Research project
New frameworks for Norwegian security and defence policy
Artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and digital infrastructure are becoming increasingly important in a world characterized by rapid technological development.
This is also the case for the defense sector. The link between new technology and the security and defense policy is not novel one, but there exist numerous perspectives on the nature and consequences of this interlinking. The scholarly literature on technology’s impact is to some extent ahistorical and deterministic.
To arrive at a better understanding of how security and defence policy, practice and technology are connected, we must adopt a more comprehensive perspective on the role of technology in shaping global security policy.
This project aims to provide such a perspective by using a number of theoretical approaches to craft an understanding of the technological development and the resulting implications and consequences for Norwegian security and defence policy. Furthermore, the project will build on empirical analyses of how the prevailing thinking has manifested itself, theoretically and in practice, both in Norway and abroad.
To shed light on such processes, we will analyse both historical and contemporary examples of the development of technology and defence policy.
Among the questions that will be addressed are: What has technological progress meant for the sustainment of the international order, and how will emerging technologies impact said order in the future? How will new technologies impact strategic defence planning and force composition? Will it lead to a change in how politicians and other decision-makers view and conceptualize the use of force? How will future warfare based on autonomous systems affect theoretical foundations and military strategic considerations? To what degree does technology alter civil-military relations, and how can this in turn affect the distinction between war, crisis, conflict, and peace?
Participants
New publications
Missiles, Vessels and Active Defence What Potential Threat Do the Russian Armed Forces Represent?
In 2019, Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, presented a ‘strategy of active defence’, a possible prelude to the forthcoming Russian military doctrine. This article examines this strategy with particular emphasis on the role of precision-guided missiles, tactical nuclear weapons and the role of the navy. It provides insights on the shape of new Russian military doctrine and the military threat Russia might represent to the West. Maren Garberg Bredesen and Karsten Friis conclude that the active defence concept may imply a lowering of the use-of-force threshold. Russia’s continued build-up of tactical nuclear weapons integrated into the conventional forces reinforces this concern.
Russian approaches to military technology. The Northern dimension
This policy brief presents the main findings of a project on Russian approaches to technological challenges, and the implications for security developments in the High North. It begins by examining the Russian debate on the technological challenges identified as posing a threat to national security by the country’s policymakers. Next, it explores how these challenges have been dealt with by Russia in the post-2014 context, paying special attention to developments in the field of military technology and how President Putin has taken advantage of these to address questions of strategic balance. Finally, the brief sets out the strategic implications for Norway, as NATO’s representative in this northern corner and Russia’s direct neighbour.