Usund fornuft. Værnsrivalisering og den demokratiske kontrol med militæret
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 70, Heft 4, S. 433-454
ISSN: 0020-577X
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 70, Heft 4, S. 433-454
ISSN: 0020-577X
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 73, Heft 1, S. 130-140
ISSN: 0020-577X
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which consists of military forces from more than 40 NATO and non-NATO countries, is now officially history. In combination with the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the international intervention in Afghanistan has been one of the most lengthy operations in modern times. Such overwhelming effort requires reflection and evaluation. What have we learned from being part of this intervention? In this focus article I will go into one of the most important and demanding elements of this intervention - the civil-military space. The civil-military interaction played a significant role and received much attention, theoretical and practical. The question was about how various actors can contribute to a successful, holistic effort. I should say something about the term 'civil-military coordination' which focuses on the relationship between different actors, and then look into the Norwegian approach to civil-military relations. I would argue that the Norwegian approach was based on important principles, but could appear as immature and inflexible. I justify my claim by lifting some challenges and contradictions that have emerged, either because of - or despite - the introduction of the model. The newly appointed Afghan committee will give us considerable insight and several lessons and will be useful in future policies and practices. Already, however, two things for sure; firstly, that we will be asked to contribute in future military operations without being able to predict what these will contain (we have other words prepare us for many different contingencies). Secondly, under virtually all military operations be civilians present, with greater or lesser degree of contact between them. This civil-military dynamics often understood within the concept of civil-military cooperation (Rietje & Bollen 2008; Hoogensen Gjorv 2014 Hoogensen Gjorv & Gjorv 2014). Adapted from the source document.
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 72, Heft 4, S. 453-472
ISSN: 0020-577X
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 70, Heft 4, S. 504-512
ISSN: 0020-577X
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 65, Heft 2, S. 173-203
ISSN: 0020-577X
During the Cold War, the Norwegian Armed Forces were organized to fight an invasion against Norwegian territory. The end of this era should at least in principle imply changes not only in military practices on the ground but also in the training and education of officers. This article analyses the inertia in the internationalization of higher military education programs in Norway, where the strengthening of a subject like International Relations began only at the end of the 1990s. One explanation for the discrepancy between the military curriculum, on the one hand, and the new military environment facing the officers, on the other, is that existing practices were taken for granted and reproduced in social structures. The debate about military education also reflects a traditional conflict between those who have seen an academization of military education as an intervention into the monopoly of knowledge of the officer profession, and those who embraced such a development. Adapted from the source document.
In: Arctic review on law and politics, Band 13, S. 34-52
ISSN: 2387-4562
Over the last decade, Russia has considerably ramped up its military presence in the Arctic. This is something that attracted much attention from Western countries, especially against the backdrop of deteriorated relations and general mistrust following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Current developments are to some extent familiar, as they echo the militarisation of the Arctic during the Cold War and the attendant US-Soviet tensions. Although comparisons with the Soviet Union's Arctic military posture lie close at hand, we need to analyse Russia's current military build-up in the Arctic with fresh eyes. Two of the most indicative developments were studied. Firstly, the formation of a single Arctic military command, with its implications for a reassessment of the Arctic strategic direction; secondly, the physical expansion of its Arctic military footprint, which includes both the construction of modern facilities and the increased activity of its armed forces there. In both these developments, the Northern Fleet is taking on a leading role, but the overall military posture relies on other military and civilian actors as well, and is closely related to security concerns of the developing latitudinal axis of the Northern Sea Route, rather than the Cold War longitudinal axis of a massive nuclear weapons exchange.
In: Arctic review on law and politics, Band 13, S. 32-33
ISSN: 2387-4562
For a long time, the Arctic has been regarded as a stable region with low tension. However, even though low tension prevails, it is a fact that the circumpolar region also encompasses some of the world's most capable and potent military capabilities. The key role of the Arctic regarding security issues, international relations and geopolitics, is sometimes underplayed or not fully understood. These aspects of security are investigated in this thematic issue of Arctic Review on Law and Politics.
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 60, Heft 2, S. 163-188
ISSN: 0020-577X
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 66, Heft 1, S. 143-155
ISSN: 0020-577X
This article examines whether the thesis of classical realism that political states are primarily motivated by the desire for military and economic power applies to the British Empire (1815-1914). The article questions to what extent the emergence of the British Empire (1815-1914) was driven by Britain's foreign policy to alter existing power structures in international relations. The article offers an overview of pre-imperial, imperial, and post-imperial strategies within the theory classical realism, and then applies these strategies to analyze the pre-imperial (1600-1815), imperial (1815-1914) period of the British Empire. A discussion of the post-imperial period focuses on Britain's maintenance of status quo and its alliance with the U.S. The article concludes that the theory of classical realism in international relations is useful to the discussion of the emergence, use, and maintenance of political power of the British Empire (1814-1915). This article is one in a series of articles on the topic of empires. References. E. Sundby
In: Arctic review on law and politics, Band 13, S. 53-71
ISSN: 2387-4562
Since the start of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, the Nordic states have sought to advance their defence cooperation "beyond peacetime" to also encompass operational military cooperation in crisis and armed conflict. Relations between the two Nordic non-NATO members, Sweden and Finland, have formed a vanguard, encompassing bilateral operational planning beyond peacetime. While no formal security policy guarantees have been exchanged, Sweden and Finland have created strong expectations that they will lend each other support in a crisis. In short, while no formal alliance treaty exists, the two states have nevertheless become closely aligned. In 2020, Sweden and Finland joined NATO member Norway in signalling their intention to strengthen their trilateral defence relationship. The following year, NATO members Norway and Denmark signed a similar agreement with Sweden. The goal of these documents was to coordinate their national operational plans – their "war plans" – and perhaps develop some common operational plans. In this article, it is argued that these agreements fall short of a formal military alliance, but that they represent an alignment policy between the Nordic states.
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 62, Heft 4, S. 499-515
ISSN: 0020-577X
The article discusses the African state, using Michael Mann's theory of state formation as a starting point. Mann describes state formation as a process through which society is gradually "caged in" by the state, establishing the state as the highest political authority & the final arbiter of conflict within its territory. I argue that African states have been unable to "cage in" their societies. On the one hand, this means that politics does not only consist in struggles about control over the state or the content of state politics. Instead, the state's right to formulate laws & policies that are binding for society as a whole is challenged. On the other hand, since the state is unable to control its borders, interstate relations also take a different form. Conflicts that start as civil wars tend to spread across borders, without any of the affected states being able to prevent it. As a result, the distinction between the internal & the external becomes blurred. 28 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 68, Heft 2, S. 183-206
ISSN: 0020-577X
In: Internasjonal politikk, Band 66, Heft 2-3, S. 373-382
ISSN: 0020-577X
This article presents the opinion that American exceptionalism has returned post 9/11. It is argued that Ronald Reagan's international relations during the cold war displayed the attitude that power is more important than intellectual, factual, historical, ideological, or moral obligations. The uses of power employed by Americans in international conflicts are compared to the uses of power employed by empires of the past. A historical exploration is included of the development of exceptionalist attitudes from the founding of the US in the 1700's, throughout the continual expansions of the 1800's and into the industrial and military power of the 1900's. It is further argued that American traditions during the early 1900's border on messianism, where the American people are the chosen people, and that Reaganism was a natural extension of these traditions, whereas post Reagan there was no need for American messianism or exceptionalism, and thus American Presidents sought a new world order where the US would participate in integrated global economics and politics in cooperation with other nations. George W. Bush's politics post 9/11 with its war on terror marked the return of American exceptionalism. E. Sundby