Regioner

How Do Ad-Hoc Security Initiatives Fit in Africa’s Evolving Security Landscape?

Over the last two decades, places like the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, Somalia, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Northern Mozambique have experienced a rise (and in some cases, a resurgence) of groups that use violence to challenge the state. Often termed “rebel groups,” some, like the M23 in eastern DRC, fit the rebel model. But many others take the form of violent extremist insurgencies that mix insurgent tactics with criminal activities, such as banditry and the illicit trading of goods, drugs, money, and natural resources. What both have in common is the use of violence to pursue political and economic objectives related to long-standing center-periphery grievances, and economic and political marginalization.

Nomads and Warlords, Chadian Forces in African Peace Operations

Despite criticism of the United Nations (UN) as peacekeepers “hiding behind sandbags,” by the former president of Chad, the Chadian military has become a critical enabler of African-led and UN peace operations. This paper posits that the effectiveness of the Chadian forces stems from refined and modified nomad and warlord structures and attributes used during Chad’s various conflicts to build and improve its national army. This has allowed the Chadian regime to exercise and project power, thus, producing one of Africa’s most effective forces for current conflicts and challenges. Thus, Chad’s military leadership reflects a trend of states that use military prowess to project force, while maintaining international partnerships with permanent members of the unsc (the US and France), UN peacekeeping missions and African ad hoc security initiatives. Finally, the paper examines the implications of this trend for the evolving nature of African Peace and Security Architecture.

Considering ecological security from the perspective of Arctic ecosystemic politics

This brief essay is part of a book forum on Matt McDonald's book (2021) presenting the idea of ecological security. In the essay, I reflect on progress and prospects for Arctic cooperation and governance in order to consider the promise and limitations of McDonald’s ecological security framework. The Arctic is an instructive example for such an exploration. The longstanding post-Cold War cooperation in the Arctic is strongly rooted in an appreciation of the interconnected nature of the Arctic ecosystem, even as the governance mechanisms remain far from what would qualify as an ecological security approach in McDonald’s sense. Nonetheless, I suggest that especially two aspects are instructive from the Arctic example. The first relates to how ecological security would potentially interface with an already quite full landscape of governance practices rooted in ecosystems, and associated power political genealogies and effects. The second point is a reflection on unfolding events, seeking to explore how continued inputs from other forms of security governance could impact on emerging or partial attempts to govern with an ecological security perspective. Here, the status of Arctic cooperative governance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an illustrative example to consider. Both points can be read as impediments limiting the applicability of the ecological security framework. However, as McDonald argued, impediments are not the same as absolute limits (2021, 192) and potential obstacles are explored here in the spirit of advancing possibilities for ecological security.

Panel debate, "War in Europe: Nordic Cooperation in a Changing Security Environment"

Paneldebate, annual conference held in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry, the Nordic House, the Institute for Public Administration and Politics at the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Political Scientist Association.

Norden i endring

Med krig i nærområdene, hvor går Norden?

Krigen i Ukraina har endret Norden. Med Sverige og Finland på vei inn i NATO åpnes nye muligheter for tettere nordisk samarbeid. Samtidig har Nordisk råd begynt å diskutere hvorvidt det er behov for å revidere Helsingforsavtalen – også omtalt som «Nordens grunnlov», slik at avtalen også omfatter det nordiske samarbeidet om sikkerhet og beredskap. Hvilke følger får den nye sikkerhetspolitiske situasjonen for det nordiske samarbeidet? Hva gjør endringene med Nordens posisjon – i Europa og verden? Skal vi ha en nordisk forsvarskommisjon, slik blant andre tidligere statsminister Magdalena Andersson nylig tok til orde for?

Brexit, "globale Storbritannia" og Norge

Innledning for vennskapsgruppen for Storbritannia