Informal elites as local bureaucrats: Why working as a tax collector increases the local accountability of city chiefs in Congo
We are excited to announce that this semester’s third seminar in our Tax for Development Webinar Series will take place on Tuesday April 13th at 03:00 PM (CET). The speaker is Jonathan Weigel (London School of Economics). He will present the paper “Informal elites as local bureaucrats: Why working as a tax collector increases the local accountability of city chiefs in Congo”.
Hybridity, Adaptive Peacebuilding and Complexity
This chapter introduces Complexity and Adaptive Peacebuilding and considers how it contributes to the contemporary hybridity debate. Following a brief introduction to Complexity theory, this chapter explores the utility of a complex systems perspective to expand our understanding of hybrid peacebuilding. Adaptive peacebuilding is then introduced as an approach that can help hybrid peacebuilding cope with the uncer- tainty dilemma that is a characteristic of complex social systems, as well as manage the relational dimension of hybrid peacebuilding through a collaborative approach.
Central African Republic: What's behind the crisis?
The situation in the Central African Republic's capital of Bangui is "apocalyptic" - that's how a former prime minister this week described the situation there. The UN says more than 200,000 people have fled their homes since the conflict erupted last month. Rebel forces now control two-thirds of the country. Dr Andrew Yaw Tchie, Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, gives the background to this crisis.
South Sudan’s battle for Democracy
South Sudan’s peace process is still largely up for negotiation. A new South Sudan must emerge through a civilian technocratic government. This will require transforming the way security forces control the state. It also means being serious about addressing the root causes of conflict, implementing a transitional parliament, drafting a new constitution, deciding what type of federalism best suits the country and strengthening the electoral commission, writes Andrew E. Yaw Tchie in this analysis.
Red Arctic? Affective Geopolitics and the 2007 Russian Flag-planting Incident in the Central Arctic Ocean
This chapter discusses visual representation and Arctic geopolitics, exploring how the image of the flag planted on the Arctic seabed by Russia has persisted as a core visual image of Arctic politics. Using Google Image Search, we compare the pervasiveness of this image with a small selectin of potential image-events of the Arctic, representing different storylines of Arctic politics, and find that they remain comparatively marginal. The chapter considers why the flag-planting image remains so central to Arctic geopolitics by briefly discussion reception and re-use of the flag-planting image in Canada, Russia and the United States.
A Governance and Risk Inventory for a Changing Arctic
In this chapter, Elana Wilson Rowe, Ulf Sverdrup, Karsten Friis, Geir Hønneland, and Mike Sfraga caution against viewing trends of conflict and cooperation in the Arctic in binary terms. While the US and Europe are determined to confront malign activity in the region, all sides continue to “demonstrate a commitment to cooperation and joint solutions to common challenges.” After reviewing the key factors and drivers supporting and challenging stability in the Arctic, the authors remind us that “cooperation in conflict” has long been the norm in the region, allowing cooperative governance to progress despite the enduring NATO-Russia military rivalry. Ongoing dialogue in the region – essential for addressing the regional and global implications of climate change – is poorly served by focussing on “narratives or practices of strategic competition alone.” To avoid “political tipping points” beyond which cooperation will become too difficult, the authors call on policymakers to be more proactive in how they address emerging governance challenges related to security and economic development.
Translating Mandates into Policy and Practice: Emerging lessons from operationalizing climate-related security risks in peace operations
IPI, NUPI and SIPRI co-host webinar on Climate-related Security Risks.
Belarus: At the Height of Mobilisation and Repression
Nine months after the massive political protests started as a reaction to the 2020 presidential elections, this webinar examines the state of the political crisis in Belarus.
Norsk eierskapskontroll kan avskrekke utenlandske investorer
Som et relativt lite og åpent land mottar Norge mange utenlandske investeringer. Noen av disse kan skape sikkerhetsutfordinger. «Vi anser dette som en avtale om salg mellom to kommersielle aktører, noe departementet ikke skal eller bør blande seg i», uttalte Næringsdepartementet om at et russisk selskap ville kjøpe den norske bedriften Bergen Engines. Forsvarsdepartementet sa først at sikkerhetsloven ikke var gjeldende, men så snudde de. Nå jobber flere departementer med saken. Dette viser hvor krevende det er å balansere sikkerhetsinteresser og gevinstene av en åpen økonomi.
Climate, Peace and Security: The case of South Sudan
The consequences of climate change can worsen South Sudan’s humanitarian crises and fragile security environment, marked by widespread communal conflict and a civil war since 2013. With a population estimated at 11 million, more than 1.6 million people have been internally displaced due to prolonged conflict.