Publikasjoner
Do regime differences shape developmental engagement? How China and Japan compete in post-coup Myanmar
The 2021 military coup in Myanmar has left the country significantly isolated on the world stage. Politically, foreign governments have avoided recognizing the junta rulers, although quasi-official engagement is still underway. Economically, foreign investments into Myanmar have dropped by 42% from 2021 to 2022, off levels that had already massively decreased since the 2017 Rohingya expulsion. However, despite the international outcry over the new regime’s open warfare against civilians and the escalating violence in Myanmar’s multi-front civil war, both China and Japan have remained engaged in development cooperation, pursuing ambitious projects for economic corridors and special economic zones (SEZs) that were contracted under the deposed civilian government; in the case of China, even some new projects have been launched.
Fra partnere til allierte: Finland og Norge i en ny æra
Finlands beslutning om å søke NATO-medlemskap i 2022 endret nordisk sikkerhet og forsvarsdynamikk. Det påvirket også Finlands forhold til sine naboland, inkludert Norge. I denne policy briefen analyserer vi utviklingen i forholdet mellom Finland og Norge – historisk og i nyere tid. Naboskapet har alltid vært fredelig, men ulike sikkerhetspolitiske tilnærminger skapte politisk avstand mellom dem under den kalde krigen. Etter den kalde krigens slutt ble forskjellene mindre, noe som reflekteres også i økt nordisk sikkerhetssamarbeid, finsk og svensk deltakelse i NATO-øvelser, og, i senere år, nye forsvarsavtaler med hverandre og med Sverige og USA. Etter Finlands NATO-inntreden har begge land uttrykt en forventning om ytterligere forsterket finsk-norsk samarbeid. Vi identifiserer flere potensielle samarbeidsområder i årene som kommer, herunder forvaltningen av felles institusjonelle rammeverk, sikkerhetsutfordringer i Arktis og Østersjøregionene, den fremtidige relasjonen med USA og tilnærmingen til et mer uforutsigbart Russland.
The Ukraine War, the New Geopolitics of Energy, and Norway
This study aims to address the question of how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has changed patterns of regional and global energy interactions and how this influences perceptions of Norway as a major regional energy actor. To examine these important questions, we will proceed in the following manner. In the first part of this study, we will present our operational understanding of the key concepts shaping our thinking about the relationship between the geopolitical and geoeconomic aspects of international cooperation and rivalry. Here we also will discuss the role of various national instruments of power in the pursuit of geopolitical and geoeconomic objectives. In the second part we narrow the scope of this examination to shed light on the relationship between geopolitics and energy in global and regional contexts, paying special attention to trends shaping the international energy game. This includes the changing role of Russia; how green energy transition reshapes international energy cooperation and how old and new energy-related policy instruments are evolving in this rapidly changing energy landscape. In addition, we also examine the nature of the old and new threats to energy flows, particularly those related to critical energy infrastructure. In the third part of this study, we examine the direct and indirect impacts the Russian war against Ukraine has had on energy markets and what implications these recent developments have for the position of Norway as a major energy actor. Norway’s importance for energy consumers, especially in Europe, has increased because of the war. Although the global energy trends discussed in the previous section also influence Norway and Europe, the focus in the latter section is on the regional dimension as Norway’s energy supplies reach first and foremost Europe. Finally, we examine possible scenarios that may influence energy markets and geopolitical conditions, with special attention paid to global factors with the potential to cause serious shifts. Part of the focus is on possible technological breakthroughs that may change the parameters of the international energy interactions and undermine the position of traditional energy producers and exporters.
Climate, Peace and Security Research Paper: Insights on Climate, Peace and Security
Climate change is transforming and redefining the global security and development landscape. United Nations member states are increasingly acknowledging that the impacts of climate change have implications for international peace and security. The growing recognition of this link has been reflected by the UN Security Council adopting over 70 related resolutions and presidential statements since 2017. Since 2021 the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) have analysed the links between climate, peace and security in countries and regions on the agenda of the UN Security Council. With support from Norway during its elected membership of the UN Security Council in 2021–22, NUPI and SIPRI jointly published 11 Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheets covering Afghanistan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Colombia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mali, the Sahel region, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. These fact sheets build on an analysis of four pathways from climate change to conflict that were identified in the context of East Africa; and supplement research on South and South East Asia, West Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa. The relationships between climate change and conflict have been studied in numerous other empirical studies and literature reviews with complementary findings. This paper outlines how climate change can affect peace and security (section I) and how climate change interacts with social, economic and political vulnerabilities in the countries covered by the Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheets (section II). The paper then synthesizes (section III) four key findings from the fact sheet series: (a) livelihood security is important, if not crucial, to the ways in which climate change influences conflict risk; (b) the impacts of climate change in one location can increase security risks in other locations; (c) the impacts of climate change interact with local vulnerabilities in ways that can create new security risks and exacerbate existing risks, such as conflict; and (d) conflict is not an inevitable consequence of climate change, but can be a response to its effects. This paper concludes with recommendations for how the UN Security Council shapes policies to address the complex challenges arising from climate change (section IV).
How effective is policing in protecting civilians in peace operations? Lessons from the UN Mission in South Sudan
Politiarbeid, som en styringstjeneste, er en del av en flerdimensjonal fredsoperasjon som er utplassert for å svare på konflikter og andre kriser. Det bidrar til å forhindre tilbakefall av konflikter, bygge bærekraftig fred, sikre rettssikkerhet og rettferdighet, beskytte og fremme menneskerettigheter og beskytte sivile. I ulike rapporter og resolusjoner anerkjenner FN politiets uvurderlige rolle i internasjonale fredsintervensjoner. Denne monografien analyserer effektiviteten av politiarbeid for å beskytte sivile i tilfellet med FN-misjonen i Sør-Sudan. Den angir lærdom og utsikter for å forbedre effektiviteten til politiarbeid i fredsoperasjoner for å beskytte sivile.
European Actorness in a Shifting Geopolitical Order. European Strategic Autonomy Through Differentiated Integration
This is an open access book. Over the past decade, the global geopolitical context has changed significantly, with a geopolitical power shift and a more assertive Russia and China. With the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, European security has been put on high alert. The implications of the Russian military invasion are many and difficult to grasp in full. But the need for greater European strategic autonomy appears increasingly evident. But how can this be achieved in the short run? The answer to this question is often that it is impossible and that this can only be achieved in the long run. The aim of this book is to present a different perspective. It aims at showing that it should be possible to make the most out of the current European system if we adjust our understanding of how it works. The book argues that strategic autonomy may be reached—also in the short run—if differentiated integration is seen as an asset rather than a challenge. While the EU remains the core in such a system (together with NATO in the military domain), there is a multitude of other (bilateral and minilateral) regional and sub-regional integration processes that need to be taken into account to get the full idea of how European strategic autonomy can be achieved. This book starts by presenting a theoretical framework for how to study European actorness beyond the EU, then this framework will be applied both to the development towards the EU as a foreign policy actor through the mechanisms of enlargement.
European Actorness in a Shifting Geopolitical Order. European Strategic Autonomy Through Differentiated Integration
Det siste tiåret har den globale geopolitiske konteksten endret seg betydelig, med et geopolitisk maktskifte og et mer selvhevdende Russland og Kina. Med Russlands uprovoserte invasjon av Ukraina, har europeisk sikkerhet fått en sentral rolle. Implikasjonene av Russlands invasjon er mange og vanskelig å fullt forstå rekkevidden av. Men behovet for mer strategisk autonomi i Europa er stort. Men hvordan kan dette oppnås på kort sikt? Svaret på dette er ofte at dette er umulig og kun kan oppnås på lang sikt. Denne bokens mål er å presentere et annet perspektiv. Målet er å vise at det bør være mulig å gjøre mest mulig ut av det nåværende europeiske systemet hvis vi justerer vår oppfatning av hvordan det fungerer. Boken argumenterer for at strategisk autonomi kan skje — også på kort sikt — hvis differensiert integrasjon ses på som en fordel, heller enn en utfordring. Mens EU vil fortsette å være kjernen i et sånt system (sammen med NATO på det militære domenet), er det en rekke andre (bilaterale og multilaterale) regionale og subregionale integrasjonsprosesser som må tas med i beregningen når en skal få et fullstendig bilde av hvordan europeisk strategisk autonomi kan oppnås. Denne boken starter med et teoretisk rammeverk for hvordan man kan studere europeisk "actorness" utover EU. Deretter blir dette rammeverket brukt både på EUs utvikling som en utenrikspolitisk aktør og mekanismene for EU-utvidelse. Denne boken er open access.
Knowledge Gaps in the Nexus of Climate, Peace and Security
There is a growing body of research on the relationship between climate change and peace and security. Research shows that the effects of climate change can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, such as food and water security, and in combination with other factors can also increase the risk of violent conflict. It is increasingly recognized that actions taken to prevent and manage conflict can be coordinated and integrated with actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Such cross-disciplinary cooperation can generate outcomes that are beneficial for both a sustainable peace and environment. The COP27 Presidency initiative titled “Climate Responses for Sustaining Peace” (CRSP), has taken a leading role in this movement by spearheading a discursive pivot from a climate security nexus towards a climate and peacebuilding nexus, with multifaceted and holistic approaches. The literature on how to integrate climate adaption and mitigation actions in efforts to build sustainable peace is still underdeveloped. However, there are related fields, such as the relationship between peace, conflict and natural resource management that may offer comparable lessons. This policy paper takes stock of the existing knowledge and identifies knowledge gaps for policy practice in the crucial, complex and emergent field of climate, peace and security. It classifies significant gaps in our actionable knowledge by sorting them into operational knowledge gaps, climate finance knowledge gaps, and gaps in the knowledge infrastructure.
Det å stå utenfor EU gjør ikke Norges klimapolitikk mer ambisiøs
Artikkelen diskuterer Norges klimapolitikk i lys av landets utenforskap. Til tross for påstander om at Norge, utenfor EU, kan ha større autonomi i utformingen av klimapolitikken, viser studien at dette ikke nødvendigvis fører til mer ambisiøse klimamål. Siden 2009 har Norge valgt å innordne seg etter EU, samarbeide på klimaområdet og oppdatere sine mål i tråd med de europeiske. Gjennom en sammenligning med Sverige, kommer artikkelen frem til at EU-medlemskapet ikke har begrenset Sveriges evne til å forfølge en ambisiøs klimapolitikk nasjonalt og internasjonalt. Artikkelen avdekker også utfordringene Norge står overfor som følge av sitt utenforskap, spesielt innenfor energisektoren, hvor avhengigheten av vannkraft og olje- og gassindustrien vanskeliggjør klimapolitiske tiltak. På tross av Norges internasjonale initiativer innen klimafinansiering og skogbevaring, argumenterer artikkelen for at EU-medlemskap ikke nødvendigvis ville begrense Norges ambisjoner som global klimaleder. Til slutt peker studien på utfordringene ved å stå utenfor EU og understreker behovet for en grundig vurdering av de potensielle fordelene og begrensningene ved utenforskapet.
External Voting: The Patterns and Drivers of Central European Migrants' Homeland Electoral Participation
This open access book is the first monograph that brings together insights from comparative politics, political sociology, and migration studies to introduce the current state of knowledge on external voting and transnational politics. Drawing on new data gathered within the DIASPOlitic project, which created a comparative dataset of external voting results for 6 countries of origin and 17 countries of residence as well as an extensive qualitative dataset of 80 in-depth interviews with four groups of migrants, this book not only illustrates theoretical problems with empirical material, but also provides answers to previously unaddressed questions. The empirical material focuses on the European context. The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union (2004-2007) triggered a westward wave of migration from Central and Eastern European countries which faced the expansion of existing émigré communities and the emergence of new ones. As this process coincided with the expansion of migrant voting rights, the result is a large set of populous diaspora communities which can potentially have a significant impact on country electoral politics, making the study of external voting highly relevant. This book’s introduction takes stock of current research on transnational politics and external voting, presenting core puzzles. The following chapter introduces the context of intra-European migration and the political situation in Central-Eastern European sending countries. The next two sections address the empirical puzzles, drawing on new quantitative and qualitative. The conclusion takes stock of the evidence gathered, discusses the normative problem of non-resident voters enfranchisement, connects external voting to the broader debate on political remittances and finally, maps the terrain ahead for future research.