From Common Defence to Comprehensive Security Towards the Europeanisation of French Foreign and Security Policy?
This article looks at the relationship between European integration and national foreign and security policy - specifically, how and to what extent the development of a specifically European (EU) foreign and security policy leads to adaptation and change in national foreign and security policy. The theoretical point of departure is an interest in national changes in response to EU norms. It will be argued that national approaches tend to adapt to norms defined by a community to which they are closely linked; that this adaptation takes place over time, through a socialisation process; and that it may also, in the end, lead to changes in national identity. This argument challenges the common assumption of IR theory that national identities and/or interests are fixed and independent of structural factors like international norms and values. The empirical focus is on changes in French foreign and security policy since the early 1990s. How and to what extent has the dominant French national discourse on foreign and security policy changed since the early 1990s? And if so, how are these changes related to the European integration process in general, and to the development of a European foreign and security dimension in particular?
From Internationalization of Terrorism to the Internationalization of Anti-terrorism : The Role of the Summer Olympic Games
The academic literature on international relations and international sports studies has long ignored the linkages between sports and international relations. The present contribution seeks to remedy this shortcoming in the literature on international relations and international sports studies, focusing on the relationship between terrorism, anti-terrorism and the Summer Olympic Games, and examining the role of terrorism and anticipated terrorist actions in the organization of the Olympic Games. In this article we show that the anti-terrorism measures undertaken before, during and after the Olympic Games since 1972 have gone from failure to success. The development of anti-terrorism measures has resulted in Olympic Games that have been held without terrorist attacks aimed at political change. Failures in previous Games have been evaluated and have served to promote new developments in the fight against terrorism in later Games. The Munich disaster alerted everyone to the importance of Olympic security; since then, the Olympic Games have become the standard-setter for national organization and international cooperation on anti-terrorism in society in general.
Strategic Adaption or Identity Change? : An analysis of Britain's Approach to the ESDP 1998-2004
In this working paper, Kristin Marie Haugevik seeks to analyse the nature of the changes in Britain’s approach to the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) after 1998. Ever since the beginning of the European integration process in 1951, Britain’s approach to European security and defence cooperation has been characterized by anti-federalism and transatlanticism. Hence, it was unexpected when Tony Blair, together with Jacques Chirac, took the initiative to frame a common security and defence policy for the EU in Saint Malo in 1998. This paper discusses to what extent Britain’s new approach to the ESDP after 1998 can be explained as the result of a strategic adaptation, and to what extent it can be seen as a result of more profound changes in the British identity and security interests. These two accounts are tested by analysing Britain’s approach to some of the most important ESDP documents since 1998: the Saint Malo declaration, the Laeken declaration, the Nice Treaty, the European Security Strategy, and the Constitution Treaty
Hva gjør Norge utsatt for terrorisme? : Trusselscenarier og norsk sårbarhetsforvaltning
Til tross for en begrenset internasjonal terrortrussel mot Norge, kan noen utviklingstrekk, forhold og situasjoner bidra til at trusselbildet blir mer alvorlig, og aktualisere sårbarheter i det norske samfunnet. Noen av faktorene er knyttet til langsiktige og vedvarende endringer, mens andre er mer situasjonelle og kan føre til en akutt, men kortsiktig økning av trusselen. De viktigste sårbarheter og potensielle nasjonale mål kan deles inn i henholdsvis: energiproduksjon, transportmidler, informasjons- og kommunikasjonsteknologi, kontroversielle næringer og aktiviteter, symbolobjekter og - personer, samt ulike utenlandske mål i Norge. Spørsmålet er i hvilken grad og i hvilke sammenhenger det finnes grupper som ønsker å utnytte disse sårbarhetene, og å utføre aksjoner. Rapporten presenterer situasjoner og hendelser hvor disse sårbarhetene har blitt aktualisert, eller kan bli det i fremtiden. Avslutningsvis gis det noen generelle vurderinger av utfordringer for norsk «sårbarhetsforvaltning», samt forslag til nasjonale forskningsfokus for terrorisme. Dette for å underbygge sunn prioriteringspraksis i beslutningskretser, generere et grunnlag for videre sårbarhetsforskning og sårbarhetsforståelse, samt å identifisere kunnskapshull.
The State, the People and the Armed Forces – a Genealogical Outline of the Legitimacy of the Armed Forces in Norway
The Norwegian armed forces in the early 21st century is in a phase of rapid change and transition. International missions are about to become its main task, whereas traditional domestic territorial defence is becoming less and less relevant. Is this transition purely a technical adjustment to a new security environment, or does it also entail more fundamental changes in the relationship between the armed forces, the state and the population? Could the military risk to lose its popular legitimacy? To grasp the current changes, it is important to understand the foundations of the relationship between the military, the state and the people. As well as how these relations have evolved over time. This is certainly not the first time in history the armed forces are facing fundamental changes. This article seeks to shed light on some of these developments in Norway over the last centuries. The evolvement of the conscript system will be used to illustrate some of these developments. I will argue that the Norwegian authorities to date have been reluctant in addressing the changes, applying what can be described as ‘yesterday’s explanations’ when legitimising military operations of today. If this trend of ignorance continues, the danger of a popular back-lash increases.