Forsvar og sikkerhet

Between vulnerability and risk? Mental health in UK counter-terrorism

Forholdet mellom terrorisme og psykisk helse har vært gjenstand for forskning i flere tiår. Til nå har litteraturen konsentrert seg om forholdet mellom terrorisme og diagnostiserbare lidelser, samt om forekomsten av visse psykologiske trekk bland terrordømte. Spørsmålet om hvordan hensyn rundt psykisk helse blir inkorporert i kontraterror praksis har imidlertid ikke blitt belyst så langt. Denne artikkelen utforsker tre ulike tilnærminger til psykisk helse innen kontraterrorarbeid i Storbritannia: Bruken av ‘appropriate adults’ (tilnærmet tilsvarende ‘verge’) i terrorrelaterte saker, psykisk helse-sentrene som er etablert i Storbritannia for å oppnå bedre samarbeid mellom psykiatrien og politiet, samt risiko- og sårbarhetsvurderinger innen feltet. Artikkelen viser psykisk helse i økende grad synes å anses som en risiko- mer enn en sårbarhetsfaktor innenfor britisk kontraterror, og at grensene mellom hva som vurderes som risiko og sårbarhet på feltet er i ferd med å viskes ut.

Political Opportunities for the Extreme Right in Georgia

Over the past several years, right-wing extremists have begun to proliferate in Georgia and their visibility has noticeably increased. More recently, far right groups even announced plans to form a joint party, the National Front, which will “take part in absolutely all political processes.” This policy brief discusses whether there are favorable political opportunities for right-wing extremist actors in Georgia to mobilize. The legal system of the country includes laws that restrict extreme right rhetoric and action. However, an analysis of Georgia’s political space shows that right-wing extremist groups are indirectly supported, or at least not openly condemned, by the ruling party and other political actors. In addition, extreme right opinions largely coincide with general public attitudes, meaning that there are significant discursive opportunities for mobilization. After discussing the factors that contribute to potential mobilization opportunities for right-wing extremism, the brief presents policy options to counter this process.

Georgia's Emerging Far Right

Ethnonationalism has been as common in Georgia as in other post-Soviet countries, but the far-right social movement has especially been gaining traction for the past five years, gradually becoming larger, more diverse, and more violent. The parliamentary elections approaching in 2020 create a window of opportunity for far-right actors to gain access to mainstream politics. ​

The “Right” Side of Facebook: Online Mobilization of the Georgian Extreme Right

In recent years, extreme-right groups have become increasingly visible in the republic of Georgia. In several cases they have managed to bring exclusion-oriented issues to the agenda, occupying public space and restricting opportunities for liberal groups and human rights activists. Although this has led to growing concern in political circles and civil society, there has been little in-depth research. Drawing on social movement theory, I investigate the role of digital media, specifically, Facebook, in mobilization. The analysis rests on 8,069 Facebook posts of four publicly active extreme-right groups, as well as 18 in-depth interviews with activists and experts. Frame analysis shows that extreme right groups try to align their narratives with public opinion, especially, homo- and transphobic and anti-immigration attitudes, as well as public distrust in political institutions, NGOs, and the media. Social network analysis, in turn, shows that the online network of the Georgian extreme right is decentralized, marked with a battle for influences in the emerging movement. In this loose network, actors with less radical and more populist ideology seem more central, whereas those with more extreme ideologies are more peripheral. Overall, the paper suggests that, given the lack of access to political institutions and mainstream media channels, extreme right groups in Georgia largely rely on Facebook to spread their narrative, garner support and mobilize for action.

Georgian Pride World Wide:” Extreme Right Mobilization in Georgia

Explaining Russian reactions to increased NATO military presence

Helt siden NATOs utvidelsesprosess begynte, har Russland uttrykt bekymring for følger en større NATO tilstedeværelse nær den russiske grensen kunne få for landets sikkerhet. Undertegnelsen av avtalen som regulerte relasjoner mellom NATO og Russland i 1997 bidro til å avklare situasjonen, men forholdet mellom Russland og NATO har siden hatt mange opp- og nedturer. Russlands militære inngripen i Ukraina og annekteringen av Krim i 2014 førte til at NATO satset på forskjellige tiltak for å forbedre sikkerheten til sine medlemmer, inkludert utplasseringen av NATO-styrker i områder som anses av geografiske grunner som mest utsatt for mulige russiske inngrep. Denne policy briefen analyserer russiske reaksjoner på disse nye NATO tiltak i en bredere kontekst av den russiske debatten om NATO som en sikkerhetspolitisk utfordring. Den starter med en diskusjon av den generelle strategiske konteksten for relasjoner mellom NATO og Russland, fortsetter med en kort analyse av hovedlinjene i den russiske debatten om NATO som en sikkerhetspolitisk utfordring, og ser nærmere på offisielle russiske synspunkter på en større NATOs militære tilstedeværelse i områder nær Russlands grenser. Den ender med noen policy relevante konklusjoner om hvordan man kan oppnå en bedre balanse mellom NATOs og Russlands sikkerhetspolitiske interesser.

‘Practice time!’ Doxic futures in security and defence diplomacy after Brexit

Time constitutes social life and time management is central to the everyday conduct of international politics. For some reason, however, the practice turn in International Relations (IR) has produced knowledge about how past practices constitute international politics but not about how the future is also a constitutive feature in and on social life. Introducing a novel perspective on practice and temporality, the article argues that intersubjectively situated representations of the future by practitioners in international politics contribute substantially to our understanding of political processes and the making of international politics. To develop what appears a contradiction in terms – that ‘future-practices’ are driven by tacit know-how and conscious reflection simultaneously – the article develops the concept of doxic futures: representations of the future rooted in practical knowledge and tacit assumptions about the self-evident nature of the social world. The argument is illustrated with a case study of European security and defence diplomacy after the UK voted to leave the EU. Through the envisioning of two concrete doxic futures, a ‘Europe of buying together’ and the UK as a third country in EU defence, diplomats effectively tried to save European security and defence cooperation from the potentially disintegrating effects of Brexit.