Editorial: The New Right’s internationalism
The editorial team welcomes you to the final issue of 2021. For this issue, convened by Minda Holm, one of New Perspectives’ Associate Editors, we have brought together a group of invited essays on the Internationalism of the New Right. As an object of analysis for political science and International Relations, the New Right refers to intellectual movements that have emerged since the 1980s, including Reaganite economic conservatives, theorists and philosophers like Alexandr Dugin and Alain de Benoist, and political movements that have swept to power across the globe, but with particular successes in Central and Eastern Europe. Globally these movement include actors as diverse as Bolsonaro in Brasil, Modi in India, and Putin in Russia, and in Central and Eastern Europe are exemplified by Fidesz in Hungary and Prawo I Sprawiedliwosc in Poland. So far, academic conversations have happened mostly in parallel, rather than with each other, drawing seemingly different conclusions as to both who we are speaking of, and what their global ideas entail – both for world politics, and IR as a field (see Abrahamsen et al., 2020; Azmanova and Dakwar, 2019; De Orellana and Michelsen, 2019; Drolet and Williams, 2018). In this special issue, we bring together some leading voices to reflect on the transnational and international relations between these movements.
Rolf Tamnes
Professor Rolf Tamnes is a member of NUPI’s Research Group on Security and Defence. Tamnes holds a dr.philos (PhD) from 1991 and a cand.philol. (M...
Huawei, 5G and Security: Technological Limitations and Political Responses
How did Chinese 5G providers, such as Huawei, become a security concern in the USA and Europe? Were the security concerns related to 5G and Chinese suppliers based upon technological features of the systems, or were they a product of geopolitical rivalry? How did European approaches to 5G distinguish themselves from those of the USA? This article addresses these questions using an interdisciplinary approach via the framework of securitization theory. The authors argue that the technological features of 5G made securitization more likely compared to 4G, and that screening and control of software was unlikely to defuse securitization concerns. They also show how Europe chose its own path for the securitization of 5G. In short, the article argues that the American macrosecuritization of China largely failed in Europe, whereas the niche securitization of 5G was more successful.
The Politics of Competence in Global Health: The European Commission’s Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
What was the European Commission’s (EC) global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how did it use the crisis to claim competence in the area of global health? This article explores the EC’s global coronavirus response. In so doing, it suggests studying the crisis response in terms of how the EC struggled to be recognized as a competent player in the international community of states and institutions. In particular, the article shows how the EC utilized the crisis unleashed by the pandemic to engage in geopolitical positioning in relation to World Health Organization (WHO) funding and the vaccine race, and by using its financial clout to struggle for mastery as a global health actor. The article responds to the challenge of understanding differentiation in the broader field of European foreign, security and defence policies. By treating informal practices by the EC on the world stage in and of themselves, the article shows how the constant struggle for competence plays into the politics of European integration and considers its potential for being instantiated in formal transfers of competence in the area of global health.
Covid-19, global handel og medisinsk beredskap
During the second quarter of 2020, Covid-19 led to the second largest setback for world trade after the second world war. But the value of trade soon recovered, to a normal level at the end of the year. The pandemic hit sectors unevenly, with a strong decline for oil, industrial and investment goods, while trade in food and drugs was maintained and trade with protective and medical equipment exploded. Via the oil price, Covid-19 hit Norwegian exports harder than imports, and erased the trade surplus. During the 2020 crisis, China delivered the increase for protective medical equipment while Western Europe delivered the drugs. Western Europe has 3/4 of world exports of drugs, and for Norway, trade with Europe is an important aspect of preparedness. During the 2020 crisis, Norway benefited from European cooperation through open borders for trade; common approval of medicines; and access to vaccines. Several countries introduced export restrictions for medical goods; India also for drugs, with resulting supply problems in Norway for some items. Global vaccine distribution will be a new test for world trade, and Norway contributes financially. Globalisation of the value chains for off-patent drugs (generics) has in recent year led to frequent supply shortages, independently from the Covid-19 crisis.
Georgia’s Europeanization challenged from within: Domestic foreign policy discourses and increasing polarization
Georgia`s foreign policy, especially the implementation of international agreements, is best understood in the context of domestic contestation among alternative foreign policy views. • Nativist views exert increasing influence on the Georgian public. Georgia’s European partners should engage the Georgian public through civil society support and people-to-people contacts, to build trust and facilitate open debate. • The exclusive character of differing foreign policy positions further fuels the extreme political polarization. The government and opposition should be encouraged to come together over shared democratic values, instead of playing up the differences. • Pluralism and tolerance should be encouraged in the public and media debate.
Utenriks- og sikkerhetspolitiske holdninger i valgåret 2021
What does the public experience as the greatest challenges for Norway? And how should they be handled? Where does the public stand in the question about their affiliation to Europe and the European Union? And what trust do the voters have in the various parties' foreign affairs programs before the general election? NUPI has conducted an opinion poll to answer these questions, and in this report we present the findings from our research.
Understanding and Strenthening EU Foreign & Security Policy in a Complex and Contested World (JOINT)
The JOINT project analyses these dynamics while addressing the question of how the EU and its member states can make their foreign and security policy structures more joined-up and sustainable....
A new European security and defence architecture in the making: What does it look like and what are the implications for Norway? (EURODEFENCE)
This project will study the implications of the new European defence initiatives for Norway particularly, as an allied and closely associated non-member of the EU. Despite the incremental nature of th...
Cyber security, knowledge and practices (CYKNOW)
CYKNOW will promote better understanding of cyber security, as well as develop novel theoretical and methodological tools for cybersecurity research in particular....