Publications
The Nordic shift: China’s uphill battle for public approval in northern Europe
A recent survey shows that even the champions of free trade in Europe’s high north are reassessing their approach to Chinese investment.
Common Fears, Common Opportunities? Czechia and Norway in the changing international context
With long-dominant structures in flux, European states – and perhaps smaller ones in particular – are now forced to rethink their foreign policy approaches and practices. This policy briefs outlines how one small Northern European state, Norway, and one Central European state, Czechia, assess and respond to a changing international political context. While located in different geopolitical settings, and with different histories, political systems and resources at their disposal, Norway and Czechia operate under many of the same international framework conditions. How are Norwegian and Czech officials and policy makers evaluating contemporary developments? What do they identify as the key fears to which they must respond? Which partners and institutional structures have they traditionally relied on – and what indications of change (if any) can we now observe? We find that Norway and Czechia face many common fears – from concerns about the international order and their global sense of place, to challenges to key institutions such as NATO and the EU, and concerning specific issues such as climate change, energy security, territorial security, and how to best respond to migration. We argue that these common fears could provide a springboard to greater cooperation that can diversify Czechia and Norway’s support networks and entrench a greater sense of international belonging for both countries.
Nordic perspectives on European security: Norway
How does Norway relate to the various new European defence cooperation formats? Which states are Norway coordinating with when engaging in these projects? Is there unexploited potential for common Nordic initiatives within the European formats? Or do traditional security relationships still take precedence? These are the questions discussed in this chapter
Book review: Cas Mudde's "The Far Right Today"
The article reviews Cas Mudde’s ‘The Far Right Today’ (2019). The book remarkably summarizes decades of research on the radical and extreme right, arguing that the contemporary far right differs from its pre-2000s antecedents by its mainstream and normalized nature. ‘The Far Right Today’ is an (semi)academic equivalent of a page-turner. Mudde rationalizes far-right mobilization in a way that takes the edge off those terrified by the sensationalist coverage of far-right demonstrations, featuring tattoo-covered, black-clothed skinheads with combat boots, but also reminds those dismissing the far-right threat of the indirect and long-term impact of the mainstreaming and normalization of the radical and extreme right. ‘The Far Right Today’ is thus a must-read for students, researchers, policymakers, and those interested in up-to-date research on the far right.
Ten Years On: Reassessing the Stoltenberg Report on Nordic Cooperation
Ten years ago, the report ‘Nordic cooperation on foreign and security policy’ was presented to the Nordic foreign ministers at an extraordinary meeting in Oslo, Norway. Penned and fronted by Norway’s former foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg, the report proposed thirteen ways in which Nordic cooperation in the foreign and security domain could be formalized and strengthened. In this review, we revisit these thirteen proposals and ask: How important was the 2009 Stoltenberg Report for boosting Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation? What progress can we observe in the decade that has passed since the report was released?
Civil-Military Relations in International Interventions: A New Analytical Framework
It is frequently claimed that success in interventions hinges largely on military–civilian coherence. However, despite high ambitions among politicians and organizations, coherence among intervening actors has proven challenging to achieve in practice. Why is this so? To answer this, the book approach the various military and civilian actors in interventions from several angles. It discusses different relationships between the intervening actors, and their relations to those intervened upon. It also analyses different military concepts, such as peacekeeping and counterinsurgency, and the often troubled relationship between the humanitarian and military intervening actors. The book argues that to capture these relationships, an analytical framework which is capable of covering all the intervening actors, is required. It offers such a framework, based on identification theory, which illuminates how the interveners represent those they have deployed to engage, as well as their own identity and role. Based on this we can develop a better understanding of if and when coherence emerge – or not – between the intervening actors.
Den flerhodede dragen – Mot en ny modell for kinesisk utenrikspolitikk?
Societal development in China in the past few decades has made pluralism a central feature in the way Chinese policy is decided and implemented. Old formal actors are now facing competition from new, informal actors in both public and civil spheres. As a consequence, China’s formal foreign policy is now but one of many voices outwards. On the basis of a systematic description of important actors and lines of governance in today’s China, in this article I argue that the state of affairs can be described as «pluralized authoritarianism». The model is illustrated with an analysis of China’s behaviour in the South China Sea in the period 2007–2012.
Can Aid Solve the Root Causes of Migration? A Framework for Future Research on the Development-Migration Nexus
An important dimension of the European Union’s response to the 2015 refugee and migration management crisis has been to address the root causes of irregular migration. A major tool the EU has to mitigate push factors of migration is development assistance. Yet, the literature shows that the casual relationship between aid and migration is complex and far from obvious. This article summarises the ongoing debates and major findings concerning the development-migration nexus in order to better inform policymakers about the potential risks and shortcomings of using aid in migration management. It suggests a framework for future research on what kind of assistance might work, for whom, and where.
Holdninger til utenlandske investeringer fra Kina i de nordiske land
How does the Nordic public view foreign investments? Does the country of origin for such investments matter for the public? Would the public be more critical of investments into certain sectors of the economy, whilst being less critical to foreign investments in others? This essay presents the results from an extensive survey of public opinion conducted across all the Nordic countries.
Ytre høyre normaliseres
The far right is increasingly normalised, and gets away with it - also in Norway.