Suchergebnisse

At the close of Norway's 2-year appointment to one of the rotating seats of the UN Security Council, the actions of the Security Council, & Norway in particular, are reviewed by Norway's ambassador to the UN, with particular attention to the correlation between Norway's UN votes & its own foreign policy. Also discussed is the political campaigning that UN members must engage in for consideration for Security Council seats, not only with countries from other parts of the world but with other Nordic countries. Norway's service on the council coincided with the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 & the US-led war against the Taliban in Afghanistan that followed. Norway played a large role in mediating Horn of Africa conflicts between Ethiopia & Eritrea, & the civil unrest in Somalia. The ambassador also addresses the outsized influence that the P-5 (the five permanent Security Council members) play in decision making, & also summarizes Norway's role in the ongoing Iraq question, as well as the installation of the International Criminal Court. A. Siegel

Having witnessed more than ten years of Yugoslav dissolution, it is time to ask whether the future will bring a victory for the nation-state or for integrated states. By going through the security policy challenges of today, as well as changes in the way the international community has approached the Balkans, the article ends up launching a third scenario. This combines the nation & integration scenarios in that it argues that the future may show a division into nation-states but also, at the same time, a greater degree of functional integration. Adapted from the source document.

This article prevents a historical summary of Norway's 1971 role in the normalization of relations between China & Thailand. Norwegian ambassador to Beijing Ole Alegrd met with Thailand's Foreign Affairs Minister Thanat Khoman, who made it known to Alegrdthat Thailand wished to have diplomatic relations with China. Alegrd's performance as diplomatic negotiator in this process is here described by former ambassador Sten Lundbo, who also reveals the effect that the UN General Assembly's resolution to invite China to assume a place in the UN. This development came then as a natural segue to invite China to participate in direct negotiation with Thailand. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were finally established in 1975, thanks largely to the Norway's diplomatic management of the situation, as is described in this article. C. Brunski

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

Decision-making processes during Norway's membership of the UNSC 2001-2002 are the empirical focus of this article. Based on anthropological fieldwork in the period, I discuss why it was necessary for practice and informal processes to be included when international organizations were being studied, but also how Norwegian UN policy was determined during the period. Furthermore, I show how formal structures are a marginalization of practical realities and how informal processes overlap formal structures on the way to consensus being achieved between member states in the UNSC. I investigate how this overlap has implications for policy-making in small states such as Norway when represented in international organizations like the UNSC. It is important to examine how formal instructions are being interpreted, adapted and reformulated through practice and informal action, and, when studying these effects, to illuminate the power relations in international politics. Adapted from the source document.