En liten korrigering om "militarisering"

(Available in Norwegian only): Klassekampens reportasje om USA, alliansepolitikk og Øst-Asia på tirsdag var veldig interessant, god og viktig. Det kan imidlertid være på sin plass å moderere utsagnene om Japan, skriver forfatterne i dette leserinnlegget i Klassekampen.

Review: Japan’s Security Renaissance: New policies and politics for the twenty-first century, By Andrew Oros (New York: Columbia University Press...

Plug and Play: Multinational Rotation Contributions for UN Peacekeeping Operations

In January 2016, Norway deployed a C-130 military transport aircraft to the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Given the number of attacks on patrols and logistics convoys of MINUSMA, which has been called ‘the world’s most dangerous UN mission’, a military transport aircraft like the C-130 is considered a critical enabler to the UN mission, whose ability to operate safely and carry out its mandate has often been limited by the lack of air assets. From the beginning of the mission in July 2013, European troop-contributing countries (TCCs) have provided military aircrafts (C-130s and smaller C-160s and C-295s), but the difference between these and the 2016 deployment was that the latter was longer term, providing more predictability for the UN since it would be part of a multinational rotation contribution (MRC) initiated by Norway, followed by Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Belgium.

Nordens plass i Kinas nye æra?

Knapt året etter at norske myndigheter er ute av kineserens fryseboks har Xi Jinping nylig erklært til den 19 partikongressen at Kina er på vei inn i en ny epoke. Denne tredje epoken siden folkerepublikkens grunnleggelse, vil være den hvor Kina gjeninntar sin posisjon som global stormakt. Alle trender peker mot at verdens største økonomi snart vil være ikke-vestlig og ikke-demokratisk, for første gang siden Karl Johan var brödrafolkens konung. Hvordan har de nordiske land forholdt seg til denne historiske omskiftningen, og hvilke ringvirkninger ligger i vente for Norden i den nye kinesiske æra?

Impact of Climate Change on ASEAN International Affairs: Risk and Opportunity Multiplier

This study examines the implications of climate change for international affairs in Southeast Asia and for ASEAN as a multilateral organization. Climate change and efforts to mitigate climate change give rise to major risks as well as opportunities in international affairs. It is therefore in the interest of all countries to be aware of the risks and prepare for them, and the overarching purpose of this study is to support ASEAN and its member states in this area. Given Southeast Asia’s complex geography—with numerous archipelagoes, long coastlines, intricate borders, and great-power neighbors—climate change is especially likely to affect interstate relations in the region.Climate change may impact on international affairs among the ASEAN countries at several levels. Firstly, changing climatic conditions may affect interstate relations through humanitarian crises, migration, and/or the need for greater imports of vital goods. Secondly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires international coordination and cooperation. Thirdly, the global energy transition driven by climate policy may lead to an altered geopolitical situation in the world, including ASEAN.

'Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?' China as a norm entrepreneur in the Arctic

The admission of China as an observer in the Arctic Council in 2013 was a significant step in the ongoing evolution of the country's Arctic policy, but Beijing is still concerned about being accepted as a regional player given its geography and arguably lack of an Arctic history. As the Arctic becomes more open to scientific and economic engagement, China wishes to develop the idea of the Arctic as more of an international space as opposed to strictly a regional one, and to allow non-Arctic states, such as China itself, to become accepted as Arctic actors. However, in order to avoid a backlash from the Arctic states and potential exclusion from the region's development, Beijing cannot effectively be a unilateral ‘norm-maker’ in the Arctic. Instead, China has sought to develop the identity of a regional ‘norm entrepreneur’, engaging the Arctic on many levels to promote the norm of partnerships between Arctic and non-Arctic actors to promote positive sum outcomes. Through engagement via several areas and governmental levels, Beijing hopes to succeed in being widely viewed as a ‘near-Arctic state’ which can contribute to new norms, and possibly new regimes, in an Arctic which shows many signs of becoming further internationalised.

Regime Development and Patron–Client Relations: The 2016 Transnistrian Presidential Elections and the "Russia Factor"

In December 2016, Transnistria held presidential elections in which, after an exceptionally loud and dirty campaign, the incumbent yielded power to his main opponent. This article explores regime evolution in the breakaway republic through the prism of these elections. First, drawing on the literature on hybrid regimes, we ask what the recent campaign can tell us about regime evolution in Transnistria. Second, arguing that, in the case of Eurasian de facto states, this literature must be complemented by a discussion of the role of the patron state, we then turn to the importance of the "Russia factor." We conclude by arguing that, due to Transnistria's dependency on its Moscow patron, this factor always looms large – but not necessarily in the ways that might be expected.