No Surprises but Putin Reveals Frustrations at Valdai

Posted by & filed under Regions and Powers, Security

The Valdai Club’s annual conference used to be a gala gathering of Western and international experts who appreciated direct access to Russian elites and expected to hear about new trends and ambitions in Moscow’s foreign policy from the traditional speech given by President Vladimir Putin.

President Putin at the Valdai Discussion Club. Photo: kremlin.ru

This year, few veterans opted to come to Moscow, and the halls of the suburban hotel Imperial were filled with new invitees, mostly from the Global South, where Putin’s anti-imperialist rhetoric was expected to resonate (Izvestiya, October 25).

The speech, which the Kremlin tried to sell as so content-rich that only in-depth research would be able to demystify its full significance, did not contain a single newsworthy point.

Read More

The US Declares Chip-War on China

Posted by & filed under Law and Ethics, Regions and Powers, Security

The United States recently announced a new set of restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductors, chip-making equipment, and supercomputer components to China.

The interim final rule further escalates the geopolitical dispute between the US and China and raises concerns about the increasing fragmentation of the digital domain.

Illustration: Shutterstock

Read More

Russia Cannot Count on Global South to Confront the West

Posted by & filed under Regions and Powers, Ukraine War

Destroying the unfair West-dominated and US-led world order has been an emphatically declared goal of Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine, and a massive amount of information resources has been spent on mobilizing support for this cause in the Global South.

Putin meets with Venezuelan President Maduro in Beijing in 2015. Photo: kremlin.ru

President Vladimir Putin has personally led this propaganda offensive condemning predatory and even “neo-colonial” intentions underpinning Western policy of maintaining allegedly discriminatory rules and norms of international relations. He has persistently tried to connect with every anti-American grievance in the world, from leftist traditions in Latin America to nationalist sentiments in the Arab world. This maneuvering is not without success in states like Nicaragua or Eritrea; however, it failed a major test again last week.Read More

Simon Schwartzman: My Norwegian Mentor

Posted by & filed under Peace Research

Johan Galtung, PRIO’s founder, is 92 today. We take this opportunity to publish an  essay by one of his former students, Simon Schwartzman.

The author is seated in front to the left in this picture from January 1965. Behind him, three other PRIO visiting staff, Paul Smoker, Manolo Mora y Araujo, and Malvern Lumsden. To the right, PRIO’s core staff at the time, Ingrid Eide [Galtung], Mari Holmboe Ruge, and Johan Galtung. Photo: Unknown

In 1963, I met Johan Galtung for the first time. He was to become one of my important mentors. This is the story of how that came to be.Read More

Drones over Norway: A Security and Regulatory Analysis

Posted by & filed under Security

Over the last five weeks, numerous incidents involving drones have made headlines in Norway. These incidents include multiple drone sightings outside oil platforms and energy installations, drone incursions in the vicinity of airports leading to the temporary closure of some of them, and Russian citizens being arrested at Norwegian border crossing sites and airports in possession of drones and drone-collected data on their way back to Russia.

Photo: Richard Unten / Wikimedia Commons

There are obviously too many occurrences for this to be chalked to be a mere coincidence, but there is something deeper and problematic taking place here: for years, Norway has been ill-prepared to face the drone threat, and the current scenario of hybrid war in Ukraine and beyond has only made those vulnerabilities bigger, more dangerous, and more visible.Read More

To Support Afghan Women Activists, Prioritize Local Knowledge over Numbers

Posted by and & filed under Gender, Peacebuilding, Regions and Powers

In July, the US Department of State launched the US-Afghan Consultative Mechanism in partnership with the United States Institute of Peace, Atlantic Council, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and Sisterhood is Global Institute.

An Afghan woman attends the inauguration of women’s library in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 24, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Ali Khara

As the Taliban continues to strip women and vulnerable groups inside Afghanistan of their human rights, the Mechanism intends to provide international platforms for Afghan women who are scattered around the world, track human rights violations, and identify ways that the international community can support inclusive peace in Afghanistan.Read More

Russia Tries to Extend and Exploit a Pause in War

Posted by & filed under Regions and Powers, Ukraine War

Fast-moving developments in various tactical battlefields of Russia’s war against Ukraine have notably slowed during the past week, and Moscow is actively seeking to prolong this procrastination.

Press conference during travel to Kazakhstan. Photo: Ramil Sitdikov, RIA Novosti / kremlin.ru

President Vladimir Putin, traveling to Astana, Kazakhstan, for a convalescence of several summits, sought to alter his hawkish narrative and downplay the “unpleasant” Ukrainian theme (Gazeta.ru, October 14).

None of Putin’s counterparts supported Russia in the debates at the UN General Assembly last week, but most — with the notable exception of Turkey — opted to abstain from voting on the resolution condemning the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions (Meduza, October 14). Russian diplomats tried to explain away the fiasco of 143 states supporting this resolution (two more than supported the March 2 resolution condemning Russian aggression) as purely the result of the United States and its allies “twisting arms” behind the scenes (Izvestiya, October 13). The Russian leader, however, had a myriad of other reasons for softening his discourse.Read More

No Escape for Putin from His Lonely and Tight Corner

Posted by & filed under Nobel Peace Prize, Ukraine War

On October 7, celebrations in Russia for President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday were rather muted and distinctly half-hearted.

Photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office / Wikimedia Commons

For the big day, Putin opted to stage an informal gathering of six leaders from post-Soviet states — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — in St. Petersburg. The formal meeting of the barely functional Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is scheduled next week in the Kazakhstani capital of Astana (recently renamed back from Nur-Sultan).

The Russian president described the content-free gathering as a “good tradition,” perhaps reflecting on his 50th birthday at the CIS summit in Chisinau, Moldova, when, at the time, his reform agenda inspired hope for meaningful cooperation (Interfax, October 7).Read More

Nobel Peace Prize Honors Courage and Dignity

Posted by & filed under Nobel Peace Prize, Ukraine War

The Norwegian Nobel Committee had to make an exceedingly difficult decision this year. At a time of war raging in Europe, was the proposition of a peace prize even relevant?

Ukraine is certainly fighting a just war and deserves every measure of support that the global West can muster, but it is still a party to the war and refuses to talk about peace on Russian terms. It would have been possible to find deserving peace-promoting candidates in other regions of the world, but this would have meant turning away from Europe, where the need to make a difference with awarding the high-impact prize is the greatest.

The committee did find a solution – and it is an excellent one, no doubt.

Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

Read More

Sexual Violence by Military Leaders: The Canadian Leadership Crisis

Posted by & filed under Gender, Law and Ethics, Security

Content Warning: This blog contains content related to sexual violence and sexual assault.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is steeped in a culture of sexual misconduct. CAF leadership has allowed an environment of sexual misconduct to fester for decades, stretching from military colleges through every branch of the military.

Photo: United States Army / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Thirteen top commanders have been accused and charged with sexual harassment and assault since the crisis gained widespread public attention in February 2021. Following its failure to address both the culture of sexual assault and harassment as well as fulfil their responsibility to hold perpetrators accountable, the Canadian Armed Forces faces a leadership crisis; a crisis unprecedented among NATO countries.Read More