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peer-reviewed ; This thesis seeks to account for the nearly four decade-long rule of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) using the methods of Antonio Gramsci's historical political economy, particularly his concepts of historical blocs and hegemony. Gramsci's theories provide useful tools for explaining Zanu-PF's and by generalisation other similarly entrenched regimes across Africa by employing an ontology, an epistemology and a method that incorporates historical, economic and ideological factors. Gramsci's theories help us analyse dynamics of structure and agency, modes of production and ideology, as well as consent and coercion in the creation and maintenance of long lasting political dominance. The Gramscian concept of the historical bloc supplies a conceptual continuum between the base, a society's mode of economic production and reproduction, and the superstructure, the dominant ideologies and political institutions. The thesis identifies three post-independence historical blocs in Zimbabwe, the 1980 era's 'corporatist/welfarist' or 'compromise state' historical bloc; the attempted neo-liberal Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) historical bloc and finally the crisis hegemonic bloc which corresponds with the Third Chimurenga and the Fast Track Land Reform Programme. The thesis considers that this last bloc includes the period of the Government of National Unity Between 2009-2013 and has to the present. Hegemony is understood as the continuum between 'intellectual and moral leadership obtained by consent' and the strategies employed on the terrain of 'relations of force' in achieving and maintaining political dominance (Gramsci, 2000, p. 202). The thesis concurs with the observation by Gramscian scholar David Moore that Zanu-PF has never enjoyed leadership based solely on intellectual and moral leadership without the threat of violence. Neither, however, is it the case that the party has ruled entirely by force without claiming to derive its authority from a higher ...

Introduction: The German PID-NET registry was founded in 2009, serving as the first national registry of patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) in Germany. It is part of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) registry. The primary purpose of the registry is to gather data on the epidemiology, diagnostic delay, diagnosis, and treatment of PIDs. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data was collected from 2,453 patients from 36 German PID centres in an online registry. Data was analysed with the software Stata((R)) and Excel. Results: The minimum prevalence of PID in Germany is 2.72 per 100,000 inhabitants. Among patients aged 1-25, there was a clear predominance of males. The median age of living patients ranged between 7 and 40 years, depending on the respective PID. Predominantly antibody disorders were the most prevalent group with 57% of all 2,453 PID patients (including 728 CVID patients). A gene defect was identified in 36% of patients. Familial cases were observed in 21% of patients. The age of onset for presenting symptoms ranged from birth to late adulthood (range 0-88 years). Presenting symptoms comprised infections (74%) and immune dysregulation (22%). Ninety-three patients were diagnosed without prior clinical symptoms. Regarding the general and clinical diagnostic delay, no PID had undergone a slight decrease within the last decade. However, both, SCID and hyper IgE-syndrome showed a substantial improvement in shortening the time between onset of symptoms and genetic diagnosis. Regarding treatment, 49% of all patients received immunoglobulin G (IgG) substitution (70%-subcutaneous; 29%-intravenous; 1%-unknown). Three-hundred patients underwent at least one hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Five patients had gene therapy. Conclusion: The German PID-NET registry is a precious tool for physicians, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, politicians, and ultimately the patients, for whom the outcomes will eventually lead to a more timely diagnosis and better treatment.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been the subject of several armed conflicts for more than two decades, causing the displacement of millions of Congolese in and outside the country and impacting on their mental health and wellbeing. Mental healthcare interventions are a vital component for the displaced to holistically integrate into their new communities. This policy brief draws from a systematic review of various laws and policies as well as stakeholders' analysis to address the mental health issues of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the DRC. In addition, we examine data from 32 interviews with various stakeholders at the national level and in 4 provinces of the DRC (Kasai Central, Tanganyika, South Kivu and Ituri). The findings show that while the DRC has committed to progressive policies and conventions the implementation of these policies and conventions, however, remains insufficient. There are also limited local and international stakeholders that provide forms of psychosocial support to IDPs and, effectively address mental health challenges in context. In addition, the provision of such care is limited by the scarcity of specialized and skilled staffs. These findings point to the need to strengthen mental health system governance. This should include scaling up of the integration of mental healthcare at the operational level, the training of community health workers in the screening of mental health issues and the sensitization of the IDPs and the host population to help them change their perception of mental ill-health.

This article traces the idea of ("immigrant") "integration" from its roots in classical political philosophy and the birth of the modern nation-state, to its current relevance in the European political agenda and, relatedly, its centrality in the newly consolidated field of Migration Studies. I examine the ontological (i.e., philosophical and sociological) and political rationales behind the idea that migrants need to "integrate into society", and the different varieties of political solutions that are offered in this sense. The paper asks: How did the migrant come at the center of the idea of an integrated society? And how did integrationism become consolidated as the hegemonic idea of governing diverse societies in post-migration contexts in Europe? Employing an extensive list of secondary literature, documentary data, policy analysis of the EU-level Framework on migrant integration, and discourse analysis of integration-related research publications, I attempt a genealogy of the idea of "integration" as it traveled across the North Atlantic West and between academia and government. The paper shows how the production of the subject of integration—the misfit "immigrant" figure—is historically marked by a consensus across the learned and the governing elites that identifies the preservation of a homogenous national social order as a societal goal. I argue that the scientification of integration governance via the "evidence-based policy" paradigm (most notably promoted by EU institutions) normalizes, naturalizes and aims to depoliticize the otherwise highly normative and contested question of migrant integration.

The July 2019 national elections in Greece marked the return in power of the conservative party of ND, one of the two pillars of the traditional Greek bipartisanism. Turnover in these elections nearly reached 40%; more than two thirds of the current Parliament MPs were first elected during the crisis, since old parliamentarians slowly give away their seats to newcomers. The aim of this paper is twofold: 1) explore candidate selection mechanisms of old and new parties in Greece inquiring what -if any- has changed in these mechanisms after the Great Recession and whether they adopt IPD in a wider extent; and 2) investigate the sociodemographic profile of newcomers vis-à-vis older Parliamentarians in order to check if the outcome of the elections has changed in terms of a more socially diverse profile. Given that the issue of candidate selection (and election) is mostly based on unwritten rules, our findings will rely on written party rules (such as party manifestos), on original sociodemographic data and on personal interviews. We tentatively suggest that not much has changed in the candidate selection mechanisms in Greece. ND made limited use of its open registry of candidates, whilst SYRIZA applied the same rules as in previous elections. We conclude that, the crisis in Greece offered the opportunity structures for the mass renewal of its parliamentary elite and for a somewhat more socially diverse pool of successful candidates, but its effect quickly disappeared since new MPs resemble more independent political entrepreneurs and have less social and political ties.

This research article aims to provide answers on how COVID-19 pandemics influenced migration law, policy responses, and practices in Croatia, particularly concerning migrants on the Western Balkan route. Throughout the EU, governments have reinstituted border controls in the Schengen region and any "nonessential travel" to the EU has been suspended. In this study, it is analyzed whether asylum seekers have been denied entry in violation of international refugee law and whether immigration officers held detainees because of the risks posed by COVID-19 alongside Croatian borders. In addition, the study addresses the question whether and to what degree the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the overall approach toward migrants and their access to services, primarily the right to health care. Also, it is researched whether facilities for migrants and asylum seekers have appropriate health care and whether the measures imposed by the Croatian Institute of Public Health and by the National Emergency Response Team are respected when dealing with migrants. In addition, it is researched whether the EU, UN, and WHO policies and recommendation concerning COVID-19 and migrants, where applicable, are respected in the Republic of Croatia and whether specific policies concerning migrants and COVID-19 were introduced. All legislation, policy responses, and practices will be critically approached and examined. The text will make proposals for implementation of best practices and policy responses for migrants in the context of COVID-19. All statistical data that are necessary for this research are requested from the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia.

EU Member States may legally designate a country as a Safe Country of Origin when human rights and democratic standards are generally respected. For nationals of these countries, asylum claims are treated in an accelerated way, the underlying objective of the "safe country" designation being to facilitate the rapid return of unsuccessful claimants to their country of origin. The concept of "safe country" was initially blind to gender-based violence. Yet, in the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), which began in 2016, the European Commission proposed two changes: first, that a common list of "safe countries" should be applied in all Member States, and second, that this concept should be interpreted in a "gender-sensitive" manner. In consequence, the generalization of a policy that has been documented as largely detrimental to asylum seekers has been accompanied by the development of special guarantees for LGBTI+ asylum seekers. In light of this, there is a need to examine the impact of "safe country" practices on LGBTI+ claimants and to investigate the extent to which the securitization of European borders is compatible with LGBTI+ inclusion. Based on a qualitative document analysis of EU "safe country" policies and on interviews with organizations supporting LGBTI+ asylum seekers, this article shows that despite the implementation of gender-sensitive safeguards, LGBTI+ asylum seekers are particularly affected by "safe country" practices. These practices permeate European asylum systems beyond the application of official lists, depriving many LGBTI+ asylum seekers of their right to have their protection claims fairly assessed.

During the European elections of 2014, one of the main issues raised by the media was the electoral performance of so called 'populist parties'. The electorate confirmed its deep dissatisfaction with mainstream political parties, voting for far right parties in parliamentary elections in Northern Europe (Austria, Denmark, Sweden), Eastern Europe (Hungary, where the deeply anti-Semitic Jobbik party gained votes) and in France (where the French National Front won about a quarter of the vote), while in the Southern European countries, battered by austerity policies, it was the radical right and left in Greece (Golden Dawn and Syriza) and the radical left in Spain (Podemos) that obtained excellent scores. This book examines the growing trend towards far and extreme right populism that has emerged prominently in Northern (Finland), Western (Austria, Denmark, France, the UK), Southern (Greece, Italy) and Central/Eastern Europe (Slovenia, Bulgaria) since the 1990s. Providing a critical understanding of current European trends and analysing the complex phenomena covered by the notion of populism, this book will be of interest to students and scholars researching right-wing politics, as well as European politics more generally.

Background & IntroductionThe Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) is the oldest and longest-running of the British birth cohort studies. In 2018 we launched the Skylark Wiki, a central metadata repository and the first port of call for any data sharing queries. In 2023 we utilised the HDRUK funding initiative to work with our advisory group and research community to improve the transparency of our data access process and make the content more accessible.
MethodsWe conducted a focus group session with the NSHD Participant Advisory Panel to understand their views on the data sharing process and whether the information we provided them, sufficiently explained how their data are shared. We also sent out a questionnaire to all Skylark Users to identify areas of improvement. Lastly, we undertook an audit of the website's content and used Google Analytics to see how Users navigated across the site. Combining all this information we identified areas requiring improvements, from the point of view of our stakeholders, and comparing these to the requirements indicated in the HDRUK Transparency Standards we mapped out updates to the Skylark Wiki. The work was carried out by an external agency (Aubergine262 Ltd).
ResultsTo increase transparency and searchability, we improved the flow diagram of the data sharing process to include links to the relevant web pages. We also created guidance to explain why the information in the data request application form is being asked. As feedback from Skylark Users suggested difficulties in finding the required information, the navigation has been updated. We have also changed the layout of the front page to include navigation boxes that takes users straight to the content. The NSHD Advisory Panel reinforced the notion of trust that study participants place in the study and its approach to data sharing. They confirmed the information provided on data sharing was adequate and appreciated that this information was placed on the main study website (https://nshd.mrc.ac.uk/) for their benefit.
Initial feedback from Users indicates that it is easier to find information on the website. We will keep monitoring access to the website, the number of queries, and data access requests to evaluate long-term benefits.
We have changed the sitemap and added in large link boxes, to make it easier to find the different sections. We hope this will improve the searchability of the site so users can find information they required. We hope this will therefore lead to fewer emails and correspondence between the data sharing team and users. We have also updated the flow diagram of the data sharing process to include links to the web pages which are related to that section. We hope this will help the users find the information they require.
ConclusionsThe new Skylark data-sharing website supports easier navigation providing a better User experience. In return, this should lead to fewer queries from Users. The website will be easier to maintain having changed the content management system from a Wiki to WordPress. WordPress requires less technical knowledge, allowing more staff to contribute to regular maintenance.
References

Skylark data-sharing website: https://skylark.ucl.ac.uk/NSHD/
Aubergine: https://www.aubergine262.com/

Intro -- Front Matter -- Preface -- Contents -- Summary -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Rising Incarceration Rates -- 3 Policies and Practices Contributing to High Rates of Incarceration -- 4 The Underlying Causes of Rising Incarceration: Crime, Politics, and Social Change -- 5 The Crime Prevention Effects of Incarceration -- 6 The Experience of Imprisonment -- 7 Consequences for Health and Mental Health -- 8 Consequences for Employment and Earnings -- 9 Consequences for Families and Children -- 10 Consequences for Communities -- 11 Wider Consequences for U.S. Society -- 12 The Prison in Society: Values and Principles -- 13 Findings, Conclusions, and Implications -- References -- Appendix A: Supplementary Statement by Ricardo H. Hinojosa -- Appendix B: Data Sources -- Appendix C: Incarceration in the United States:A Research Agenda -- Appendix D: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members.