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(Available in Norwegian only): I dagens forsvarsdebatt er Forsvarets evne til å håndtere et bredt spekter av trusler under mer usikre internasjonale rammebetingelser sentralt. Det er stor oppslutning om at Forsvaret bør ha en viss avskrekkende effekt, kunne håndtere mindre episoder alene, og delta i utenlandsoperasjoner - også for å verne om folkeretten, som ikke lenger kan tas for gitt. Dagens forsvarspolitikk, som virker åpenbar, selvfølgelig og ‘naturlig’, har likevel ikke alltid vært det. Kronikken viser denne politikken er et resultat av kampen mellom ulike virkelighetsforståelser i norsk forsvarsdebatt fra 1990 og til i dag.

Grasping the everyday and extraordinary in EU–NATO relations: the added value of practice approaches

Much scholarly work seeking to explain the EU–NATO relationship emphasises conflicting national or institutional interests, strategic individuals, and operational inefficiencies and overlaps. This article offers an alternative account of how both the everyday and the extraordinary in EU–NATO security cooperation can be identified and analysed by applying practice theory. Despite the “Cyprus issue”, which has left EU–NATO cooperation under Berlin Plus in political stalemate, regular interaction involving civilian and military EU and NATO staff at all levels and various sites has increased over the past decade. The article shows how a practice take is well suited to uncover the practical logic at work in these, predominantly informal EU–NATO encounters; how practices are established, enacted, and also abrupted. Furthermore, it discusses how shared “background conditions” – skills and experience – facilitate practices, learning, and community-building but also competition and rivalry.

The Challenges and Dynamics of Alliance Policies: Norway,NATO and the High North

The global system of alliances that the United States built after the Second World War underpinned the stability and prosperity of the postwar order. But during the 20th century, the multilateral NATO alliance system in Europe and the bilateral San Francisco alliance system in Asia rarely interacted. This changed in the early 21st century, as US allies came together to fight and stabilise conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia. This volume presents the first-ever comparative study of US alliances in Europe and Asia from the perspectives of US allies: the challenges, opportunities and shifting dynamics of these fundamental pillars of order. This volume is essential reading for those interested in contemporary and future regional and global security dynamics.

The Challenges and Dynamics of Alliance Policies: Norway,NATO and the High North

This chapter sets out to discuss two major framework conditions for Norwegian foreign, security and defence policy: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the High North. Having to address increasingly heterogeneous security concerns and agendas, how do alliances shape their members’ foreign, security and defence policies? And how do the specific challenges related to the High North, such as Russia and other states’ policy agendas, form Norwegian responses and policies? In answering these questions, we aim to explore the framework conditions in a contemporary and historical context.

Diplomatiminister Brende

Denne artikkelen diskuterer Børge Brendes virke som diplomatiminister.

Norsk utenrikspolitikk begynner i Europa: arven etter Brende i europapolitikken

European security in practice: EU-NATO communities in-the-making?

European security is at a critical juncture and many have called for a more coherent and efficient response, involving both the EU and NATO. However, the primary tool for EU–NATO cooperation, “Berlin Plus”, has been stuck in a political quagmire since the mid-2000s, making a lot of scholars to conclude that this cooperation is obsolete and outdated. This article is challenging this view by analysing a range of informal but regular interaction patterns that have emerged. Using practice theory, it sheds new light on and explores how EU and NATO staff at all levels engage in informal practices on various sites in headquarters in Brussels and in field operations. A study of EU–NATO cooperation as practice focuses on the everyday, patterned production of security as well as what makes action possible, such as (tacit) practical knowledge and shared “background” knowledge (education, training, and experience). The article also discusses the extent to which shared repertoires of practice may evolve into loose communities of practice that cut across organisational and professional boundaries.