Ulrich Schmid - Böcker

Ukraine: Contested Nationhood in a European Context challenges the common view that Ukraine is a country split between a pro-European West and a pro-Russian East. The volume navigates the complicated cultural history of Ukraine and highlights the importance of regional traditions for an understanding of the current political situation. A key feature is the different politics of memory that prevail in each region, such as the Soviet past being presented as either a foreign occupation or a benign socialist project. The pluralistic culture of Ukraine (in terms of languages, national legacies and religions) forms a nation that faces both internal and external challenges. In order to address this fully, rather than following a merely chronological order, this book examines different interpretations of Ukrainian nationhood that have been especially influential, such as the Russian tradition, the Habsburg past and the Polish connections. Finally, the book analyses Ukraine’s political and economic options for the future. Can the desired integration into EU structures overcome the concentration of investment of power in the hands of a few oligarchs and a continuing widespread culture of corruption? Will proposals to join NATO, which garnered robust support among the populace in the aftermath of the Russian aggression, materialise under the current circumstances? Is the political culture in Ukraine sufficiently functional to guarantee democratic procedures and the rule of law?

Ukraine: Contested Nationhood in a European Context challenges the common view that Ukraine is a country split between a pro-European West and a pro-Russian East. The volume navigates the complicated cultural history of Ukraine and highlights the importance of regional traditions for an understanding of the current political situation. A key feature is the different politics of memory that prevail in each region, such as the Soviet past being presented as either a foreign occupation or a benign socialist project. The pluralistic culture of Ukraine (in terms of languages, national legacies and religions) forms a nation that faces both internal and external challenges. In order to address this fully, rather than following a merely chronological order, this book examines different interpretations of Ukrainian nationhood that have been especially influential, such as the Russian tradition, the Habsburg past and the Polish connections. Finally, the book analyses Ukraine’s political and economic options for the future. Can the desired integration into EU structures overcome the concentration of investment of power in the hands of a few oligarchs and a continuing widespread culture of corruption? Will proposals to join NATO, which garnered robust support among the populace in the aftermath of the Russian aggression, materialise under the current circumstances? Is the political culture in Ukraine sufficiently functional to guarantee democratic procedures and the rule of law?

This volume aims to commemorate, criticize, scrutinize and assess the undoubted significance of the Russian Revolution both retrospectively and prospectively in three parts.

This volume aims to commemorate, criticize, scrutinize and assess the undoubted significance of the Russian Revolution both retrospectively and prospectively in three parts.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 32nd International Colloquium on Structural Information and Communication Complexity, SIROCCO 2025, held in Delphi, Greece in June 2025. The 24 full papers and 4 brief announcements included in the proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 57 submissions.

Nature has always been a source of inspiration for the design of the human environment. The analysis of biological constructions can not only lead to astonishing technical solutions but can also inspire the design of architecture. Bionics is a fascinating border area between pure research and practical application: biologists, chemists, physicists, mineralogists, and paleontologists meet up with material scientists, engineers, and architects and transfer their knowledge to architecture and construction. Using numerous practical examples, this richly illustrated introduction traces the process from the understanding of how something functions, to abstraction—for example in computer models—and the construction of initial prototypes, through to fully functional manufacture and production.

Nature has always been a source of inspiration for the design of the human environment. The analysis of biological constructions can not only lead to astonishing technical solutions but can also inspire the design of architecture. Bionics is a fascinating border area between pure research and practical application: biologists, chemists, physicists, mineralogists, and paleontologists meet up with material scientists, engineers, and architects and transfer their knowledge to architecture and construction. Using numerous practical examples, this richly illustrated introduction traces the process from the understanding of how something functions, to abstraction—for example in computer models—and the construction of initial prototypes, through to fully functional manufacture and production.

Die "Multimedia"-Debatte steckt voller Visionen des sozialen und kulturellen Fortschritts. Medientechnische Innovationen, egal ob Buchdruck, Rundfunk oder (Kabel-)Fernsehen, waren immer ein Anlass fur derartige Hoffnungen. Doch im Ruckblick auf fruhere Medienprojekte lasst sich ebenso wie aus der Geschichte der etablierten Medien lernen, dass die ursprunglichen Nutzungskonzepte und -vorstellungen selten denen entsprachen, die sich langfristig durchsetzten. Was berechtigt also zu den gegenwartigen Erwartungen bei "Multimedia"? Und welche Voraussetzungen mussen erfullt sein, damit sich der Computer - wie vielfach behauptet - tatsachlich zu einem neuen "Massen- oder Leitmedium" entwickelt? Die Verfugbarkeit neuer Medientechniken, so die in diesem Band entwickelte These, ist zwar eine notwendige, aber keine hinreichende Bedingung. Im inhaltlich-kulturellen Sinn ist die Entstehung neuer Medien vielmehr ein lang andauernder Prozess der Organisationsentwicklung und Einbettung in den Nutzungsalltag.

Der offene Überfall Russlands auf die Ukraine im Februar 2022 hat der westlichen Öffentlichkeit die Wichtigkeit der ukrainischen Kulturgeschichte bewusst gemacht.