A Governance and Risk Inventory for a Changing Arctic
Many government officials, military leaders, and political observers have proclaimed the rise of a new, post-Cold War global great power competition between the United States, Russia, and China with myriad implications. Using this new reality as the backdrop for the Arctic Security Roundtable at the Munich Security Conference 2020, roundtable participants are asked to explore, discuss, and debate this issue in the context of, and implications for the new globalized Arctic. This paper – a primer of Arctic trends, risks, and institutions – provides a useful starting point for the discussion. Discussing Arctic security in high-level forums is important. One might ask why we should take the time to discuss the Arctic if we are not fighting a war there. The answer is this: there is a new ocean opening up due to global climate change. There is a promising track record of governance cooperation in the region that serves as a basis for pursuing sustainable management of and peace in this new ocean. The point of dialogue – with an emphasis on cooperation, joint governance and outlining risks and potential tipping points – is to make sure that we do not add the Arctic to the already far-too-long list of global hot spots. The Arctic Security Roundtable at the Munich Security Conference 2020 provides one such confidential forum for proactive and constructive debate on Arctic security issues.
Irans moderne historie
Irans moderne historie er en høyaktuell bok om hvordan Iran, slik vi kjenner det i dag, har blitt til, utgitt førti år etter at 2500 år med persisk monarki ble erstattet av en islamsk republikk.
Russia and Europe in memory wars
Russia and Europe are in a state of memory war. How did this come about? Is there a way out of this situation? In order to answer these questions, this report enquires into the dynamics of memory politics in Europe, and then takes a closer look at Russian memory politics.
The PREVEX project officially launched in Brussels
Why are some communities more likely to experience violent extremism than others?
The EU’s role in a more instable world – towards a shared Grand Strategy?
The opinions on which role the EU should play in international politics differ. How will 2020 turn out for the Union, and what role will it pursue in the future?
PODCAST: – Putin has no magic mind control powers
By blaming Vladimir Putin for everything that we dislike in the West, we will fail to address the real issues, according to Mark Galeotti, author of the book We Need to Talk About Putin.
Alessio Iocchi
Alessio Iocchi was a Senior Research Fellow in NUPI's Research group on peace, conflict and development.
Assessing the Effectiveness of the United Nations Mission in Mali
Until 2016 MINUSMA managed to strengthen stability in northern Mali, decreasing the number of civilians killed in the conflict, and allowing large numbers of displaced persons to return home. MINUSMA also assisted the peace process, culminating in the 2015 Algiers Agreement. Many of these achievements are still standing. However, since 2016 MINUSMA’s effectiveness in terms of stabilisation and the protection of civilians has decreased. In the North, the signatory parties have been making slow progress in the implementation of the Algiers Agreement and the 2018 Pact for Peace. In addition, central Mali has destabilised significantly, as Jihadist activities have stoked a vicious cycle of inter-communal violence that has reached unprecedented levels. MINUSMA has only been mandated to help the Malian government address the situation since June 2018. As one of the largest multidimensional peacekeeping operations – currently including nearly 13,000 soldiers and 1,800 police officers from 57 contributing countries, and almost 750 civilians – MINUSMA has been provided with significant resources and an extraordinarily ambitious mandate. However, the Mission finds itself at a crossroads. It needs time to succeed, but this is valuable time Mali does not have. Civilians have come under increasing attack, and the US, in particular, is losing interest in supporting a costly UN peace operation that is not able to deliver quick results. This report considers the degree to which there is an alignment between the mission’s resources and its mandate. It also makes an assessment of the options available to the Mission to increase its effectiveness in the face of extremely challenging circumstances.
Russia in world trade: Between globalism and regionalism
The article examines Russia’s participation in world trade and trade policy, using trade data for 1996–2017 and simulations of a numerical world trade model where Russia is divided into domestic regions. Since the mid-1990s, Russia’s foreign trade has grown much faster than the world average. This was accompanied by rapid deterioration in the trade balance for manufacturing, and fast redirection of imports, with more from China and relatively less from others, especially Eastern Europe. Only 1/8 of Russia’s foreign trade in 2017 was with Eastern Europe. This is why Russia can gain more from trade integration with the world beyond Eastern Europe, according to the model simulation analysis. For Russian domestic regions, multilateral liberalization among all countries has a similar effect across all of them, with a welfare gain due to lower import prices. For the commodity-exporting regions of Russia, preferential free trade agreements (FTAs) have a similar impact. For the more industrialized Russian regions, on the other hand, FTAs lead to manufacturing growth, rising wages and higher prices, and a larger welfare gain. According to the model simulations, trade integration promotes industrial diversification, with manufacturing growth also in some commodity regions. The results indicate that external liberalization is particularly important for the central parts of Russia; with Volga and West Siberia generally obtaining the strongest manufacturing boost from trade integration.
Kapitalisme i øst og vest: Vivek Chibber, Subaltern Studies og universalismens nødvendiget
The article discusses the Indian debate about universalism, eurocentrism and post colonialism, based on Vivek Chibber´s critique of Subaltern Studies in his book Postcolonialism and the Specter of Capital. It argues that on most points, Chibber´s critique is valid, and endorses his defence of a conditional universalism. At the same time, some aspects of his own approach are criticised, in particular his defence of rational choice theory.