Commentary: Neighbors in a changed terrain
The Norwegian Government released a new strategy document for the High North at the end of April 2017. This short opinion piece examines some of the key areas of consistency and change in the international aspects of the strategy.
Nordic perspective on the G20
Would expanding the G20 format, such as by including the Nordic countries, solve issues regarding the group's legitimacy and inclusivity? Ulf Sverdrup and Joachim Nahem explores the Nordic perspective on G20 in new working paper.
Montenegro’s integration to EU and NATO in challenging times
Montenegro is about to become NATOs 29th member, and is the first country from the Western Balkans to join since Croatia in 2009. Minister of European Affairs of Montenegro visits NUPI to share his view of the situation.
Lunch seminar: Al-Qaida in Afghanistan - an alternative perspective
The Consortium for research on terrorism and crime has the pleasure of welcoming Anne Stenersen to talk about her book that gives a new perspective on al-Qaida.
The EU and a changing world: The Global Strategy and its implementation
Both Europe and the rest of the world has witnessed great changes the past year. How does this effect the EU?
Political change and historical analogies
This article deals with how scholars, policy analysts and activists, striving to make sense of current political change, have turned to history for analogies and ideas for action. While it is encouraging to see the Trump presidency and other instances of upheaval leading to a strengthened interest in history, in academe and public life more generally, there nevertheless is a need to caution against facile appropriations of the historical record and the use of superficial similarity to legitimize political action. I discuss ways of historicizing the present, through some examples of historical analogies applied to the first months of the Trump presidency and other relatively current instances of change. I start with a discussion of historical analogies and concepts, stressing how they can be understood as both first order and second order constructs. Then I discuss the current usage of historical analogies and concepts as both first order and second order constructs, before I conclude.
Your weekly NUPI recap – week 18
A week dedicated to American foreign and security policy has come to an end.
Iceland’s Relations with its Regional Powers: Alignment with the EU-US sanctions on Russia
The paper examines the Icelandic government’s consideration to withdraw its support for the sanctions against Russia over Ukraine in 2015. The consideration came as a surprise to many since Iceland in the past has habitually aligned itself closely with the United States and the European Union in such matters. The Icelandic fishing industry lobbied hard for the sanctions to be lifted to avoid Russian counter-sanctions on Iceland. After considerable internal debate, the government decided to uphold the sanctions, but settled on a policy of not taking part in EU´s foreign policy declarations about the sanctions. This move is interesting given Iceland’s traditional positioning between two gravitational centres in world politics: the EU and the US. The paper discusses what this case tells us about Icelandic policymakers’ room for maneuvering in the formulation and enactment of its foreign policy, and about Iceland’s foreign policy bonds to the US and the EU.
New Study: Illicit Financial Flows in Developing Countries Large and Persistent
Illicit financial flows (IFF) from developing countries are increasing and the numbers are large; approximately 1 trillion US$ in outflows was estimated in 2014 alone.
The Bear and the Triangle
What shapes EU policy towards China? This is the topic for NUPI Research Fellow Bjørnar Sverdrup-Thygeson's new article.