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This paper examines policies implemented in stages from 1928 and the multi-causal phenomena that resulted in the deaths of some 6.5 to 7 million people, the majority in Ukraine and the Kuban as well as Kazakhstan, during the man-made Soviet famines of the early 1930s. These famines took on distinctively separate trajectories after the autumn of 1932 when Stalin singled out Ukraine, the largest grain-producing region of the USSR. The Kazakh famine resulted from the devastation of the traditional nomadic Kazakh economy in a misguided effort to make that region a main source of meat for the Soviet Union. Other regions—notably the Middle Volga and Central Chernozem Regions—also suffered. These events were largely driven by Soviet attempts to make the countryside a domestic colony that would provide food resources for the country's accelerated industrialization. This is particularly evident in the manner Soviet authorities rationed and distributed food.

AbstractThis article analyzes both the policy debates within the American Occupation over famine, food relief and nutrition in Occupied Japan (1945-52) and the contested terms in which the debate was conducted. Conflict arose over muddled accounting of food intake in calories, a rampant black market that suggested a failure of equitable distribution, and the absence of serious unrest despite imports falling short of minimal stated requirements. Occupation authorities questioned estimates made by the Japanese government. There was internal disagreement among American authorities in Japan and between interested parties in Washington, as well as among the Allies in the Far Eastern Commission. Herbert Hoover's Famine Emergency Committee of 1946 sounded an alarm, and the Food and Fertilizer Mission of February 1947 marked a shift away from rather crude quantitative measures of caloric intake to more subtle qualitative ones of dietary balance and combinations of nutrients. The Occupation's chief concern then became the dearth of animal protein. Attempts to correct this shortfall by reestablishing Japan's fishing and whaling industries proved unpopular with U.S. allies. The Occupation preferred to champion the success of its school lunch program, whose core component – powdered skim milk imported from the United States – was viewed as an invaluable weapon in the Cold War.

AbstractActivists and scholars are seeking to end famine by promoting international legal accountability for starvation. This article deepens our understanding of the relationship between the politics of famine and law by observing the ongoing prevalence and power of legal norms and institutions during times of famine. It reveals the widespread use of hunger courts in famine‐prone South Sudan and their role in legally enforcing social networks that provide for the most vulnerable. Based on analysis of country‐wide survey data from 2018 and 2019, qualitative interviews from 2019‒22 and in‐depth ethnographic observations of hunger courts in one chiefdom in South Sudan during a period of famine‐level hunger in 2018 and 2019, the article argues that hunger courts have played a key role in enforcing social networks. These courts have also supported continuity of chiefs' authority despite crisis. The article concludes by addressing two issues: whether law is necessarily emancipatory in times of famine, and whether legal norms have shifted responsibility for hunger away from the political economies and conflicts that cause famine, instead placing blame and shame on the families of the most vulnerable.

This thesis is an examination of seven oral tradition reports, resulting from the distribution of the Famine questionnaire, by the Irish Folklore Commission, in 1945. The aim is to assess the validity of oral tradition as a source on the Great Irish Famine. The seven reports are analysed and compared with other relevant sources, including relief commission papers, outrage reports, contemporary newspapers, travellers? accounts, estate records and contemporary writings. The study includes statistical tables classifying the oral tradition references by content. The seven chapters encompass seven different aspects of the Famine, covered in the reports. The introduction examines the ethodological issues concerning oral sources, particularly oral tradition. It also provides information on the collection of the oral tradition reports. Finally, it introduces an outline of previous work on the subject. Chapter one examines oral tradition references to pre-Famine Ireland. These references are compared with other accounts of pre-Famine Ireland, including travellers? accounts, the Poor Law Inquiry, the Devon Commission and the census of 1841. In their descriptions of pre-Famine Ireland, informants do not appear to search for signs of an impending disaster. Chapter two analyses the oral tradition references describing the arrival of the potato blight in Ireland. The oral traditions provide a unique insight into the reaction of local communities to the devastation of their main food source. Chapter three considers the oral traditions relating to famine mortality and disease. There is a discernible distancing of both an inform ant?s family and locality from Famine suffering. A similar distortion occurs in the identification of Famine victims. Informants are more likely to identify victims of disease than victims of starvation. The oral traditions provide a unique insight into the location of Famine graves in a community and detail the difficulty of providing proper burials and funerals during the Famine. Chapter four examines the oral traditions relating to the various relief efforts of the government. The traditions are compared with relevant sources, including relief commission papers. This examination provides a unique insight into the reaction of local communities who were on the receiving end of government relief efforts. The consensus is broadly negative. Although the oral traditions do not allude to specific politicians, political parties or relief acts, detailed descriptions of the suffering and deaths of people in receipt of relief indicate that government relief efforts were perceived to have failed. As in chapter three, I have detected distortions connected with the identification of recipients of relief The examination of oral traditions relating to landlords, and their comparison with sources such as estate records, reveals a tenant-biased view of landlords. Little attempt is made to understand the position of the landlord. However, oral tradition also identifies landlords who provided assistance to their tenants. The chapter on proselytism reveals bitter memories surrounding the activities of evangelical missionaries during the Famine. An examination of the oral traditions in different areas reveals that oral tradition correctly identifies the areas in which the efforts of proselytisers were focused. Chapter seven analyses oral traditions relating to crime and compares the details with relevant sources such as outrage reports and contemporary newspaper articles. The traditions provide details on hitherto unreported crimes and provide an insight into attitudes towards crime. Censure towards individuals involved in petty larceny is rare and criminal activity is implicitly ascribed to economic pressure, rather than evil intent. This study of these reports reveals the unique value of oral traditions as a source on the Famine. It demonstrates that factual details are retained and previously uncovered details are revealed in oral tradition. As well as providing an intimate insight into how a local community experienced the Famine, oral tradition offers an insight into the construction of memory and reveals how a community remembers a traumatic episode such as the Famine. ; TARA (Trinity?s Access to Research Archive) has a robust takedown policy. Please contact us if you have any concerns: rssadmin@tcd.ie

Historical contexts -- Causes of the famine -- Effects on mortality, fertility, and health in later life -- Central government and food administration -- The politics and practices of Allied relief -- Coping at household and individual levels -- Community strategies -- The evacuation of children -- Conclusion -- Timeline of important events.