Cultural Dialogue in International Security
The project looks at the conditions for and role of dialogue by focusing on how a select number of states have defined and responded to a series of crises. Studying the behaviour of states during times of crisis offers a good vantage point from which to gauge states’ interests and behaviour and by implication the conditions for, and role of, dialogue.Deltakere
Pernille Rieker
Jakub M. Godzimirski
Sverre Lodgaard
The project looks at the conditions for and role of dialogue by focusing on how a select number of states have defined and responded to a series of crises . Studying the behaviour of states during times of crisis offers a good vantage point from which to gauge states’ interests and behaviour and by implication the conditions for, and role of, dialogue.
First, in times of crises, there is uncertainty as to what constitutes an appropriate or effective course of action to advance given interests. Indeed, what those interests are can be hard to pin down. Second, diplomacy is at heart about keeping on talking in order to communicate interests and to keep the door open for political solutions (i.e. dialogue). The character of diplomatic conversations during times of crises offers a good measure of their role in facilitating shared understandings and possibly also coordinated action. Finally, the resilience of dialogue is measured best in times of crises. Dialogue is time consuming and necessitates compromise to lead to cooperative solutions. In times of crises, there is often a shortage of both time and the willingness to compromise.
We define a crisis as a set of interlinked events where i) there is uncertainty on the part of actors about how best to advance their interests, ii) the actors are unsure about the facts of the situation and about other actors’ strategies, and iii) the stakes are high in terms of the long-term effects of decisions made.
The project features four case studies:
- Intervention in Libya. (Responsible: Pernille Rieker)
- Russo-Georgian War (Responsible: Jakub Godzimirski)
- Darfur and the ICC indictment of Sudanese President al-Bashir (Responsible: Andreas Stensland)
- Iran’s nuclear weapons program. (Responsible: Sverre Lodgaard)
This NUPI project is part of a larger Chatham House portfolio of projects, seminars and publications.
Finansiering
The project is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Publikasjoner
- Rieker, Pernille , Ole Jacob Sending [red.] (2012). Inter-cultural dialogue in international crises. Oslo, NUPI. 103 sider. Målet med denne rapporten er å studere dialogens rolle som et verktøy for å forebygge, håndtere og løse internasjonale konflikter, illustrert ved tre tilfeller som varierer når det gjelder type konflikt, varighet og utfall.
