On 4 August 2018, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s speech at a military parade in Caracas was interrupted by the sound of two explosions. Maduro’s camp immediately claimed that the explosions resulted from a failed assassination attempt by drones carrying explosives. Although the nature of the incident remains disputed, and is being described as “an apparent”… Read more »
Month: August 2018
Decolonization Gone off the Rails
This summer we have had the opportunity to read about the campaign to ‘decolonize academia’: the call to improve the representation of non-Western voices in the curricula of Norwegian educational institutions. The supporters of this campaign justify it on the basis that it will challenge ways of thinking in the sciences and humanities that were… Read more »
Challenging Everyday Nuclear Insecurity
Founded in 1982, Faslane Peace Camp in Scotland clams to be the longest lived of its kind. Crammed into a small roadside verge, the brightly coloured and ramshackle caravans of the camp are located just a few hundred yards from the razor-wire fences of Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, home to the British Trident nuclear… Read more »
We researched Russian trolls and figured out exactly how they neutralise certain news
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Russian “troll factories” have been making headlines for some time. First, as the Kremlin’s digital guardians in the Russian blogosphere. Then, as subversive cyber-squads meddling with US elections. While there has been much sensationalist talk about troll brigades, there have also been thorough… Read more »
What Became of the Norwegian Peacekeeping Forces?
For nearly 20 years, Norway has prioritized contributing to NATO-led operations over UN peacekeeping forces. At the same time, recent research shows that increased commitment to UN operations has a conflict-reducing effect. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first Norwegian UN soldiers’ departure to Lebanon to serve in UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim… Read more »
This Week in South Sudan – Week 31
Tuesday 31 July The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North led by Malik Agar praised progress towards a negotiated settlement in South Sudan. Wednesday 1 August The People’s Liberal Party urged Sudanese mediators to intervene for the release of activist Peter Bier Ajak in South Sudan. Friday 3 August President Salva Kiir promoted his wife Mary Ayen… Read more »
How Do We Decolonize Peace Research?
This is a guest blog post by a student who attended this year’s Peace Research course at the International Summer School 2018. The imprint of war on my life and on those of other young people living in the Global South is the reason I chose to participate in the peace research course at the… Read more »
Producing Reliable Data for SDG 16: The Case of Conflict Data
In 2015, the United Nations stated unequivocally in the last progress report for the Millennium Development Goals that “conflict remains the largest obstacle to development”. Yet, reducing conflict and violence in the world was never a target in and of itself under the MDGs. This changed with the inclusion of Goal 16 as part of the Sustainable… Read more »