Publications
Når rompolitikk blir sikkerhetspolitikk: Norsk deltakelse i EUs romaktiviteter
The report is in Norwegian but it has an English summary. This report was commissioned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries to inform decisions about Norway’s continued participation in EU space activities for 2028–2034. It does so by evaluating the benefits for both Norway and the EU of continued Norwegian participation. The report situates the discussion within a broader context, considering not only direct economic gains but also how political, technological and security developments have transformed the conditions for space activities, space policy, and Norway’s role in Europe’s evolving space landscape. Norway is deeply dependent on well-functioning space capacities, both for societal and defence-related purposes. Space-based services have become critical infrastructures with few substitutes, underpinning key sectors of the Norwegian economy, everyday services, public administration, and military systems. The increasing criticality of space is not unique to Norway but reflects the deep embeddedness of satellite-based services in modern societies. At the same time, the politics of space have grown more tense and contested. Space is increasingly embedded in power politics, strategic competition and concerns about resilience. For small states like Norway, the high costs and complexity of space activities mean self-sufficiency is unfeasible, and cooperation necessary. On the civilian side, this cooperation has mainly been oriented towards European cooperation, in the European Union's Space Programme (2021-2027) and in the European Space Agency (ESA). In a changing geopolitical context, the EU has assumed a stronger and clearer role as a security policy actor. Resultingly, its space policies are changing and are now closely tied to the EU’s ambitions for strategic autonomy and a stronger role in security and defence. This shift blurs the distinction between the EU and ESA, and between civilian and military aims and capacities. Closer and more integrated European cooperation on space ties EU member states more closely together but it also sharpens boundaries between the EU and other countries. At the same time, there is a major restructuring under way in how the EU finances and organizes its efforts in the space sector. This backdrop places Norwegian space policy in a new and demanding context. This report examines the consequences of these developments for Norway, and how they change the framework conditions for Norwegian space policy and participation in the EU’s space activities. The report is structured around the following overarching research questions: Where is Europe’s space policy heading? What is Norway’s role in this development? What are the benefits of Norwegian participation in the EU’s space activities? And what are the alternatives to continued Norwegian participation in the EU’s space activities for the period 2028–2034? The report finds that participation in EU space activities (2021-2027) has been highly beneficial to Norway, providing essential services and integration into a broader European ecosystem for technology development, exports and learning. At the same time, the EU also benefits from Norwegian participation: Norway offers niche expertise, unique Arctic capabilities, and northern ground infrastructure that are costly or difficult for other European states to replicate, thereby strengthening European competitiveness and resilience. Looking ahead to 2028–2034, non-participation would weaken Norway’s access to key data, services and information, undermine the position and competitiveness of Norwegian space industry, make an ambitious national space policy harder to pursue, and risk an erosion of space competence. For the EU, it would mean having to replace or go without Norwegian capabilities and resources. For both parties this is a suboptimal outcome.
Handlingsrom og norsk støtte til kvinner, fred og sikkerhet i Afghanistan og Sudan
This article examines how Norwegian support for the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Afghanistan and Sudan is affected by factors such as war, humanitarian crises and democratic decline. In the article, the authors look more closely at the factors that influence the support provided, and how the relevant actors respond to changes in the framework conditions. The authors find that the work is affected by changes in the political space, including armed conflict and democratic decline. The situation is somewhat different in the two countries, but in both cases, the absence of official cooperation with the countries’ central authorities requires Norway to take a more flexible approach to the WPS work and to direct more of its efforts toward the local level. In both Sudan and Afghanistan, there are local variations in terms of humanitarian access and willingness to work with the WPS agenda. In other words, there is room for Norway to continue its work to support the implementation the WPS agenda in these contexts, although in countries affected by crisis and conflict this often must be done differently than in countries where Norway has an embassy or official cooperation with the local authorities.
Kvinner, fred og sikkerhet i norsk utenrikspolitikk: En politikk med vikeplikt?
Women, Peace and Security in Norwegian Foreign Policy: A Policy of Yielding?Over the past 25 years, Norway has been an important supporter and driving force behind the global effort to implement the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, and has built significant status as a leading actor in this field. As we mark the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, we see that the international community’s commitment to and belief in shared global values – which has laid the foundation for Norway’s status building – is changing. This means that continued strong support for the WPS agenda may not yield the same results in terms of international status and foreign policy capital in the years to come. In this article, we outline what place the WPS agenda has had – and still has – in Norwegian foreign policy, and question the extent to which Norway will have the ability and willingness to continue to play a leading global role on WPS given the current, turbulent, geopolitical situation. The already well-established status as a global leader on WPS means that Norway is well positioned for taking this work forward. However, this will require an approach that is adapted to a changing international system, and a willingness to pursue a policy which is increasingly contested and where the return, at least in the form of status and foreign policy capital, may not come as easily and as quickly as it did in the past.
“BRIexit”: Unravelling Withdrawals from the Belt and Road Initiative
Twelve years into the launch of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), over 140 countries have joined, but a few have left. These withdrawals, or BRIexit, though limited in number, raise crucial questions about the prospect of Beijing’s flagship initiative and the shifting geopolitical landscape in which it operates. What explains the withdrawals? More importantly, has there been any impact on the legitimacy of the BRI? Whilst some BRIexits stem from economic calculations, others reflect changing state preferences or mounting external pressures—trends that could reshape the BRI’s future, especially under a more aggressive second Trump administration.
Introduksjon: 25 år med kvinner, fred og sikkerhet i nordisk utenrikspolitikk
Over the past 25 years, the Nordic countries have been important supporters and drivers of the global efforts to promote and implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and have built significant status as leading actors in this field. However, there are several rocks in the sea for the future of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Internationally, we are facing major aid cuts, global setbacks against women’s rights, and an increase in war and conflict. It is also unclear how a greater focus on security policy challenges in our regional neighbourhood will affect the work on Women, Peace, and Security in the foreign policy of Nordic countries. In this introductory article for the special issue on “25 years of Women, Peace and Security in Nordic foreign policy”, the guest editors summarize key issues across the contributions. They highlight the role the Women, Peace and Security Agenda has played as a brand for Nordic foreign policy and the implications of the changing security situation in the Nordic region for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and ask: What can we learn from the different approaches of the Nordic countries over the years? How have the Nordic countries responded to changes in the global situation? And what can we expect from Nordic cooperation on women, peace and security in the years to come?
Utviklingstrekk i den russiske eliten etter 2022
Utformingen av norsk russlandspolitikk forutsetter innsikt i de interne utviklingene blant russiske beslutningstakere og i den russiske eliten. Dette kunnskapsnotatet flytter blikket vekk fra «kremlologien» og spekulasjoner om palassintriger i Putins indre krets og leverer heller en sammenfattet oppdatering på utviklingene i årene etter fullskalainvasjonen av Ukraina, basert på ledende forskning på strukturelle dynamikker i den russiske politiske og administrative eliten. Kunnskapsnotatet innledes med en kort oppsummering av sentrale paradigmer innen forskningen på russiske eliter: forståelsen av siloviker og teknokrater og skilnadene mellom regionale politiske eliter og føderale administrative eliter. Deretter løfter notatet frem fire sentrale utviklingstrekk i den russiske eliten med utspring i krigen i Ukraina, og vurderer utsiktene fremtiden kan bringe.
Consolidating African-led Peacebuilding Efforts
While the United Nations (UN) holds the primary responsibility for securing global peace, it increasingly emphasises the importance of partnerships with regional organisations. In practice, this means the UN often engages only once peace has been brokered. The wider international community looks to leading regional organisations, such as the African Union (AU) in the case of Africa, to take the lead in peacebuilding. As such, the AU has emerged as a key actor — mobilising international support for peacebuilding across the continent, while also driving the development of significant localised initiatives and anchoring these in state institutions towards advancing peace and stability. However, in persistent, violent conflicts, peacebuilding efforts often take a backseat. Stabilisation frequently takes centre stage, while policymakers focus on immediate humanitarian priorities and the prevention of further violence. As a result, peacebuilding in Africa is rarely uniform across states. It is often concentrated in capitals and urban areas, producing long-term effects that may exacerbate tensions and inadvertently reinforce the very disparities that initially sparked conflict. Peacebuilding is not a neutral process. It can maintain and entrench existing social structures, framing democracy as the sole driver of change while overlooking peacebuilding as a space of political contestation, negotiation and tension, and one that confers or denies legitimacy. This study examines African-led peacebuilding efforts that seek to address conflicts’ structural contradictions and root causes. It calls for a rethink of regional organisations’ approaches to peacebuilding in complex stabilisation environments, advocating for a more adaptive regional peacebuilding strategy that acknowledges its deep interlinkages with stabilisation.
Outcomes from the UN Peace Operations Review Week
Building on the positive synergies created through interdisciplinary, global collaborations, such as the Challenges Forum, the Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network, the Global Alliance for Peace Operations and other partners, Peace Operations Review Week brought together the expert community working on issues related to peace operations and global crisis management. This critical mass of expertise aimed to support and inform the Review on the Future of All Forms of Peace Operations – tasked in the 2024 Pact for the Future. Peace Operations Review Week consist of 16 events organised by over 30 organisations on a host of issues related to peace operations, with participation of the Department of Peacebuilding and Political Affairs and the Department of Peace Operations (see full list in the annex). The insights gained during the week were also carried forward into the annual conference of the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres (IAPTC) taking place 10-14 November in Vicenza, Italy. “We don’t have the luxury of despairing about how difficult this is.” Ambassador Bob Rae during workshop on “Haiti and the Future of Peace Operations”
Climate Security, Natural Resource Conflict, & Community Resilience in the Lake Chad Basin: A Review of the Literature
The Lake Chad Basin is experiencing severe climate change impacts—including declining rainfall, rising temperatures, droughts, flooding, and shrinking water bodies—that are accelerating livelihood insecurity and ecological collapse. These environmental stresses are acting as threat multipliers, heightening competition over land, water, and fisheries, and intensifying intercommunal violence and displacement across Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. Climate-driven livelihood pressures intersect with structural fragility, contributing to recruitment into violent extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP, while conflict dynamics further undermine coping capacities and social cohesion. A range of responses is underway, led by regional bodies (LCBC), national governments, international partners (UNDP, GEF, World Bank), and local communities, focusing on adaptation, ecosystem restoration, natural resource governance, and resilience-building. However, gaps remain in institutional capacity, climate-security governance, and inclusion of vulnerable groups—particularly women—whose adaptive options are constrained. Strengthening resilience will require integrated climate-security strategies, robust early-warning systems, empowered local institutions, and investments in sustainable livelihoods.