The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 — a drastic escalation of an already devastating armed conflict ongoing since 2014 — violates the right of the people of Ukraine to live their lives in a sovereign state and independently shape their future. While much focus has been on the geopolitics of this conflict,… Read more »
Search Results for: Open
How Did Europe Get into This Predicament? We Must Look in Our Own Backyard
It’s easy to condemn the opposing party in a polarized situation. But it’s more difficult to exercise self-criticism. It’s easy to condemn the opposing party in a polarized situation. Particularly when there are good reasons for such condemnation, as in the current situation. It’s easy to state that Russia’s lust for power and its violation… Read more »
Democracy Works, Even in Weak States
Political scientists have long assumed that a strong state is a prerequisite for a well-functioning democracy. Recent research suggests that this assumption is wrong. “Building a modern democratic state in Afghanistan where the government’s writ runs uniformly throughout the country implies a timeframe of many years, indeed decades,” wrote the former American Secretary of State… Read more »
What Happens to Childhood Vaccine Rates in Conflict Zones? This Analysis Found Some Surprises
We examined more than 200,000 records in 15 African countries. As more coronavirus vaccines begin to reach the developing world, global health authorities are pointing out the need for other vaccines as well. UNICEF recently launched a record $9.4 billion emergency appeal to help more than 327 million people — including 177 million children — affected by humanitarian crises and covid-19.
Putin’s Blackmail-War in Ukraine Continues Under Diplomatic Cover
The guns have so far remained silent on the snow-covered Russian-Ukrainian border, but there is certainly no peace there; a rather unusual war is in progress. It is unlike any other wars waged by Russia under the lengthy rule of President Vladimir Putin, who began his first presidential term with a war in Chechnya that… Read more »
When Terrorists Mobilize Law: Reflections on justice and closure after July 22
During January 18-21, the Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik will have his request for parole adjudicated by the Telemark District Court over a four-day trial. In 2012, he was sentenced to preventive detention for a term of twenty-one years and a minimum period of ten years for the July 22, 2011 terror attacks. He was… Read more »
Even at Times of Crisis, Children Must Go to School
The most recent debate concerning school closures has focused on vulnerable children and how school closures will cut them off from a place of safety. While the Children’s Ombudsperson and others are concerned about the impact of school closures on the most vulnerable children, others express doubts as to what extent school is, or should… Read more »
Can Peace be Researched? Revisiting a 55-Year-Old TV Program
I was reminded recently that a 55-year-old TV program about PRIO and peace research is currently available on the website of NRK, Norway’s public radio and TV company. You can access it here. The two-part program was broadcast on 18 and 25 October 1966. NRK does not have any information about when it was shot,… Read more »
22 July 2011: Contested Closures
As part of PRIO’s contribution to the 10 year commemoration of 22 of July, the author challenges perceptions of justice after mass atrocity that equates justice with law and criminal justice with closure. After mass violence, “the promised exercise of legal justice — of justice by trial and law — has become civilization’s most appropriate… Read more »
The New Pattern of Conflict in Myanmar
A new conflict pattern has appeared in Myanmar. Amidst a spiraling economic, social and health crisis, armed fighting is no longer confined to ethnic minority areas but has cropped up in cities and regions where the ethnic Bamar are in majority. They see themselves as pursuing a nation-wide resistance. Preventive diplomacy is needed to stop… Read more »