Female heroes in a man's world: The construction of female heroes in Kyrgyzstan's symbolic nation-building
This article explores how Kurmanzhan Datka and other female heroes fit into the heavily male-dominated narrative traditionally promoted by Kyrgyz nation-builders. From a reading of state-approved secondary school history textbooks, the article traces the construction of female heroes and discusses how this construction contributes to the gender dimension of Kyrgyz nation-building: What values do these female symbols appear to represent? Which roles have they been assigned in the process of Kyrgyz nation-building? And what consequences may this have for the reproduction of hegemonic gender conceptions?
Can quotas lead to social justice?
What are the long-term effects of electoral quotas? This is the topic NUPI researcher Francesca R. Jensenius has studied in her new book. At this book launch, she and Mari Teigen (ISF) will talk about some of her key findings and their relevance for discussions of political inclusion in Norway and elsewhere.
Small states on the grand chessboard – the case of Moldova
Minister of Foreign affairs of Moldova, H.E. Mr. Andrei Galbur, will give a lecture on the foreign policy objectives of the Republic of Moldova in the current international security environment which confronts itself with an unprecedented number of old and emerging challenges.
The future of the EU as seen from Greece
With a changing world, the EU will also change. As one of the Unions member states, Greece has sometimes had a strained relationship with Brussels. How does Greece see the future of the EU?
Plug and Play: Multinational Rotation Contributions for UN Peacekeeping Operations
In 2016, Norway spearheaded the provision of multinational rotation contribution (MRC) of a C-130 transport plane, together with Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, and Sweden, lasting from January 2016 to December 2018. According to Hervé Ladsous, then Under Secretary-General (USG) for UN peacekeeping operations, speaking at the UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial in London on 8 September 2016, MRCs can be seen as a new and innovative partnership aimed at providing a predictable supply of niche capabilities to UN peace operations. This report studies early lessons from the C-130 MRC and argues that for some key capabilities, MRCs can complement traditional force generation for UN peacekeeping operations. For member states, the ‘plug-and-play’ characteristic can lower the threshold and increase the incentives for contribution; for the UN, they can enable predictable and cost-effective supply of niche capabilities in key areas. However, MRCs are not applicable to all capabilities, and require flexibility and the ability to reform among all concerned parties.
What you need to know about the elections in Iran
Iranian presidential and local elections will be held on 19 May. Senior Advisor Joachim Nahem (NUPI) clarifies some important questions.
Å kommunisere en konflikt – aktører i RTs dekning av situasjonen i Ukraina i februar–mars 2014
(Norwegian version only): This article analyses the Russian public diplomacy news organization RT’s coverage of the situation in Ukraine in February–March 2014, the period that culminated with the annexation of Crimea. It finds that enemy images were drawn of the West/USA and of Ukrainian radicals, whereas the liberal opposition and in part the new Ukrainian government were subjected to «symbolic annihilation» – that is they were not represented at all, only indirectly in depictions of the enemy image of the other actors. Locating these portrayals in the theoretical literature on «strategic narratives», the author interprets them as attempts at achieving consensus around Russia’s own perspectives on international affairs, which include the promotion of a world order in which the USA is no longer a hegemon and Russia is respected as a great power.
The risk of undifferentiated news
How are radicalization issues covered in international media?
The Rebalance to Asia Under Trump
Attempts to predict the future shape of President Donald Trump’s defence policy in the Asia-Pacific are a challenge, at best. Nevertheless, Patrick Cullen argues that, in contrast to early assumptions that he would initiate a more isolationist defence policy and break with the previous administration’s Rebalance to Asia policy, Trump is more likely to adopt a hawkish – if unpredictable – enforcement of the policy’s key defence objectives. Gauging whether the Trump administration will bring either change from, or continuity with, the military component of the Rebalance to Asia policy will require keeping an eye on each of the policy’s subcategories.