Building Sustainable Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean
How can the Escazú Agreement contribute to democracy building?
The China Policy During Søreide’s Tenure as Foreign Minister (2017–2021): Familiar Tracks and New Conflict Lines
The period with Ine Eriksen Søreide serving as foreign minister (2017–2021) provides an exciting window into the development of Norwegian China-policies. After a six-year freeze in the political relations between Norway and China, Søreide took on the task of normalizing the relationship and navigating it into a time characterized by sharpened conflicts. In this article, we seek answers to two central questions: how did the China-policies evolve during these years, and what explains the turn towards more security- and value-oriented measures in the second half of the period? We combine theories and explanations emphasizing the role of institutional stability, stepwise political change, and structural, international influence.
Special Issue on the Evolving Nature of African-Led Peace Support Operations and African Armies
Key Questions • How has the evolution of African-led PSOs on the continent shaped Africa’s security response to insecurity? • How has African-led PSO influenced the identity of African armies and their responses to insecurity in Africa over the last two decades? • Does the experience of African-led PSOs drive military actors' decision-making during times of crisis? What impact (if any) does African-led PSO have on African military professionalism?
Free, but manipulated? Journalism and politics in Tunisia’s fall from democracy
Tunisia was the only country that started developing as a democracy after the Arab Spring. Several important institutions were established to safeguard a democratic development, not least freedom of speech and free media. Today, however, the country is sliding towards authoritarianism. What happened, and what is the role of the media and journalism in Tunisia's withering democracy?
Globale Storbritannia i nord
In this project we aim to contribute to the emerging research on the UK’s quest for a new foreign, security and defence policy role at the dusk of the formal Brexit process....
Ad hoc coalitions in global governance: short-notice, task- and time-specific cooperation
Ad hoc coalitions (AHCs) are an indispensable but scantly conceptualized part of global governance. In recent years, several typologies and classifications of global governance arrangements have been provided, mostly differentiating them based on their organizational design features of degree of formality and membership composition. These do not capture AHCs and the role they play in global governance. In this article, we not only provide a conceptualization of AHCs, but also propose ways in which AHCs fit within the broader global governance architecture. We argue that what sets AHCs apart is not so much their (in)formality or membership, but rather their short-notice creation, their task-specific purpose and their temporarily circumscribed existence. We therefore define AHCs as autonomous arrangements with a task-specific mandate established at short notice for a limited time frame. We then develop a research agenda on the nature and future of AHCs, including their short- and long-term relationship with other multilateral arrangements in the global governance architecture. This is important, as we do yet not know how AHCs complement, compete and impact on international organizations and international crisis response.
Bad ideas have wings too: Understanding the resilience of jihadi ideas
How has Sayyid Qutb’s book 'Milestones' inspired radical youth and armed JIhadi groups around the world?
Svein Efjestad
Svein Efjestad graduated from The University of Oslo in 1980 (Political Science, International Law and History). He held a scholarship at the Norw...
A quest to win the hearts and minds: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Multinational Joint Task Force
In January 2015, the African Union (AU) authorised the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) as a regional security arrangement of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) to deal with the threat of Boko Haram (BH) in the Lake Chad region. Its mandate includes the responsibility of ensuring a safe and secure environment in the areas affected by the BH insurgency, reducing violent attacks against civilians, facilitating stabilisation programmes in the Lake Chad region, facilitating humanitarian operations and the provision of assistance to affected populations. To achieve its mandate, the MNJTF undertakes both kinetic and non-kinetic operations. Its mandate has been renewed yearly since 2015, and in December 2022, the AU renewed its mandate for another 12 months. This report assesses the effectiveness of the MNJTF in delivering on its three mandate priorities to generate recommendations for the enhancement of the MNJTF´s overall effectiveness.
Innovative project strengthened Norway's foreign policy in the Security Council