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.
Lunting Wu
Lunting Wu is a Senior Research Fellow in the Research Group for Eastern Europe and Asia at NUPI, as well as an Associate at the German Institute...
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.
Winning the Peace: The Role of Agonistic and Adaptive Peacebuilding in Sustaining Social Cohesion in Ukraine
This article analyzes the role that Ukrainian peacebuilders play in contributing to strengthening social cohesion in war-time Ukraine. It studies an initiative to facilitate dialogue between two jurisdictions of the Orthodox church to develop new insights into the role that dialogue facilitation and peace mediation can play as a form of internal peacebuilding. We analyze and assess these dialogue practices in Ukraine from the perspective of two theoretical approaches, namely agonistic peace and adaptive peacebuilding. The efforts of Ukrainian dialogue facilitators and peacebuilders have received little international attention and support, despite the fact that ambitious plans are underway to help rebuild Ukraine, and significant amounts of money are being mobilized for this effort. Our hope is that these efforts will involve the Ukrainian peacebuilding community in their work in order to ensure that their reconstruction efforts are conflict sensitive and peace positive.
Ukraine: Sobered after Four Years of Indecision
In the Multinational Force Ukraine series of policy briefs leading experts from allied countries assess key factors for participation in the Multinational Force Ukraine. This includes the political willingness of allies to deploy troops—on the ground, in the air, or at sea—to establish a military presence in or around Ukraine. They also examine the conditions for such deployments to occur (before, during, or after peace negotiations), the roles these forces would be expected to perform (defensive or offensive), the red lines imposed by national governments, and the specific capabilities each country could realistically contribute. This brief analyses the Ukraine.
United States: Europe with Eyes Wide Shut
In the Multinational Force Ukraine series of policy briefs leading experts from allied countries assess key factors for participation in the Multinational Force Ukraine. This includes the political willingness of allies to deploy troops—on the ground, in the air, or at sea—to establish a military presence in or around Ukraine. They also examine the conditions for such deployments to occur (before, during, or after peace negotiations), the roles these forces would be expected to perform (defensive or offensive), the red lines imposed by national governments, and the specific capabilities each country could realistically contribute. This brief analyses the United States.
India in the Multilateral System
With multilateral bodies challenged by competing powers, reform pressures and changing coalitions, India’s place within the system is evolving. How do these dynamics shape India’s multilateral role today?