Suchergebnisse

1 Introduction -- 2 Who are the Dissidents? -- 3 Marxist neophytes and democratic heretics -- 4 Dissent Gains Names and Faces -- 5 Between Prague and Helsinki: setting the transnational stage for dissidence -- 6 The birth of the dissident figure, 1976-77 -- 7 Molding the dissident figure -- 8 The looping effect of the dissident figure: resistance and performance -- 9 Generalization of the dissident figure -- 10 Conclusion: can dissidentism explain post-dissident politics?

This edited collection highlights the different meanings that have been attached to the notion of energy security and how it is taken to refer to different objects. Official policy definitions of energy security are broadly similar across countries and emphasize the reliability and affordability of access to sufficient energy resources for a community to uphold its normal economic and social functions. However, perceptions of energy security vary between states causing different actions to be taken, both in international relations and in domestic politics. 'Energy Security in Europe' moves the policy debates on energy security beyond a consideration of its seemingly objective nature.

Artikkelen diskuterer Norges klimapolitikk i lys av landets utenforskap. Til tross for påstander om at Norge, utenfor EU, kan ha større autonomi i utformingen av klimapolitikken, viser studien at dette ikke nødvendigvis fører til mer ambisiøse klimamål. Siden 2009 har Norge valgt å innordne seg etter EU, samarbeide på klimaområdet og oppdatere sine mål i tråd med de europeiske. Gjennom en sammenligning med Sverige, kommer artikkelen frem til at EU-medlemskapet ikke har begrenset Sveriges evne til å forfølge en ambisiøs klimapolitikk nasjonalt og internasjonalt. Artikkelen avdekker også utfordringene Norge står overfor som følge av sitt utenforskap, spesielt innenfor energisektoren, hvor avhengigheten av vannkraft og olje- og gassindustrien vanskeliggjør klimapolitiske tiltak. På tross av Norges internasjonale initiativer innen klimafinansiering og skogbevaring, argumenterer artikkelen for at EU-medlemskap ikke nødvendigvis ville begrense Norges ambisjoner som global klimaleder. Til slutt peker studien på utfordringene ved å stå utenfor EU og understreker behovet for en grundig vurdering av de potensielle fordelene og begrensningene ved utenforskapet.
Abstract in English:Staying Outside the EU Does not Make Norway's Climate Policy More AmbitiousThe article discusses Norway's climate policy in light of the country's non-membership status in the European Union (EU). Despite claims that Norway, staying outside the EU, may have greater autonomy in shaping climate policy, the study shows that this does not necessarily lead to more ambitious climate targets. Since 2009, Norway has chosen to align itself with the EU, cooperate on climate issues and update its targets in line with European ones. Through a comparison with Sweden, an EU member, the article examines how EU membership has not limited Sweden's ability to pursue an ambitious climate policy nationally and internationally. The article also reveals the challenges Norway faces as a result of its outsider status, particularly in the energy sector, where dependence on hydropower and the oil and gas industry causes problems for climate policy. Despite Norway's international initiatives in climate finance and forest conservation, the article argues that EU membership would not necessarily limit Norway's role as a global climate leader. Finally, the study points to the challenges of remaining outside the EU and emphasizes the need for a thorough assessment of the potential benefits and limitations of such a position.

As energy security becomes a key topic of policy debates, not least in Central and Eastern European states, which are vulnerable to gas supply disruptions from Russia, it has been suggested that EU energy policy becomes 'securitized'. However, full securitization attempts, which not only identify threats but also call for exceptional measures to deal with them, are relatively rare in the energy sector. Why do governmental actors initiate securitizing moves aimed at implementing exceptional measures in the energy sector, and what explains the acceptance of certain moves or measures and dismissal of others? This paper looks at Poland, comparing two examples of such moves. Drawing on a primary document analysis, the paper shows how a shared socio-technical imaginary provided an anchor for the successful securitization of the nuclear project, while liberal market discourses limited audience acceptance of the securitizing move in the power sector. Securitization appears to be a mechanism triggered when core state powers over energy are challenged from below (civil society, market actors) and above (supranational institutions), particularly in already securitized contexts. The paper concludes with the value added of Securitization Theory for energy policy studies and lays out a Critical Energy Security Studies agenda, which can build on it.

Speaking truth to powers-that-be and overthrowing a "regime of lies" were both dissident trademarks during the Cold War era. But what if overreliance on such an idealized and static notion of Truth can be a problem in an age of post-factual politics and information warfare? In this essay, I first problematize the idea that "truth will set us free" and re-read Václav Havel's The Power of the Powerless together with a contemporary work—the film Camouflage by Krzysztof Zanussi—to find other foundations for political strategies, beyond the "struggle for truth," that might transcend the post-totalitarian situation and inform our normative choices and political agency today. In a reality over-flooded with information, where spreading doubt and forging counter-narratives has become a weapon, and where conspiracy theories seem to gain ground, relying on a self-evident distinction between Truth and Lies no longer has the power for political mobilization. It is individual conscience—nesting moral and political responsibility within the individual—rather than an externally existing Truth that might prove a more productive compass in a world of multiple vantage points and continuous re-interpretations.

Central European dissidents, although in many ways constrained by their post-totalitarian regimes, were nevertheless taking part in a transnational circulation of ideas. This article is inspired by contemporary studies of cultural (g)localization and links them to the research on dissent to show that the dissident intellectuals in Central Europe (the particular contexts of Czechoslovakia and Poland are investigated) were not only the receivers, but also retransmitters and "generators," of "universal" ideas. To grasp their role and to understand the nature of "universal" ideas, it is necessary to look into domestic contexts to see how internationally functioning ideas are localized—that is, recontextualized and translated. What is more, locally altered meanings can influence the international "originals" so that a new meaning can be renegotiated. Central European opposition found a firm foundation and a source of empowerment in the internationally recognized discourse of human rights. However, with time, dissident groups in the Eastern Bloc struggled to reinterpret these ideas and extend their mobilizing effect onto other issues. Certain themes present in Western debates were taken up in Central Europe and merged with human rights issues. The two analyzed here are pacifism and environmentalism, ideas that were metaphorically "hijacked" and used by the dissidents. The article shows how the translation and renegotiation of these ideas proceeded and to what extent they were successful both locally and transnationally.