Comment archive
Displaying 63 comments posted in 2025
September 2025
Moscow downplays drone incursion on Poland
The incursion of at least 19 Russian drones into Polish airspace on September 9–10 produced plenty of shock but hardly any awe.
Israel is not a democracy
Can we continue to call Israel a democracy? The answer is no, and paradoxically enough, neither electoral defeat for Netanyahu nor a halt in the Gaza war will change this.
Putin’s Vladivostok Forum underwhelming and alarming
The outcomes of wars of attrition are typically decided by the capacity to mobilize material resources. The Kremlin appears to believe, however, that impressions matter more than real capabilities and the depth of public support.
Security policy for globalized science
Research security is a new concept in research policy. Donald Trump introduced it in a National Security Presidential Memorandum in 2021. Other NATO countries soon followed up.
Putin seeks People’s Republic of China’s support for war-to-victory stance
The PRC is marking the 80th anniversary not only of the defeat of Japanese aggression during World War II, but also the end of the long century of perceived humiliation by various imperialist powers — one of which was, in fact, Russia.
Carving out space for peace – in space
Fifty years ago, two spacecraft met in space as part of a unique mission: After nearly two decades of intense space rivalry, the Soviet Union and the USA joined forces. We have much to learn from that landmark event today.
The starvation of Gaza is a deliberate policy
In recent days, Israel has commenced new attacks on Gaza, with humanitarian aid playing a key role in its forced expulsion of Palestinians.
July 2025
Putin tries to build himself a position of strength
Expectations for the third round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul on July 23 had been very low, and the forty-minute-long talks delivered exactly that.
Commemorating the terrorist attack July 22, 2011: a memorial map from below
Every year since 2011, from the middle of July, survivors, the bereaved, and the rest of Norway prepare for yet another commemoration of the July 22 terror attack.
Adding a new piece to the puzzle: How the UN Peace and Security Data Hub can support peace and conflict research
By offering structured, publicly accessible and regularly updated data on various aspects of UN peace support, the UN Peace and Security Data Hub opens new avenues for empirical research and policy-relevant analysis – not least for forecasting platforms like VIEWS.
Multipolarity matures, but not according to Putin’s plan
The intensity of turbulence on the global arena has reached such high levels that the 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro on 6–7 July attracted far less attention than expected.
Putin’s game of war-making and bargaining comes to end
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fake readiness to negotiate the end of Moscow’s war against Ukraine amid its relentless attacks on Ukraine appears to be coming to a breaking point.
Реінтеграція 5 мільйонів ветеранів може стати наступним великим випробуванням для України: Результати недавнього опитування в Україні
На тлі дипломатичної невизначеності щодо мирних угод українські воїни продовжують боронити свою країну на передовій. Як тільки бойові дії закінчяться, ці жінки і чоловіки, ймовірно, зіткнуться з новою битвою - поверненням до мирного життя.
The reintegration of 5 million veterans may be Ukraine’s next major battle: Results from a recent survey in Ukraine
While discussions of a ceasefire remain clouded by diplomatic uncertainty, Ukrainian soldiers continue to fight on the frontlines. Once the fighting on the ground ends, these women and men will likely face their next battle in reintegrating into civilian lives.
Moscow ponders reconfigured Middle East, finding few openings
The cessation of hostilities in the Gulf on 25 June was as surprising for Moscow as Israel’s strike on Iran on 13 June. Russia’s attempts to assess the consequences of the surge of the air war have to take into account apparent analytical miscalculations.
June 2025
Putin’s preemptive maneuvering around NATO summit is cut off
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, investors from most parts of the world have stopped coming to Russia, so the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has turned into a show of fake innovation.
Commemorating the 25 June 2022 terror attack against Oslo Pride: a chronology
As a political event the June 25 attack is remembered both in the context of domestic terror attacks and in the context of terror attacks against queer communities globally.
How do women ambassadors reshape diplomacy at the UN Security Council?
On the occasion of the International Day of Women in Diplomacy, 24 June.
Preventive war is wrong: Why recent attacks on Iran fail an important moral test
Can there be just cause for purely preventive military action – action that aims to impede or destroy an adversary’s capacity to wreck future harm?
The asylum paradox – yes. But what now?
Stating that the asylum system in Europe is dysfunctional, is hardly a novelty. It’s even been described as contributing to what has been referred to as an “asylum paradox.”
The US nuclear umbrella over Europe was a myth
Is it possible to imagine that one state would risk its own destruction in defence of another state?
Russia’s influence in Middle East takes hit from Israeli strikes
Israel’s decision to launch a series of missile and bomb strikes on Iran on June 13 was a shocking surprise for Moscow, where the working assumption had been centered on the presumably protracted U.S.-Iranian talks on the limitations of the nuclear program.
Russian retribution for daring Ukrainian strike is postponed. Perhaps indefinitely
The scale and character of Russian retaliation in the aftermath of the daring Ukrainian attack on four Russian aviation bases on June 1 have yet to be revealed.
Lawyers and the resilience of the liberal international order
In times of political crisis and attacks against the foundations of political liberalism, can we put our trust in lawyers and other legal occupations to fight for our freedoms, when they are under attack?
Russia’s maximalist demands undermine peace talks despite mounting domestic strains
The key goal of the most recent round of talks between Russia and Ukraine, held on Monday, June 2, in Istanbul, is supposed to be an exchange of memoranda on the conditions for ending the war.
Peace research is not defense research: Time to insist on tougher questions
It requires greater engagement from us as a peace research community to show why peace itself is important — indeed, the most important — public good of our time.
May 2025
Putin holds firm to war course, conjuring mirage of victory
The fever of diplomatic battles around Russia’s war against Ukraine in the first three weeks of May has broken, leaving few meaningful results.
Crisis and deglobalization: Contributions of research and the role of researchers
Humanitarian aid, development cooperation, migration governance and multilateralism have long been declared to be ‘in crisis’, but are currently experiencing unprecedented systemic shocks.
National Security and Defense Research: The Imperative of Academic Freedom and Open Debate
What kind of peace and security is to be established, nourished and preserved through the collaborative efforts to support and develop the Norwegian military?
Hunger, Displacement, and Occupation in Gaza
Outside Gaza, aid convoys are lined up. Food. Water. Medicine. The trucks are not allowed into Gaza because Israel is using humanitarian aid as a political tool to force Hamas into submission.
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