Performing Statehood through Crises: Citizens, Strangers, Territory
This article applies the growing International Relations literature on state performance and performativity to the question of how practitioners categorize different kinds of crises. The aim is to add value to the crisis literature by paying more attention to how performances are staged for multiple audiences, how statehood is produced as a collective (as opposed to an individual) body, and how and why one and the same state actor performs statehood in different ways. Drawing on interviews and participant observation, we discuss how one state apparatus, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), performs statehood during different types of crisis. The MFA has institutionalized crisis management in three very different ways, depending on whether it defines the crisis as a security crisis, a humanitarian crisis, or a civilian crisis. Different crises have different audiences, are performed in different repertoires, and produce three different aspects of the state that we name, respectively, caretaking, do-gooding, and sovereignty. Bringing the performativity literature to the study of crises gives us a better understanding of the statecraft that goes into using crises as opportunities to make visible and strengthen the state as a presence in national and global social life. Conversely, our focus on the specificity of various state performances highlights how the performance literature stands to gain from differentiating more clearly between the straightforward performing of practices, on the one hand, and the performing of state identity by means of the same practices, on the other.
Living with the Taliban?
How do local communities experience the Taliban vis a vis questions of security? What did the police reform look like before the Taliban takeover, and will there be a role for the police under Taliban?
Education Activism in the Syrian Civil War:Resisting by Persisting
This article analyzes education activists’ resilience in emergencies, building on life story interviews with Syrians who engaged in civil society initiatives for schooling in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising. It investigates the meaning that education acquires under extreme adversity and how it inspires individuals to act. Finding that these activists think of education as a means to resist authoritarianism and transform society, the article brings the change agendas of local education actors to the fore. It concludes that resilience can be the extension of political purpose. The article conceptualizes education as a vehicle of resistance, foregrounding how temporal projections enable individuals to maintain belief in their capability to enact changes. The activists make connections between their own experiences in school, thoughts about the future, and the reasons they mobilize for education. Working with time is a potent enabler when, objectively, the situation is deteriorating.
WEBINAR: Increased Migration through the Eastern European Route – new dilemmas for the EU
On the border between Poland and Belarus we now see a new phenomenon: the use of migrants as a political tool in a state's foreign policy.
Humanitarian aid in Syria: The role of the UN and the great powers
What are the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people now? And how can the international community best help?
Tilbake til fortiden: Forsvarspolitikken og norsk identitet
Back to the Future: National Identity and the Norwegian Defence Policy The article argues that Norwegian defence policy to a large extent is shaped by Norwegian identity and Norwegian values. This strong link was particularly visible in the 1990’s, when we witnessed a large degree of continuation of the Norwegian defence posture, despite the radical changes in the security environment. Territorial defence remained a key priority. When a new paradigm eventually emerged around the tun of the century – with primary focus on international operations – much of the old elements were nonetheless retained. Hence, when NATO returned to a focus on collective defence after 2014, Norway was more than ready for this change. In short, the defence concept that emerged around the millennium was short-lived and never really challenged the foundations the Norwegian Armed Forces rests on.
Can the UN Security Council Enhance the Effectiveness of the G5 Sahel Force?
At the United Nations Security Council, and in other forums in Africa and Europe, diplomats are debating different options for increasing international support to the Group of Five Sahel (G5 Sahel) Force. The aim is to enhance its operational capacity and effectiveness in an effort to restore stability in the Sahel. Despite the presence of the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the G5 Sahel Force, and French and European Union missions, the security situation in the Sahel has significantly deteriorated over the last few years.
Fiche technique sur le climat, la paix et la sécurité au Mali
Le Mali est un pays exposé aux variations du climat à court terme et aux changements climatiques à long terme en raison d’une forte vulnérabilité aux effets négatifs des changements climatiques, mais aussi d’une croissance démographique élevée, d’une résilience limitée et de multiples conflits violents. Le Mali devrait connaître une hausse des températures et des précipitations irrégulières, qui pourraient affecter la stabilité des saisons et ugmenter le risque de sécheresses et d’inondations. De plus, les conflits, l’instabilité politique et la faiblesse des institutions gouvernementales empêchent le pays de s’adapter efficacement aux changements climatiques. • Les changements climatiques peuvent affecter la régularité des saisons et détériorer les moyens de subsistance fondés sur les ressources naturelles. La précarité des conditions de vie peut interagir avec les facteurs politiques et économiques et intensifier les risques de conflits relatifs à l’accès aux ressources naturelles et à leur utilisation. • Les conflits, l’expansion de l’agriculture et les conditions environnementales changeantes ont affecté les routes de transhumance du bétail, incitant les éleveurs à se déplacer vers des zones dans lesquelles il y a beaucoup de pression sur les ressources naturelles ou dans lesquelles l’usage partagé des ressources est mal défini. Cela peut intensifier les risques de conflits avec d’autres éleveurs et agriculteurs. • L’évolution de la dynamique des conflits a accentué la dépendance entre les conflits locaux liés aux ressources naturelles, les affrontements entre ommunautés ethniques/religieuses et la guerre civile. Les conflits locaux deviennent de plus en plus violents, complexes et difficiles à résoudre. • La mauvaise gouvernance et les politiques agricoles ont provoqué des inégalités sociales, économiques et politiques qui alimentent les conflits. Ces mêmes facteurs minent la résilience des communautés aux changements climatiques, en particulier quand il s’agit de groupes marginalisés.