When the European Union (EU) launched its Eastern Partnership program with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus in 2008, there were high hopes for political transformation. So far, however, the partnership with the EU has not brought lasting positive effects on peace, prosperity, and stability in any of these countries.

It is just after two a.m. in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and so bitterly cold that Paola Castaño huddles deeper into her coat. She has been standing here for hours, at minus 18 degrees Celsius, just a kilometer away from the launch pad for the Soyuz rocket. She is waiting for the moment of truth, when everyone will find out whether the calculations were correct, whether the materials will hold, whether everything will go as planned.

Why do people swear things, anyway? Why do they pledge oaths? And have the meaning and importance of swearing changed over time? Stefan Esders, a historian and professor at the Friedrich Meinecke Institute at Freie Universität, pursues these questions. But how does a person become an expert on oaths?