Publications
Regulatory barriers to trade in services: A new database and composite indices
This paper presents new data on services trade regulation for 46 countries in 22 services sectors over 6 years (2014–2019). The data consist of qualitative information which is scored and weighted to produce composite indices. They cover market access and national treatment restrictions with respect to all GATS modes of supply, but also behind the border domestic regulation such as licensing, non‐transparent regulatory procedures and competition policy. The database is updated annually. The trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) are significantly correlated with services trade flows, but also with the performance of the sectors subject to the restrictions including logistics performance indicators, interest spreads, density of ATMs and secure servers, broadband penetration and outcomes such as legal rights and the time to resolve insolvency.
Brunei Darussalam: How to Build an Investment Climate for Renewable Energy?
Brunei Darussalam has yet to make major progress in renewable energy and become an attractive destination for investors. Only 0.05% of Brunei’s electricity came from renewable energy sources, while 99.95% was based on fossil fuels. In 2014, the country set a renewable energy target of 10% in the power generation mix by 2035. To reach the target, it needs to increase the share of renewables by 0.66% every year from 2020 to 2035. The country still needs to adopt a regulatory regime to scale up the development of renewable energy, particularly solar energy, which is more abundant than wind energy. We propose five actions to build the investment climate for renewable energy in Brunei Darussalam: prioritise renewable energy in the governance system; adopt and implement key legislation; mobilise domestic investors; improve market entry for foreign investors.
Impact of Digital Technologies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Trade In Services
Digital technologies are cutting trade costs for services, turning more services from non-tradables into tradables, and putting trade in services on a stronger relative growth path than trade in goods. Digital enablement of services depends on inputs of cross-border data flows, which are themselves growing exponentially. The shift to the digital economy has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic as goods producers connect with customers via online platforms, and services like health, education, and entertainment are delivered online. Purchasing services offshore is not far behind, so e-service trade will likely continue to accelerate. However, regulatory frameworks are lagging, putting productivity gains at risk. We offer eight recommendations to the Group of Twenty (G20) leaders to start shaping a trade policy agenda for a digital future. For every nation to reap the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, sustained openness to international services trade, investment, and data flows is essential.
Police Reform and Community Policing in Kenya: The Bumpy Road from Policy to Practice
A reform is underway in Kenya, aimed at transforming the police organization into a people- centred police service. Among other things, this involves enhancing police-public trust and partnerships through community policing (COP). Two state-initiated COP models have been implemented: the National Police Service’s Community Policing Structure, and the Nyumba Kumi model of the President’s Office. On paper, police reform and the two COP models would appear to have the potential to improve police-public cooperation. In practice, however, implementation has proven difficult. Interviews and meetings with local community organizations, community representatives and police officers in urban and rural parts of Kenya indicate that scepticism towards the two COP models is common, as is refusal to engage in them. But why is this so? Why are these two COP models unsuccessful in enhancing police-public trust and cooperation? This article analyses how various contextual factors—such as conflicting socio-economic and political interests at the community and national levels, institutional challenges within the police, the overall role and mandate of the police in Kenya, and a top-down approach to COP—impede the intended police paradigm shift.
A Comprehensive Strategy EU Strategy for Africa Political Dialogue: Governance, Security and Migration
Much has changed since the creation of the Joint Africa-European Union (EU) Strategy in 2007. The developing world has been changing fast. Development policy and practices are also transforming, albeit at a slower pace. The divide between emerging economies and ‘fragile states’ is increasing. This is also the case in Africa. As not only Africa, but also the EU-Africa relationship is changing and evolving into new dimensions, there is clearly a need to develop a new European strategy, constructed on the basis of an emerging continent. Africa is home to the youngest population in the world and some of the world’s most fragile states. However, it is also a continent with emerging markets and more effective governments. This brief aims to clarify how well the new Strategy must manage to mainstream a European approach to Africa that considers both the inter-continental dialogue and the diversity of development on this emerging continent within the fields of governance, security and migration. As the COVID-19 has turned into a pandemic, the brief also suggests that the new European strategy must reflect this development and the European Parliament should closely monitor the situation as it discusses the Strategy.
Etterretningstjenestene og det nye trusselbildet: Er de beredt?
The current international situation places far higher demands on coordination, cooperation and interaction between the services than before. At the same time, there have been, and are, a number of different challenges associated with collaboration between PST and Norway's military intelligence. These are based on a number of different factors, such as resources, mandate, organization and culture. The authors propose a number of reforms that build on the current model, but which they believe will solve the current challenges.
United Nations peace operations and International Relations theory: An introduction
International Relations (IR) theories may seem abstract and arcane. With this book, we want to dispel this stereotype. The contributors to this volume demonstrate how IR theories can be applied to a very practical problem: UN peace operations, 1 one of the main instruments of international conflict management. Besides peace operations, the chapters shed light on many other aspects of international affairs, such as multilateral co-operation, the role of international bureaucracies, and evolution and contestation of norms. At the same time, the reader whose interest in the volume has been sparked by its thematic focus will find state-of-the-art research on the main issues affecting UN peace operations, ranging from the impact of rising powers to a widening space for individual initiative.
Hvor radikale er de høyreradikale?
To be both radical and conservative is not necessarily a contradiction, writes Minda Holm in this op-ed published in Klassekampen.
Hvor radikale er de egentlig? Om det populistiske radikale høyre som motideologisk prosjekt
How radical is the populist radical right really? On the populist radical right as a counter-ideological project.
Koonings, Kees, Dirk Kruijt and Dennis Rodgers (eds.), Ethnography as risky business: field research in violent and sensitive contexts
Ethnography as risky business is a 16‐chapter edited volume, providing its readers with a collection of first‐hand ethnographic experiences gathered in contexts shaped by violence and conflict. The book springs out of a symposium that took place in 2014, at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The editors are upfront about the fact that the book does not proclaim a one‐size‐fits‐all approach to ethnography (p. 15), but rather seeks to share a collection of some of the practical and ethical reflections generated through the group’s research.