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Explains that the late-2000 recession was mainly due to the fact that politicians, businessmen and economists had forgotten the lessons of the great depression resulting in a moral hazard of overleveraging as big corporations knew that the government would bail them out. The seeds for this economic crisis were already sawn by the stock market bubble in the 1990's that eventually spread into more important sectors due to bad government policies based on neoliberalism. It is important that policy makers see the economic crisis as a possibility and aim at full employment while redesigning the credit system in order to avoid future crises. L. Pitkaniemi

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.

This article summarizes Barack Obama's foreign policy during his short political career and labels his foreign policy as a mix of expansionism, realism, and institutionalism. A brief biography of Barack Obama is included to address Obama's views of the global community and history. Obama's views on Iraq, the war against terrorism, Iran, the UN, NATO, nuclear weapons, and climate change are examined. It is argued that Obama will be limited by circumstances in his ability to conduct foreign policy according to his convictions. Four examples are provided to illustrate actions desired by Obama but limited by circumstance, including a reform of the UN security council, nuclear disarmament, ratification of the US agreement with the International Court of Justice, and prevention of humanitarian disasters. It is suggested that Obama may prove to have individual strengths, including extraordinary powers of persuasion and inspiration, to overcome limitations and make a mark on history. The author speculates whether Obama's overall foreign policy objective will be peace or moral perfection. References. E. Sundby

Criticizes some aspects of the Norwegian oil policy, where policy makers have moved to serve oil companies instead of the public. For example, the oil deal between Norway and Turkmenistan that Norwegian politicians actively lobbied for prohibits them from criticizing the human rights situation in Turkmenistan. As six of the world's ten largest companies operate in the oil industry, these interests are hard to bypass. L. Pitkaniemi

This article examines how John McCain has formed his foreign policy and what the world can expect should McCain become the next US President. A summary of McCain's military career is included, with a focus on his years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. McCain's voting record on foreign policy issues is examined and inconsistencies are pointed out and explained. It is argued that the threat of terrorism will be McCain's major focus in foreign policy, and that he will likely focus on spreading democracy and fighting tyranny to increase security. There is a summary of McCain's stance on a number on foreign policy issues, including radical Islam groups, the war on terror, Iraq, Iran, the UN, NATO, a League of Democracies, and global warming, as well as a discussion of limitations to the President's ability to conduct foreign policy, including military capacity, economic limitations, and political support. It is concluded that McCain would be based on spreading American moral values and democracy, and that his administration would largely continue the foreign policies of the Bush administration. References. E. Sundby

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

What can account for the distinctive American style of political discourse, the independent course of US foreign policy, & the stubbornly enduring popularity of George W. Bush? The article argues that both rest on the deep structure of American thought that is on the one hand highly dualistic & on the other obsessed with the notion of purity. These produce a worldview in which the "Good" is wholly, indivisibly good, the "Bad" is wholly, indivisibly evil & "Good" is at eternal risk of corruption. This mental framework is first illustrated by means of two popular films, the 1989 Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure & the 1964 Dr. Strangelove. Finally, the author draws on the work of anthropologist Mary Douglas to analyze the consequences of this way of thinking for US foreign policy, & argues that such a dichotomous worldview faces constant challenge from the existence of phenomena that do not easily fit it. Much of US foreign policy can accordingly be understood as varying strategies to protect American purity & to resolve ambiguous phenomena that threaten the prevailing American moral code. 20 References. Adapted from the source document.

For tjue ar siden pavirket utgivelsen av rapporten 'New Dimensions of Security' fra FNs utvikhngsprogram, UNDP, en allerede gryende debatt om sikkerhet. I denne artikkelen undersokes dagens status for human security som et komplekst og mangfoldig kunnskapsfelt. I fire steg diskuterer jeg begrepets fleksibilitet, vektleggingen av subjektivitet og kontekstuelle og helhetlige forstaelser av sikkerhet. Videre droftes human security som del av en etisk utenrikspolitikk og militaere intervensjoner i tiden etter den kalde krigen. Human security har som kunnskapsfelt en iboende spenning mellom analyser av usikkerhet og sosial organisering pa lokalt niva og human security som retorisk instrument for a legitimere fred/krigforing. A undersoke og forsta den symbolske makten i det vage og abstrakte begrepet human security, bade slik det framstar og brukes i konkrete sammenhenger, kan vaere en vei til kritiske analyser i dette kunnskapsfeltet Twenty years ago the release of the UNDP report 'New Dimensions of Security' stimulated what was already a sprawling debate on security. This article explores the status of human security today as a complex and diverse field of knowledge. In four steps I discuss the flexibility of the concept, the emphasis on subjectivity, contextual and holistic understandings of security as well as how human security is part of an ethical and interventionist foreign policy in the post-cold-war era. I argue that human security as a field of knowledge is characterized by tension. A key tension is between an analytical approach to insecurities and social organization on the local level and analyses of human security as a rhetorical tool legitimizing peace-/war-making. Exploring the symbolic power in the vague and abstract notion of human security, how it is represented and employed in concrete contexts, is one approach to critical analysis in this field. Adapted from the source document.