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“Ransom Payments, Maritime Insurance, and English Common Law: A Legal and Economic Dilemma”
Full text linkThis article explores the complex interplay between maritime piracy, ransom payments, and UK legal frameworks, focusing on the impact of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (CTSA 2015) on the shipping and insurance sectors. Modern piracy has transitioned into a systematic hijack-for-ransom model, creating high-stakes legal, economic, and humanitarian challenges for stakeholders. The CTSA 2015, while aimed at preventing the financing of terrorism, complicates the private sector\u27s ability to navigate ransom demands, as it imposes stricter regulatory burdens and criminal liabilities on insurers and shipowners. Despite the UK government’s official policy discouraging ransom payments, these transactions remain legal under specific circumstances, as clarified by key legal precedents such as Westminster N.V. and Masefield. These cases highlighted the courts\u27 recognition of ransom payments as a necessary practice in mitigating harm to hostages and ensuring the safe recovery of vessels and cargo. The article also examines the broader economic implications of the UK’s stance, noting London\u27s central role in global maritime insurance and legal services. It argues that while the government’s counterterrorism priorities seek to address the long-term risks of piracy, such policies often leave the shipping industry and seafarers vulnerable. Industry perspectives highlight the potential consequences of an outright ban on ransom payments, including increased danger to crew members, adverse impacts on seafarer recruitment, and significant environmental risks in cases of abandoned cargo. Moreover, the article critiques the lack of international cooperation on counter-piracy strategies, which exacerbates the challenges faced by UK stakeholders. Ultimately, the article underscores the need for a balanced approach that considers both security objectives and the practical realities of maritime operations. It concludes that an overly rigid anti-ransom framework risks undermining the safety of maritime workers, the economic stability of the shipping industry, and the UK\u27s prominence as a global maritime hub, calling for nuanced policy reform to address these multifaceted challenges effectively
‘To share a great God’s pain’: Bertrand Brasnett (1893–1988) and the consolation of sorrow
Full text linkThis article explores a resource for the consolation of enduring suffering. Bertrand Brasnett, writing in the 1920s and 30s, redefined God’s eschatological bliss as an undefeated will to love humanity, even if that love were rejected thus causing eternal divine anguish and sorrow, inviting the disciple to follow Christ by participating in this loving pain in union with God. The paper explores how Brasnett’s views were unusual amongst the extensive theology of suffering after World War I. Today, his theology can offer a pathway for pastoral care through linking Brasnett with the theology of tragedy that grew after the Second World War. Relating enduring wounds of love to a divine reality enables the sufferer to participate in God’s work in a way that brings consolation
Hope in the ashes: A military chaplain’s reflection on remembrance, sacrifice, and resurrection
Full text linkThis reflective piece explores the vocation of military chaplaincy through a personal encounter at Reichswald Forest Cemetery in Germany during Remembrance Sunday. Called at short notice to lead the service, the author recounts a profound moment of connection with the grave of Rev. James William Kenny, a fellow chaplain who died ministering amidst the chaos of war. The experience becomes a lens through which themes of sacrifice, remembrance, and resurrection are examined. Drawing on pastoral experiences, the reflection considers the moral and spiritual weight borne by those in uniform, especially chaplains who walk unarmed into places of suffering. The essay engages with John 15:13 as a theological anchor, affirming that remembrance is not merely historical but eschatological – a witness to the enduring hope of Christ’s resurrection. In remembering the fallen, the chaplain is also remembered, called anew to faithful presence and ministry. This piece contributes to pastoral theology by articulating the cost and calling of ecclesial service in military contexts, and by affirming the enduring witness of those who have laid down their lives in faith
The Nordic Theory of Constitutionalism: The Origins of the Nordic Social Contract
Full text linkScandinavia is one of the happiest regions in the world thanks in part to its generous welfare systems. Alongside public policy, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen, together with Swedish historians Henrik Berggren & Lars Trägårdh, argue that this success is due to the unique Nordic Theory of Love: that crafting an autonomous citizen shapes a much happier society. This short article analyses the historical development of the Nordic Theory of Love; introducing the concept to the sphere of legal studies to further understand the social contract theory. The article finds that the constitutional relationship between the individual and the State developed much stronger in Scandinavia than in other Western societies enabling the success of the Nordic model. 
Documentary Meets Art Project: Remembering Post-3.11 Territories in The Double Layered Town (Haruka Komori and Natsumi Seo, 2019)
Full text linkDoctoral Journeys - Beyond the Doctorate: Researcher Voice, Insight, and Identity
Full text linkDoctoral Journeys – Beyond the Doctorate: Researcher Voice, Insight, and Identity is a reflective blog and podcast exploring doctoral journeys and academic identities. Through interviews with researchers, each episode addresses the question “What does the doctorate mean for you?” and connects personal narratives with literature introduced by the guest. Interview topics include researcher motivation, academic well-being, and post-doctoral growth. Written reflections deepen links between lived experience and theory. This multimodal platform explores the integration of podcast and blog formats to illuminate what it means to become and continue becoming a researcher within the academic landscape in language and international education
A Defence of the Interpretational Account of Validity
Full text linkBoth the interpretational account and the representational account provide contrasting accounts of validity for natural-language arguments. While the interpretational account captures formal validity, unlike the representational account, it does not capture materially valid arguments. Therefore, materially valid arguments are viewed as counterexamples to the interpretational account. I motivate why we may want to defend the interpretational account over the representational account and then proceed to defend the interpretational account using the suppressed premise strategy. The first objection to the suppressed premise strategy is by Stephen Read, who argues that the supressed premise is redundant. My contribution is to demonstrate how his objection fails. I also discuss and defend the suppressed premise strategy against other objections, which concern the nature of the supressed premise and the problem of modus ponens
The Country of No Nation
Full text linkIn this essay, Julian Tepfers explores the interconnectedness of the nation state, the state of nature, and our state of mind. He argues that the nation state need not be a permanent end in itself, but can rather be a temporary state of continuous development. By bringing social contract theory into dialogue with Vedic wisdom, he proposes a continuous return to the state of nature within each individual, so that everyone might make for themselves the same social contractual choice that their ancestors made so long ago. It is a theory where the social contract becomes a social curriculum geared towards continually re-evaluating itself
Gloves, Headphones and Soap
Full text linkThis article is a creative reflection on the simple act of washing dishes, encouraging readers to grasp the sensory complexity of acts that are part of our daily life. I have identified five sections of analysis: location, touch, hearing, movement and time perception. To explain these I use different methods including diagrams, vignettes and photographs. Through the use of visual representations I hope to transmit my sensory experience of washing dishes as closely as possible. 
Fresh Words Multiply: Latrinalia in a St Andrews Public Restroom
Full text linkThe pristine exterior of St Andrews includes a distinct lack of any form of visual chaos, be that posters, street art or graffiti. The phenomenon of latrinalia in the female bathrooms of Aikman’s Bar and Bistro therefore offers a unique insight into the subjectivities of students at the University of St Andrews. Rather than focusing on the content of each individual inscription, as has been typical within previous studies of latrinalia, this ethnography examines the experiences of five female students at the University of St Andrews and their individual responses to the practice of latrinalia in Aikman’s female toilets. The study found that these students characterised the space as vulnerable, connected and impermanent, creating a sense of solidarity amongst bathroom users. These findings provide a complex and diverse insight into the internal experiences of a selection of the student population and encourage further study of possibilities for self-expression within the town