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.

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.

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 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).

This article explores the ‘moral turn’ in contemporary sociological theory, positioning it as a response to the global crisis of democracy and the erosion of civil society. I argue that beyond institutional (or ‘hard’) democracy, the sustainability of democratic life depends on the moral fabric – or ‘moral space’ – that underpins civil society, constituted by values such as trust, reciprocity, solidarity and justice. As populism and authoritarianism gain traction globally, these moral underpinnings are increasingly threatened. Against this backdrop, contemporary sociological theorists are returning to foundational moral questions, not by imposing normative codes, but by uncovering value systems embedded in social practices and human interactions. This article examines this shift through three major theorists, who respectively advocate for a cosmopolitan morality grounded in empathy and tolerance toward diversity, promote a gift paradigm emphasizing reciprocity as a basis for convivial social life, and identify moral injury and misrecognition as key drivers of social struggle and transformation. Ultimately, the moral turn reflects the renewed ethical responsibility of social scientists to act as public intellectuals, restoring the normative vision of a just and democratic society from within sociological inquiry itself.

The decision to apply for EU membership has prompted significant legislative changes in Central and Eastern European countries, including Serbia. The focus on the single European market emphasizes the importance of product safety and quality. Establishing a National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) is crucial for good governance and fostering a favourable trade environment. This article aims to analyse how Serbian policymakers view quality infrastructure by examining parliamentary debates on four NQI laws, contributing to a better understanding of policy development in Serbia and similar countries in the region. Out of 266 parliamentary speeches at the joint hearings of NQI laws, 35 speeches of law proponents, ministers, and deputies were analysed in detail. The European solutions adopted in Serbia lacked sufficient critical evaluation of their applicability, leading to unjustified economic and social costs. The quality infrastructure laws were viewed merely as EU requirements, rather than essential measures with intrinsic value and relevance to Serbia.

This study, focused on the Czech Republic, examines the influence of ethnic nationalism on the public willingness to accept war refugees from countries with different cultural and religious backgrounds. We present evidence relating to forced migration from Ukraine (predominantly Christian) and from countries with predominantly Muslim populations. The theoretical-conceptual framework for our study encompasses the concepts of ethnicity and historical institutionalism, and the theory of social identity. Our theoretical analysis is strengthened by evidence from structured and semi-structured interviews. We find that ethnic nationalism does contribute in part to public rejection of migrants with different ethnic or religious backgrounds in the Czech Republic, as one of several factors that encourage a perceived ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dichotomy among certain sectors of the Czech population.