This article explains why the Netherlands, uniquely among major European states, issued a sovereign apology for its role in transatlantic slavery in December 2022 while comparable states, notably the United Kingdom, have not. Using process tracing and an analytically eclectic framework, the apology activation model, or AAM, identifies three interlocking conditions that activate sovereign apologies: institutional openness that admits minoritized voices into competitive politics; influential domestic allies who translate transnational pressure into parliamentary and executive action; and a cohesive, domestically represented victim constituency able to sustain claims and shape framing. The Dutch case shows how forward-looking framing and strategic localization converted CARICOM and EU pressure into parliamentary commitment, a policy package, and a durable reparative agenda despite mixed public opinion; the UK comparison demonstrates that international advocacy alone is insufficient. The article advances theory by integrating normative and material explanations, foregrounding elite interest convergence and domestic opportunity structures, and offering a practical template for analyzing reparations politics across diverse political systems.

As usually conceived and practiced, education – sustainability, environmental and beyond – is embedded in an overarching narrative of progress: increasing human knowledge leading us to make wiser decisions about our behaviour, as individuals and societies. This article outlines an alternative story that draws on the work of two Indigenous scholars, E. Richard Atleo (Nuu-chah-nulth) and Leanne Simpson (Nishnaabeg), who approach living well as a quest to co-exist in harmony and balance with all our relations (that is, the living world of which we are an integral part). Among the core principles they identify are self-determination, consent and sacred respect, understood both as operative in the functioning of healthy ecosystems and as guides to human development and relationships. We show how these principles are grounded in a quest for the mutual beneficial flourishing of free beings and trace some of their implications for environmental education. While stories of this kind are at odds with the current dominant conception of schooling, there are many ways in which they could begin to influence how we move beyond the metacrisis and further, how wethink about and practice education for eco-social –cultural change and the future world/s to come.

Adolescents, particularly today’s Generation Alpha, face uncertainty about whether, when and how their autonomy will be respected, especially in mental health contexts. Existing consent and confidentiality practices may not reflect adolescents’ preferences, potentially deterring help-seeking. This Feature examines the tension between adolescent autonomy and parental authority in mental healthcare. We synthesise interdisciplinary perspectives from the developmental sciences, medical ethics and law. We present data from 20 844 students (aged 11–18 years) in the 2023 OxWell Student Survey regarding barriers to accessing mental health support. Among those who wanted but had not accessed additional support (n = 2792), 72.3% reported privacy/confidentiality concerns, with half (50.3%) specifically citing that they did not want their parents to know. These concerns were particularly common among students reporting self-harm, gender-diverse adolescents and those in less stable home environments. We argue that respecting adolescent autonomy must be central to healthcare planning, not only as an ethical and legal imperative, but also to enable timely support. A capacity-based, adolescent-centred approach – grounded in greater transparency, clearer explanations of when and how information may be shared (including the option to involve a trusted adult) and consistent, aligned policies across institutions, especially around parental involvement, could help address a key barrier to care.

We consider a family $b_{s,\tau }$ of free multiplicative Brownian motions labeled by a real variance parameter s and a complex covariance parameter $\tau $. We then consider the element $xb_{s,\tau }$, where x is non-negative and freely independent of $b_{s,\tau }$. Our goal is to identify the support of the Brown measure of $xb_{s,\tau }$. In the case $\tau =s$, we identify a region $\Sigma _s$ such that the Brown measure is vanishing outside of $\overline {\Sigma }_s$ except possibly at the origin. For general values of $\tau $, we construct a map $f_{s-\tau }$ and define $D_{s,\tau }$ as the complement of $f_{s-\tau }(\overline {\Sigma }_s^c)$. Then, the Brown measure is zero outside $D_{s,\tau }$ except possibly at the origin. The proof of these results is based on a two-stage PDE analysis, using one PDE (following the work of Driver, Hall, and Kemp) for the case $\tau =s$ and a different PDE (following the work of Hall and Ho) to deform the $\tau =s$ case to general values of $\tau $.

Two fourth-order difference approximations for fractional derivatives based on Lubich-type second-order approximation with different shifts are derived. These approximations are applied to the space fractional diffusion equation with the Crank–Nicolson scheme. Here, we analyse the stability and convergence of these schemes and prove that they are unconditionally stable and convergent for a fractional order $\alpha $ ranging from $1$ to $2$. Numerical examples are presented to show that both schemes converge, and we obtain the correct convergence rates and unconditional stability.

This paper examines the evolution and implications of ‘must-carry’ obligations in the regulation of online platforms, with a focus on Europe. These obligations, which restrict platforms’ discretion to remove or deprioritise certain content, represent a novel regulatory response to the growing power of platforms in shaping public discourse. The analysis traces developments at EU and national levels. At the EU level, it considers rejected must-carry proposals during the drafting of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the adoption of Article 18 of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which grants privileges to recognised media service providers. At the national level, it examines Germany’s prohibition on content discrimination, the UK’s Online Safety Act, and Poland’s abandoned legislative proposal on freedom of expression online. Case law from courts in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Poland further illustrates the emergence of judicially crafted duties resembling must-carry obligations. The paper argues that these measures are best understood as special treatment rules that privilege particular speakers, notably media organisations and politicians, by limiting platform autonomy in content moderation. While intended to safeguard pluralism and access to trustworthy information, such rules risk creating a two-tier system of expression in which established voices receive disproportionate protection while ordinary users remain vulnerable. Protections for politicians raise concerns about shielding powerful actors from justified moderation, whereas media privileges, though more defensible, remain limited in scope and potentially counterproductive, especially when exploited by outlets disseminating disinformation. The conclusion is that compelled inclusion and preferential treatment are unlikely to offer sustainable solutions to the structural imbalances between platforms, media providers, and politicians. More durable approaches should focus on strengthening journalism through financial and structural support, fostering innovation and local media, and prioritising user empowerment measures. Only systemic safeguards of this kind can effectively promote pluralism, accountability, and resilience in the digital public sphere.

The COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves throughout the world. Even though the Czech Republic has less stable state structures and a less consolidated party system than its West European counterparts, during the first wave, the country actually performed better than most West European countries in terms of infection rates, death rates, and economic growth. During the second wave, however, the country’s position radically dropped. Despite its increasing health problems, its social policies still performed rather well and managed to keep unemployment at comparatively low levels. How can we explain these differences between erratic performance on the health side and comparatively solid performance on the social policy side? Our study explains why traditional social policies basically remained path dependent, while epidemiological policies dealing directly with fighting the spread of COVID-19 did not. Our explanation combines sociological and rational choice institutionalism and links them with the concepts of repeated games and bounded rationality.

Government representation is an essential part of the functioning of international organizations (IOs). As IOs are mostly composed of states, government representatives bring them life: member state officials negotiate and vote in their organs, and they participate on behalf of their state in institutional dispute settlement. However, the constituent instruments of IOs typically do not prescribe explicit rules on government representation. Therefore, IOs use their so-called credentials procedures to ascertain who speaks for a particular member state.1 While the recognition of credentials is a straightforward process, it becomes politicized when the exercise of governmental authority is contested. After giving an overview of the rules on credentials, this essay discusses the fragmented practice in which different organs and organizations within the United Nations (UN) system address situations of contested government representation. This practice shows that IOs are often torn between, on the one hand, idealist considerations, such as condemning an illegitimate change in government, and, on the other hand, the practical necessity of ensuring the effective fulfillment of their mandates.

The finding of an incorrect non-Antarctic locality assigned to a specimen of Trematomus loennbergii at the Natural History Museum, London, led to the discovery of two (of three) syntype specimens, previously considered missing, of this species. The third syntype, a larger specimen in better condition, is designated as the lectotype of T. loennbergii; the two newly discovered specimens, re-identified as Trematomus pennellii, become paralectotypes.

The setting in which patients face the end of life (EOL) is shaped by complex, individualized needs beyond physical care. Mr. X, a man in his mid-50s with glioblastoma, endured treatment complications and progressive decline. Supportive care was engaged to manage symptoms and support his wife, Mrs. X, who was simultaneously the family’s financial provider and caregiver for both her husband and their autistic adult son. As his condition worsened, she resisted hospice and code status changes, citing emotional, logistical, and financial barriers, while fiercely advocating for his wish to die in the hospital. Counseling and empathic validation helped her share her burdens and reframe her advocacy as rooted in love and grief. She ultimately consented to comfort-focused care, and Mr. X died peacefully in the hospital after a 31-day stay. This case underscores the need to integrate psychosocial factors into individualized EOL planning and to strengthen person-centered care.