Passing a year on from the massive closure of borders globally in March 2020 offers an opportunity to reflect on migration, borders and the pandemic. What has been the impact of closed borders on international migration? And what do some impacts look like: seasonal work, remittances, risk and recognition?
Illustration: Indigo Trigg-Hauger
These are some of the over 6500 civilians in northern Karen State who have fled their homes since fighting resumed in December 2020. They are still in the hiding. Photo: Free Burma Rangers
The February 1st military coup in Myanmar and the massive demonstrations that followed have deservedly gained the world’s attention. The people of Myanmar have had their taste of democracy, however fragile it was, and now refuse to let go of it. But what about peace in Myanmar?
The democratic struggle over the Norwegian Covid-19 curfew proposal.
March 7, 2020. An early coronavirus-related press conference. Photo: Statsministerens kontor
The last decade was the warmest on record, with 2020 tied with 2016 for the all-time high average annual global temperature. This 10-year period also saw armed conflicts at severity levels not seen since the Cold War era. Could there be a causal link between these trends? To the frustration of policymakers and laymen alike,… Read more »
The last decade was the warmest on record, with 2020 tied with 2016 for the all-time high average annual global temperature. This 10-year period also saw armed conflicts at severity levels not seen since the Cold War era. Could there be a causal link between these trends?
To the frustration of policymakers and laymen alike, empirical research has been unable to provide a simple and coherent answer to this question. Instead, studies of climate-conflict connections have for a long time continued to produce diverging findings and – occasionally – inspired heated debates. So, where do we stand?Read More
U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with the Afghan Government Delegation in Doha, Qatar, on September 12, 2020, including Habiba Sarabi, far right. Photo: State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain
One year ago, on February 29, 2020, the Doha Agreement was signed between the United States and the Taliban. This agreement outlines a process for a gradual withdrawal of foreign troops in Afghanistan, Taliban’s commitment to preventing the use of Afghan soil against the US and its allies security, and the initiation of intra-Afghan negotiations on modalities for comprehensive ceasefire and agreement on the political roadmap. Once both sides complied with the release of prisoners as mandated in the Doha Agreement, the first round of intra-Afghan dialogue between the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban took place in September last year that produced rules and procedures for negotiations.
The coup d’état in Myanmar marks a defeat for the military’s attempt to create a “discipline-flourishing” democracy.
Myanmar protesters in Thailand. Photo: Prachatai
The coup occurred on 1 February, just before the newly elected parliament was set to convene. This timing made it easy to arrest the country’s leading politicians. The military used allegations of electoral fraud as a pretext. The real cause of the coup was probably the resounding victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, in the election on 8 November, which left the army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, fearing for his future. He was concerned about increased pressure to amend the military-drafted constitution and the loss of his own authority. His term as army chief was also due to expire shortly and his successor would be appointed by the newly elected president. Through the president, Suu Kyi would be able to influence the appointment of the new army chief. This did not suit Min Aung Hlaing at all. He saw his task as being to ensure that the military remains a state within a state.
Diversity ensures democratic and epistemic legitimacy. Although the Norwegian research sector and higher education institutions have steadily improved at ensuring diversity in recruitment processes, there is still scope for improvement in utilizing the resultant diversity
Photo: Stockphoto / Stock
Recently, the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU) and Statistics Norway released new statistics on diversity. These updated figures include information about immigrants and descendants of immigrants employed in academic roles in the research and higher education sector in Norway during 2007-2018.
The statistics show that the proportion of immigrants in such roles has increased from 18 to 29 percent (with considerable variation across disciplines); immigrants most often occupy temporary or trainee positions; and notably, immigrants’ descendants are clearly underrepresented in academic positions, despite the fact that this group comprises a significant proportion of students in Norway.
Feroz Mehmood Shah and Marta Bivand Erdal from the Young Academy of Norway (AYF) commented on the diversity statistics when they were published at a webinar hosted by the Committee for Gender Balance and Diversity in Research (KIF). In this piece we reflect on their feedback and identify three key challenges for diversity in Norwegian research and higher education moving forward.Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the acceleration of pre-existing technological trends. As states introduce new rules and technological solutions to fight the pandemic, it can be tempting to view these technological applications as neutral scientific decisions. However, we must critically examine these decisions because times of crisis set standards which can last long after the states of emergencies end. For example, it is clear that the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 fundamentally changed many societies’ perception of “normal” in issues such as surveillance or in smaller routines when it comes to air travel, for example. These routines remain to this day, two decades after the fact, and in many cases some of the surveillance practices have only grown bigger.
Anthropogenic climate change poses unprecedented threats to socio-ecological systems, affecting the lives of millions of people around the world. Among others, global warming has resulted in an increased frequency, intensity and duration of extremes, such as heatwaves, droughts and heavy precipitations. Climate-related impacts include alteration of ecosystems, disruption of food production and water supply, damage to infrastructure and… Read more »
