There is a growing literature on Europe’s micro-states (Andorra, Liechtenstein,Monaco, San Marino) and de facto states (e.g., Abkhazia, South Ossetia). However, these twostate typologies are rarely if ever studied together. The current article examined eight micro-statesand de facto states’ cultural, economic and political conditions in a comparative context. Thefindings suggest that there is a distinctive Western, democratic and affluent environment whichbenefits small but wealthy micro-states, while de facto which are associated with Russia’s sphereof influence are linked to both poverty, authoritarianism and instability.

K-pop groups and artists have been localised to appeal to the lucrative Japanese market since the early 2000s. However, the two successful girl groups TWICE and Iz One exhibit a new direction in K-pop, members of both Korean and Japanese origin within the same groups. By drawing upon the literature on localisation strategies and contentious Japan–Korea relations, ethnographic fieldwork and media sources, this article examines two locations in Tokyo in which K-pop consumption takes place. Contrary to the polarisation tendencies that signify current Japan–Korea relations in the political realm, the gendered K-pop spaces and Japan/Korea collaborations such as Iz One signify benign hybridity and localisation.  

There is a growing literature on Europe’s micro-states (Andorra, Liechtenstein,Monaco, San Marino) and de facto states (e.g., Abkhazia, South Ossetia). However, these twostate typologies are rarely if ever studied together. The current article examined eight micro-statesand de facto states’ cultural, economic and political conditions in a comparative context. Thefindings suggest that there is a distinctive Western, democratic and affluent environment whichbenefits small but wealthy micro-states, while de facto which are associated with Russia’s sphereof influence are linked to both poverty, authoritarianism and instability.

In the 2010s, Russian rap music became widely accepted and commercially successful in the Russian Federation and across post-Soviet Eurasia. The current article focuses on how successful rappers from Russia (Miyagi and Endspiel), Kazakhstan (Skryptonite) and Ukraine (T-fest) have mostly taken a strategically silent and apolitical approach to the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Given the increasingly repressive conditions in Russia in the 2010s, an apolitical stance was common for Russian pop artists. Since the 2022 war, such a stance may have an additional strategic impetus: to avoid alienating fans in both the domestic and foreign markets.

While well-being does generally constitute a moderate predictor of school achievement, research on the predictive validity of cognitive ability for well-being in school contexts remains scant. The current study analyzed longitudinal relations between cognitive ability measured at age 13 (Grade 6) and well-being measured at age 18 (Grade 12, valid N = 2,705) in a Swedish sample, using several multivariate model techniques. The results indicate that cognitive ability was not a statistically significant predictor when several predictors were entered in a multiple regression model. However, gender was a significant covariate as girls and young women have a substantially lower degree of self-reported well-being. This casts light on the limitations of cognitive ability as a construct for some non-cognitive outcomes, at least in shorter and narrower spatial–temporal contexts.

In recent years, some educational researchers have questioned the theory of a robust relationship between test scores in international large-scale assessments such as PISA and lagged economic growth. However, both the proponents and opponents of such a human capital approach have mainly focused on earlier growth patterns during the twentieth century. Hence, the current article analysed the relationship between PISA 2000 and economic growth in 2010–2019 for 31 countries, and composite cognitive skills for 80 countries and their relationships with economic growth in 2010–2019. The results indicate that PISA scores or other cognitive skill measures could to some extent predict economic growth between 2010 and 2019, even when controlling for a significant number of variables. In a consecutive analysis, the relations were substantially associated with Middle Eastern countries because many countries from this region experienced political instability and decreasing oil revenues throughout this period. Hence, it is possible that regional and contextual relationships affect these patterns.

Kazakhstan is a post-Soviet nation whose education system and curricular constitution recently have gone through a number of substantial reforms. These changes have occurred in light of political-economic initiatives to strengthen the country’s economic competitiveness. The current article examines the latest version of the national curriculum with an emphasis on the subjects Kazakh, English, Russian, smaller minority languages, as well as history. The findings highlight a tripartite trajectory of Kazakhstanization, post-Soviet multiculturalism, and Westernization in the educational realm.

The Swedish modernist painter Nils von Dardel (1888–1943) was an integral part of the avant-garde of his time. Dardel's artistic and individual expressions developed from a dandy persona, who expressed dark personal conflicts, into a more integrated humanist perspective signified by love, jealousy, ambivalent sexuality, life and death, and the absurdity of existence. It was generally a turn from negation to optimistic values, as well as to universalism. His art – ironic and bizarre – has been continuously provoking from his premature death in New York City into the postmodern 20-s century. In order to add to the international scholarly discussion, the current article sheds light on this fascinating artist's life, work, and persona. Moreover, it juxtaposes some aspects of Dardel with those of the Swedish writer and painter August Strindberg (1849–1912), as well as the Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima (1925–1970).

The term acculturation is important for describing and analyzing how for example migrants gradually become accustomed to a new host society. The term proculturation is similar but emphasizes the real-life experiences of migrants, as well as the fusion between familiar and unfamiliar ideas, things, and experiences. However, so far there is a dearth of studies which have aimed to explore such a construct empirically. The current article used a limited but meaningful example, the lived experiences of a Kazakh migrant in Sweden whose occupation is being a psychotherapist. The aim was to understand the cultural identity of this individual as regards processes of migration from A (Kazakhstan) to B (Sweden), as well as related proculturation processes. Moreover, the focus was also on the specific and precarious work conditions for a person who does not have the possibility to work officially as a psychotherapist during an extensive residence permit application process. Information derived from a semi-structured interview indicates that basic cultural identity markers (woman, Kazakh, Russian-speaking, Muslim) remained constant after residing in Sweden for more than 5 years but that some elements of the more secular-liberal Swedish culture (e.g., the Swedish language, increased alcohol consumption) were appropriated. The person used social media apps like WhatsApp as a technological tool to practice the profession as a psychotherapist in a transnational setting, which constitutes a different strategy than how Swedish as well as Kazakh psychotherapists generally perform this profession.