Governing complexity in the Arctic region
This book argues that confining our understandings of Arctic governance to Arctic states and a focus on the Arctic Council as the primary site of circumpolar governance provides an incomplete picture. Instead, the authors embrace the complexity of governance in the Arctic by systematically analyzing and comparing the position, interventions, and influence of different actor groups seeking to shape Arctic political and economic outcomes in multiple sites of Arctic politics, both formal and informal. This book assesses the potential that sub-national governments, corporations, civil society organizations, Indigenous peoples, and non-Arctic states possess to develop norms and standards to ensure a stable, rule-based Arctic region.
The GeGaLo index: Geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition
This article presents the GeGaLo index of geopolitical gains and losses that 156 countries may experience after a full-scale transition to renewable energy. The following indicators are considered for inclusion in the index: fossil fuel production, fossil fuel reserves, renewable energy resources, governance, and conflict. Some of these represent potential gains; some represent losses; and some the capacity of countries to handle changes in geopolitical strength. Five alternative versions of the index are developed to work out the optimal design. First, the energy resource indicators are combined with equal weights to create two simple versions of the index. Next, governance and conflict indicators are included to create three more complex versions of the index. The index provides useful pointers for strategic energy and foreign policy choices: geopolitical power will be more evenly distributed after an energy transition; Iceland will gain most; Russia may be one of the main holders of stranded geopolitical assets; China and the USA will lose more geopolitically than foreseen by other analyses. The index also indicates a lack of emphasis in parts of the literature on space for renewable energy infrastructure and on domestically sourced coal for the current strength of countries such as China and the United States.
CANCELLED: Europe in 2020 – a Finnish perspective
This event has been cancelled due to unforeseen events.
The Military Threat to Europe
To what extent does Russia pose a military threat to Europe today? A military threat is traditionally regarded as a combination of capabilities and intentions. However, capabilities are evolving slowly while intensions may change rapidly. Russia's military modernization over the last decade has particularly strengthened its non-strategic nuclear weapons, the precision guided missiles, and the Navy.
The Faiths for Forests Declaration and Action Agenda: Introduction and context
An introduction and contextualization of the newly launched Faiths for Forests Declaration, outlining current faith-based initiatives for environmental protection and conservation.
Radicalization behind bars: Lessons and challenges from Norway and the Netherlands
How can correctional institutions and the wider society prevent radicalization behind bars?
Breakfast seminar: How does China view the world economy?
We hear a lot about the slowing of China’s economic growth and the trade war with USA. How do Chinese researchers view the situation and what does it mean for other countries and Norway?
Theory Seminar: “Traditional” institutions and polity-building in Chechnya and Ingushetia
Dr Ekaterina Sokirianskaia, will present her book project on the situation in North Caucasus.
Stater og transnasjonale motstandsnettverk: Irans mobilisering av irakiske sjiamilitser etter 1979
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been building a transnational network of Shi’a militias since 1979, commonly referred to as its asymmetric warfare capability and ‘strategic depth’. While it is a known fact that Iran has mobilised Shi’a militias in other countries to strengthen its regional position, how they have done it has not received much scholarly attention. The objective of this paper is to explain this phenomenon by examining how Iran has mobilised Iraqi Shi’a militias since 1979. The selected cases are the mobilisation processes of three most prominent Shi’a militias in Iraq today: Badr Organisation, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, and Kata’ib Hizbullah. Although variation exists between them, they are all cases of Iran’s network of armed resistance groups, which have allowed it to engage in covert or indirect conflict intervention in the Middle East. To logically connect the empirical data with the study’s research question, I have used a case study research design, with process tracing and the semi-structured interview as methods for data collection. Furthermore, the empirical analysis has been guided by a theoretical framework that has attempted to build a bridge between the existing literatures on state-militia dynamics and contentious politics.
Expectations of Change: Development Partnerships in Faith-Based Forest Conservation in Ethiopia
Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Ethiopia, this paper explores how local faith communities, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC), and international development organizations cooperate to define knowledge and practices of forest conservation. By following a church forest conservation-project in Ethiopia, in which both faith-based organizations, and the EOC are central stakeholders, this paper explores the intersections of local and international articulations of partnership and development. The church forests of Ethiopia represent some of the last enclaves of Highland and Afromontane forests types in the country, making them an important source of biodiversity. While increasing land cultivation and human settlement have reduced the scope of the forests, the EOC and its monastic communities have long been part of preserving the remaining green areas. As larger global forest conservation initiatives - such as the UN-REDD – emerge, local practices of conservation and development are now faced with the logics of professionalized development organizations. The forest conservation initiative in question aims to integrate theological reflections, technologies for agroforestry and biodiversity conservation, as well as livelihoods-projects. What happens when historically and theologically rooted practices of forest conservation meet the agendas of NGOs driven by narratives of innovation and sustainable development? And more generally, how can we understand how global and local commitments shape different stakeholders’ perceptions of “development” - and how do these connections impact their perceptions of each other as development partners?