Comment archive
Displaying 55 comments posted in 2026
August 2026
Echoes of Partition: Migration, borders and shared humanity
Mid-August marks the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, but also the mass migration and violence that followed in the wake of Partition.
How to make sense of the new world disorder
With two ongoing regional wars, a crumbling humanitarian architecture and a number of smaller, often ignored, crises, it is tempting to pronounce an end to the liberal international order as we have known it since the end of the Cold War. But is this really the case? And what, if anything, might be replacing it?
Only Moscow lacks new ideas for ending war against Ukraine
The July 23 meeting in Manila between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lasted only 35 minutes and produced no new momentum, according to the Kremlin (The Moscow Times, July 23).
The Ukraine War takes new turns in the Black Sea theatre
Wars of attrition are supposed to be static and predictable, but the Ukraine War definitely departs from this pattern. Its transformation is constant, and during this summer, new surprises have come, delivered primarily by Ukraine, which puts priority on neutralization of Russian capacity to generate mass of manpower by technological innovations.
When the deadline looms: political crises, displacement and the clock
In January 2017, the streets of Banjul, the tiny capital of The Gambia, fell silent. Shops shuttered. Families packed bags. Tens of thousands of people streamed across the border into Senegal – not because war had broken out, but because a deadline was approaching.
July 2026
Seeing 22 July through transitional justice: what have we learned?
The new book After 22 July: Transitional Justice and Terror focuses on forms of accountability, reconciliation, and remembrance that have emerged in the years since the 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway. Bringing together perspectives from multiple disciplines, the edited volume examines criminal trials, inquiry commissions, policing reforms, victim recognition, and memorialization after 22 July as interconnected processes of transitional justice.
Ukraine ramps up drone strikes in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea
Since early July, Ukraine has expanded its middle- and long-range aerial and naval drone strikes from isolating the Crimean Peninsula to also disrupting Russia’s maritime traffic in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
Putin intensifies missile attacks against Kyiv ahead of NATO summit
The Kremlin paired the July attacks with exaggerated battlefield claims and messaging aimed at the July NATO summit.
Ukraine’s expanding strike campaign undercuts Putin’s claims of steady progress
Russian President Vladimir Putin has a reputation for lashing out when cornered. According to some analysts, Putin’s pattern of responding to setbacks with escalation has made many Western leaders hesitant to supply heavy-impact weapon systems to Ukraine.
June 2026
Shadow of Anchorage no-deal looms over Ukraine peace no-talks
The long-deadlocked Ukraine war has from the start of 2026 changed quite drastically in the tactical, strategic and geopolitical dimensions, but has remained immobile on the diplomatic track.
Does ‘ceasefire’ still have any real meaning?
We're seeing an incredibly dangerous development where ceasefires are changing character, as conflict parties accept high levels of violence within the label ‘ceasefire’.
How the G7 can reset global finance
When G7 leaders arrive in Evian-les-Bains this month, France will host more than another summit. It will host a test of whether rich-country coordination can still solve problems that no country can manage alone.
Norwegian peace diplomacy - is it facilitation or mediation? And why this matters.
It is a tradition in Norwegian peace diplomacy to say they are “only facilitators”, and theories on mediation are seen as of little relevance.
AI is neither the autocrat’s silver bullet nor democracy’s death sentence
AI does not map neatly onto a spectrum running from democratic vulnerability to authoritarian advantage.
Do we need peace research when Norway is threatened by war?
War once again threatens Norway’s security. One might ask what we need peace research for at this moment.
SPIEF’26 highlighted Russia’s growing economic troubles
Russia’s business elites went through the motions of demonstrating loyalty to Putin by attending SPIEF’26 amid mounting economic and security challenges.
Russia hits strategic ceiling with attacks, strikes, and bluffs
Each attempt at nuclear blackmail exposes the disarray in Russian elites and society.
May 2026
The war in the shadow of Iran
While global attention is focused on the Iran conflict, the war between Pakistan and Afghanistan continues.
Surge in nuclear brinksmanship cannot regain Russia’s position of strength
The accumulation of setbacks in Russian economic, military, and foreign policies this spring has reached such a scale that the pattern of deadlocked war is beginning to shift toward the prospect of defeat
Putin’s Beijing visit promises few rewards
Putin’s one-day working visit is set to be a much plainer affair than Trump’s summit.
The Gaza effect
Following the war in Gaza, killings of journalists and UN staff have become part of Israel's modus operandi. If we allow these actions to continue, we risk them becoming a model for others.
Putin missed another potential chance to work toward peace
Russians are tired of the Kremlin’s deadlocked war against Ukraine. Neither the keenest Russia observers nor analysts inside the Kremlin, however, have an accurate measure of this tiredness.
April 2026
A challenging Presidency of a Union strained by a war-challenged member state
In January 2026, the Republic of Cyprus assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council. This marked Cyprus’ second presidency, and expectations were high, given the particularly ambitious presidency goals set by a small member state located at Europe’s geographical periphery.
Russians appeal to Putin that he is misinformed about reality
After 50 months of the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine, Russia is facing accumulating military, economic, and social problems.
The ceasefire with Iran expires on 22 April. What happens then?
The crucial question remains unanswered: What has actually been achieved politically?
As Hungary rejoices, Moscow keeps counting down its comrades and clients
The crushing defeat of Viktor Orban’s seemingly entrenched and deeply corrupt political regime in Hungary signifies a massive setback for Russia’s foreign policy.
Attacks on education cause lifelong harm
The recent bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, killing at least 165 schoolgirls, is a stark reminder of how brutally war affects children.
Deadlocked war subtly changes to Russia’s detriment
This year’s 32-hour-long Easter truce for Russia’s war against Ukraine did not lead to a lasting ceasefire nor a resumption in peace talks.
Political realism in the era of Donald Trump
Donald Trump’s behaviour lies far outside the bounds of traditional political realism, making it challenging both to conduct and to interpret international politics and diplomacy in the era of Trump.
It’s time for academics to take community action on AI
The situation is critical – Academic publishing urgently needs life support.
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