Ukraine war: why Putin's appeals to masculinity to recruit for the military will not work

By Charlie Walker, Associate Professor of Comparative Sociology, University of Southampton

Hardliners in Russia have been calling for a full-scale mobilisation for some time, but so far Vladimir Putin has resisted the temptation for a full call-up due to its expected unpopularity. Instead, Russia is attempting to persuade thousands of men to enlist voluntarily as contract soldiers. The Kremlin’s recruitment campaign is designed to appeal to their sense of national pride and injured masculinity. But my research with working-class…

Read complete article

~	How visas for social care workers may be exacerbating exploitation in the sector

~	Why the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service should be designated as a provincial police service

~	Detaining migrants in prisons violates human rights and risks abuses

~	Granting legal ‘personhood’ to nature is a growing movement – can it stem biodiversity loss?

~	Friday essay: Project 2025, the policy substance behind Trump’s showmanship, reveals a radical plan to reshape the world

~	Longer-lasting ozone holes over Antarctica expose seal pups and penguin chicks to much more UV

~	New rock art discoveries in Eastern Sudan tell a tale of ancient cattle, the ‘green Sahara’ and climate catastrophe

~	Will checking character references really help you find the best candidate for a job?

~	China’s money only goes so far – Kokoda shows why history binds PNG and Australia in a far deeper way

~	We spoke to young people about sexual consent. They understand the concept, but don’t always ask in the moment