What Now, Russologists?
Russia’s war against Ukraine has enormous consequences. First and foremost for Ukraine, but also for Russia and its neighboring states. The war has not only changed European and Norwegian security and foreign policies, it will also have a significant impact on Norwegian research on and knowledge about Russia. The opportunities for doing research in Russia have become more limited in recent years. After February 2022, it has become impossible. At the same time, knowledge about Russia is important for Norway, which shares a border and administers critical resources in cooperation with Russia. This will continue to be the case. The question now is how this knowledge is to be created given that the framework conditions under which Norwegian research on Russia has been produced during the last 30 years have dramatically changed. How are we going to update Norwegian knowledge about Russia in the coming years? What methods and data are available, and what can we expect from these?
Íris Andradóttir
Íris Andradóttir was a Master’s student at the University of Oslo and was a part of the Research group peace, conflict and development.
Foreign Fighters in Ukraine – "concerned citizens of the world" or a security threat?
What is the motivation for the foreign fighters in Ukraine and which challenges do they meet in the war?
Daniel Paz Rossebø
Daniel was a master's student at the University of Oslo and under the Research Group for Security and Defence at NUPI during the spring of 2023.
The Strategic Direction of the United States in an Era of Competition
Since President Joe Biden’s entry in the Oval Office in January 2021, his Administration has issued several national strategies. These documents are important for understanding the strategic direction of the United States. In the realm of security and defense, two stand out: the National Security Strategy (NSS) and the National Defense Strategy (NDS). Also the National Strategy for the Arctic Region (NSAR) has a strong security dimension. Security considerations of smaller states like Norway are far from detached from the strategic approaches of major powers. Understanding US strategy and doctrine is thus vital for policy makers crafting Norwegian security policy. This Policy Brief reviews US thinking on strategic competition, with a particular focus on technology, the Arctic, and implications for Norway.
EU-NATO cooperation: competition or complementarity?
Which challenges and possibilities lie within a closer EU-NATO cooperation? This is what we will dive into in this seminar with Daniel Fiott.
‘Global Britain’ and security in the near abroad. Leadership through flexilateralism?
The British government’s vision for a post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’ is increasingly taking shape in (i) the security and defence domain and (ii) the UK’s near abroad. Recent policy documents highlight how the UK sees a strengthened role for itself in tackling security and defence challenges in the Euro-Atlantic region, including in the High North and Arctic. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the UK has increased its security and defence engagement in the Euro-Atlantic region further. While NATO continues to be the key security framework, the UK increasingly resorts to British-led formats like the Northern Group and the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), along with bi- and trilateral engagements. With JEF-members Finland and Sweden set to join NATO, there is a potential for JEF to take on a more explicit role as a supporting instrument for the alliance, but also to function as an informal political consultation forum prior to action being taken.
Cyber security in Norway
As one of the world's most digitized countries, cyber attacks against Norway are something we should be well prepared for. But are we sufficiently secured? This edition of Hvor hender det? answers the questions: - What exactly is a cyber attack? - Does Norway have good cyber security? - What kind of Russian cyber attacks have we seen in Ukraine and Europe? - And why is it so important that Norway protects itself against cyber attacks now?