The Independence Process of Bulgaria and the First Ambassador of the Ottoman Empire to Sofia, Mustafa Asım Bey

In this study, the reaction of the Ottoman Empire to the declaration of independence of Bulgaria, the first ambassador of the Ottoman Empire in Bulgaria, Mustafa Asım Bey and his activities are discussed. The study examines the diplomatic activities of the Ottoman Empire against Bulgaria in the period between the autonomy process of Bulgaria and the independence process, the process of recognition of Bulgaria’s independence, the diplomatic relations established with Bulgaria, the biography of Mustafa Asım Bey, the first Ambassador of the Ottoman Empire to Sofia, and his approach to the problems between the two countries. In the article, documents from the Ottoman Archive of Directorate of State Archives (BOA), documents from the Bulgarian State Archives, periodicals and literature were used.

Battle for the Airwaves during the First Indochina War

The VOV proudly proclaims September 7, 1945 as the foundational date for Vietnamese public radio, when the Declaration of Independence was read out on wireless for the first time. Vietnamese technicians who had been trained by the French set up a station in Hanoi to support the Viet Minh’s independence coalition. In December 1946, the French seized control of Hanoi again and established a new station, Radio Hanoi, at Rue Richaud (now Quán Sứ street). In contrast to the exclusive European radio clubs of the 1920s and 1930s, Radio Hanoi hired a troupe of Vietnamese musicians and actors who performed live on air and at popular venues in the capital between 1948 and the early 1950s. Their programming of entertainment and news in several languages appealed to Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese alike. Meanwhile the Viet Minh resumed their broadcasts of anti-colonial rhetoric from a discrete mountain location, but they struggled to sustain the attention of their listeners. To reengage with the public and draw listeners away from Radio Hanoi, they began to program communist-themed entertainment (music, poetry, stories, and short plays) alongside political news and information. Chapter 2 draws on oral histories, archival records, and historical broadcasts to reconstruct the sonic ambience of this creative conflict. The research investigates how composers, musicians, singers, and voice actors at both stations battled to nurture a resilient and attentive radio listenership with attractive artistic outputs that were often imbued with implicit (Radio Hanoi) and explicit (Viet Minh Radio) political ideologies.

The Christian Nation

This chapter begins with the question posed by a historian to the American Historical Association member forum, “Why do my students think America was founded as a Christian nation?” It explores how these curricula sustain crucial elements of that narrative by denying the influence of the Enlightenment and by making crucial claims about the founding: the Declaration of Independence defined a Christian nation; the American Revolution was either a Christian cause or not a revolution at all; and the Constitution, though silent on religion, nonetheless confirmed the intent of unquestionably Christian founders to establish a Christian nation. The chapter also highlights the nuanced work of historians of religion on these questions to show that such arguments contradict the historical consensus, are unduly simplistic, and are rooted in national origin myths.

Prerequisites for self-determination and the sovereignty of Tuva (Russia) in 1921

The article analyzes the prerequisites of self-determination and sovereignty of Tuva in 1921. Briefly, the general context of events is revealed, the main episodes and key personalities are listed. Using historical-genetic, comparative-historical and problem-chronological methods, the positions of Mongolia and Soviet Russia and their relationship on the status of Tuva, the organization and convocation of the All-Tuva Constituent Khural, which proclaimed the independence of Tuva, as well as the consequences of the declaration of independence of Tuva, were reconstructed. The role of the authorized representative of the Sibrevkom in Uryanhai I.G. Safyanov in this process is shown. In conclusion, the authors conclude that the emergence of a sovereign Tuva state was made possible both due to the contradictory political situation in Asia and due to the role of I.G. Safyanov in history. Since 1921, Tuva began to live and develop in the political and economic conditions created by the Constituent Khural.

PROBLEMATISASI KELOMPOK SUBALTERN DAN AMERICAN DREAM DALAM NOVEL THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC KARYA JULIE OTSUKA

Novel The Buddha in the Attic karya Julie Otsuka merupakan novel yang memuat fenomena migrasi para perempuan Jepang sebagai picture brides di Amerika Serikat. Berawal dari sebuah foto yang menyimbolkan kesuksesan American Dream, para perempuan ini mengadu nasib di daratan yang selama ini dikenal dengan gaung kesuksesan yang ditawarkan oleh American Dream. Akan tetapi, para picture brides, termasuk para imigran Jepang di Amerika, mengalami diskriminasi rasial. Dari kondisi ini, muncul sebuah permasalahan lain yang dialami oleh picture brides, termasuk didalamnya para imigran Jepang, yang mengalami kesusahan dalam mendapatkan kesempatan memperoleh kesuksesan di Amerika. Isu ini kemudian mengarah ke permasalahan yang lebih mendalam, yaitu mengenai problematika American Dream dari sudut pandang picture brides dengan American Dream dari sudut pandang warga Amerika itu sendiri. Untuk menjawab permasalahan tersebut, studi ini menerapkan teori subaltern milik Gayatri Spivak sebagai kerangka pemikiran teoretis. Berdasarkan hasil analisis, nampak bahwa ada fenomena propaganda American Dream yang mereduksi nilai-nilai American Dream. American Dream yang menekankan life, liberty dan the pursuit of happiness layaknya tercantum dalam The Declaration of Independence pada kenyataannya digunakan sebagai agenda politik oleh pemerintah Amerika Serikat untuk menjaga homogenitas budaya masyarakat Amerika.

“As Different . . . as Light Is from Darkness”

This chapter argues that the clergy’s overall perspective on political resistance remained consistent, even as political loyalties shifted with the Declaration of Independence in 1776. John Witherspoon, the leading clergyman to publicly support independence, remained consistent in his rejection of political absolutism and his belief in the doctrine of resistance. He did not agree with the perspective of Thomas Paine and other political radicals but argued for resistance along the lines of his own theological tradition. Support for political independence, it is argued, should not be viewed as signaling a broader shift in Witherspoon’s ethical and philosophical views. He did not embrace a secular understanding of moral virtue held by philosophers like Francis Hutcheson. His moral philosophy and approach to moral questions remained consistent with his own theological tradition, and no major shift needs to be asserted in this regard.

“Nova Revija” Magazine as a Catalyst for Socio-political Changes (to the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s declaration of independence)

The article tells about the activities of the Slovenian literary-critical magazine “Nova Revia” (1982–2010), which united representatives of the democratic intelligentsia – writers, critics, philosophers, sociologists – and became “the intellectual center of the ‘Slovenian spring’” (N. Grafenauer). In the late 1980s on its pages were discussed not only topical problems of culture, literature and art, but were conducted polemics on internal political and national issues, was openly sounded criticism of socialist ideology and ethics. The magazine published the first national political program of the opposition, in which were expressed the demands for the state independence of the Republic of Slovenia. Its authors played an important role in the formation of a multi-party system in the republic and in the political life of the young state after the proclamation of sovereignty.