Ever looser union? Differentiation in European integration
Professor Frank Schimmelfennig is visiting NUPI to discuss differentiated integration, which has become a core feature of European integration.
New report on China and multilateral development banks
China is strengthening its position within international development finance and monetary cooperation.
Colonized Children: Chechnya in Russia
This chapter explores how kinship relations have functioned as a source of social power in Chechnya and, since the end of the second post-soviet Chechen war, constituted a bond between Moscow and Grozny that allowed Russian governance over Chechnya.
Chinese cyber security and consequences for Europe
Chinese tech giants are increasingly visible and established in the European market. Are we ready for all that this implies?
India: A Contradictory Record
This chapter provides a review of the role of women in Indian politics, with a focus on female legislators. It begins with an account of the entry of women into politics in the early 20th century. Second, it looks at the gradual increase in the number of women MPs and the barriers they have faced. The third section presents the debate that resulted in quotas (‘reservations’) for women in local-level politics, but not in the more influential parliament and state assemblies. The final section is about some characteristics of women MPs. This review demonstrates some of the key barriers that keep women out of elected office in India, but also highlights the diversity of the women who have come to power despite these obstacles.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative through the lens of Central Asia
Has the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched by China in 2013, changed the perception of China among local actors in Central Asia? There are numerous internal problems and contradictions among the Central Asian countries and the region remains one of the least integrated in the world. This poses serious challenges to BRI but also offers opportunities for enhancing regional connectivity and integration. Although there has been some research and even more media coverage of BRI, little is known about how Central Asians perceive BRI. This chapter fills some of these gaps and analyzes the present state of relations between the Central Asian countries and China and collects and systematizes perceptions of Beijing and BRI among Central Asian stakeholders. The analysis focuses on economic cooperation, infrastructure and educational initiatives, as they as they are among BRI's main pillars. The main conclusion is that current attitudes towards China have been formed within the framework of bilateral relations that started in 1991, and there has so far been no major shift in the perception of China in Central Asia since BRI was launched. Whereas the broader public expects more economic opportunities from BRI and there has been more discussion of China's role in Central Asia after 2013, local communities remain uninformed and weakly connected to the high-level interaction between the Chinese and Central Asian governments.
Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Norway’s Options
What would the late political economist and intellectual Albert O. Hirschmann have said if asked to assess the developments in Europe – and its future – at a time when decision makers and voters feel that the quality of their community is decreasing, or fail to see the benefits of its achievements? Drawing on Hirschmann’s works, NUPI Director Ulf Sverdrup offers three intertwined strategies for European states’ approach to Europe in the time to come: “Exit”, “voice” and “loyalty”. Sverdrup reminds us that most would agree that being European is something more than being a EU citizen. According to him, there are good reasons to believe that non-members, like Norway, can contribute to developing Europe in the future. However, a common challenge for both outsiders and insiders is to recognize the multifaceted nature of Europe, and to encourage non-members not to disengage from Europe while, at the same time, encouraging the EU to relate to its European partners outside the EU.
Science diplomacy and security in the Arctic
At this year's Arctic Frontiers, we will take a closer look at diplomacy and security in the Arctic.
Introduction: The EU and the Changing (Geo)Politics of Energy in Europe
This introductory chapter has three purposes. First, it presents the background for this volume originating in a research project on European integration funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN). Second, it explains why EU energy policy in this context deserves closer scrutiny looking at energy relationships between the EU and external suppliers of energy and the EU and member states. Finally, this chapter gives an overview of the content of this book and explains rationales for the choice of cases presenting how the EU projects its power, how external suppliers Norway, Russia, Algeria and LNG providers have responded and how the member states Germany, Poland and the three Baltic countries interact with the EU when implementing their energy policies.
Inside Russia’s Imperial Relations: The Social Constitution of Putin-Kadyrov Patronage
This article analyses how Moscow has extended its rule over Chechnia since the beginning of this century. Within the larger understanding of this rule as imperial in form, the current distinct contractual relation between the Russian center and Chechnia is substantiated as one based on kinship. I argue that the Putin-Kadyrov relationship is a generic case of patronage but highlight the local imprint that such relations acquire by tracing how Chechen kinship practices inform this case.