "Realpolitik" which could foster accountability problems.

Slavin, Philip Fiol, Guillem Mas http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38331 2026-09-18T00:32:27Z 2026-04-03T00:00:00Z

Title: The introduction and spread of plague in the Great Lakes region of East Africa, c.1700–1900: a palaeogenetic and social history Author(s): Slavin, Philip; Fiol, Guillem Mas Abstract: This article reconstructs and explains the introduction and spread of plague in the Great Lakes region of East Africa in the pre- and early colonial period (c.1700–1900). It argues that plague arrived and focalised in the region, which was marked by isolation from the outside world, towards the end of the seventeenth century and in unique circumstances of human migration, triggered by climatic anomaly and environmental factors. The most likely route of introduction was along the Nile, from Egypt and Sudan. Subsequent spread waves, each characterised by different spatio-temporal contours, were triggered largely by anthropogenic and demographic factors (including conflicts and human migration), but it was not until the colonial period that the disease left the region and spread farther east to the Swahili Coast and beyond. The article conjoins both textual and non-textual evidence, including recent palaeogenetic work (the study of ancient DNA), to demonstrate the value of an inherently interdisciplinary approach to plague history.

2026-04-03T00:00:00Z Kippin, Sean http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38267 2026-09-03T00:01:36Z 2026-07-24T00:00:00Z

Title: Populist-inflected governance in a mature democracy: Bureaucratic de-legitimation and executive control in the United Kingdom (2019–2024) Author(s): Kippin, Sean Abstract: This article examines the relationship between radical right populism and bureaucracy in the UK—a parliamentary system with strong executive dominance. While much literature on populism and public administration focuses on bureaucratic capture or constitutional rupture, the UK presents a different pattern in which populist pressures operated within existing institutional arrangements. The article argues that populist governance in the UK between 2019 and 2024 represents an effort to reassert an idealized ‘Westminster story’ of executive control against the messy and complex realities of contemporary policy-making and public administration. Drawing on three case studies—the construction of civil service antagonism (the ‘blob’), reforms to the election management body (the Electoral Commission), and attempts to implement the Rwanda asylum scheme—the article traces strategies of de-legitimation, institutional bending, and policy forcing. The UK case highlights how populist-inspired executives seek to bypass bureaucracy without dismantling the administrative state.

2026-07-24T00:00:00Z Schapper, Andrea http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38251 2026-08-26T13:24:53Z 2026-03-26T00:00:00Z

Title: Transcalar and Intersectional Advocacy in a Super-Network: The Right to a Healthy Environment Coalition Author(s): Schapper, Andrea Abstract: In this article, I argue that the Right to a Healthy Environment (R2HE) coalition, a network of 1350 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and transnational advocacy networks (TANs), played an important role in the process leading to R2HE recognition. To explain in more depth how the R2HE coalition emerged and functioned, I conceptualize it as a ‘super-network’. The main argument presented here is that super-networks can be understood as a mobilization structure above individual TANs (using the Latin word ‘super’ for above). They emerge when brokering entrepreneurs connect collaborative TANs and NGOs from different policy fields. Super-networks apply intersectional and transcalar tactics, and increase their power vis-à-vis state actors to impact decision-making in international forums. Empirically, this paper is based on a case study of the R2HE coalition, building on a content analysis of primary documents, expert interviews with non-governmental key players in the coalition and with UN representatives, as well as a focus group discussion with UN and NGOs/TAN representatives.

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