NUPI Research Online (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs)
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Impact of Climate Change on ASEAN International Affairs: Risk and Opportunity Multiplier
Get PDFThis study examines the implications of climate change and climate policy for international affairs in Southeast Asia and for ASEAN as a multilateral organization. Climate change and efforts to mitigate climate change give rise to major risks as well as opportunities in international affairs. It is therefore in the interest of all countries to be aware of the risks and prepare for them, and the overarching purpose of this study is to support ASEAN and its member states in this area.publishedVersio
Multinational rapid response mechanisms: Past promises and future prospects
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ICT, growth and happiness
Get PDFThis paper reviews two strands of literature. The first is on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and growth. The increasing role of ICTs came together with stagnating growth rates in many countries. This has been denoted the Solow paradox. During the dot-com era from the mid-1990s, many believed that the paradox was solved. Growth rates increased and the internet became pervasive. The great recession has been followed by lower growth in Europe and in the United States and a return of the Solow paradox. Evidence indicates that the share of internet users in a population had a positive effect of growth in the 1990s, but that this effect vanished for developed countries after 2000. The second strand of literature is a heterogeneous research tradition that relates ICT not to income and growth, but to human well-being. That literature indicates positive (as well as some negative) effects of ICT and the internet on people’s happiness. Some new evidence indicate that the share of internet users in populations in a panel of countries is positively related to average happiness.publishedVersio
A perspective on domestic work based on interviews in Lima,Peru
Get PDFThis policy brief aims to spark reflection on the conditions of domestic workers, and the importance of independent institutions like trade unions for protecting their rights. Drawing on conversations with domestic workers in Lima, Peru, it shows how particularly those who live with their employees are often subjected to maltreatment. Trade unions perform essential services by informing domestic workers of their labour rights, empowering them to demand these from their employers, and providing legal aid. Parallels are drawn to the au pair programme in Norway. Despite a comprehensive legal framework, au pairs may face similar problems associated with living in the home of the employer, with the additional insecurity of working and living in an unfamiliar country. It is vital that independent organizations for the protection of the rights of au pairs in Norway can continue their work, to limit abusive labour conditions
‘Violent Extremism’ in the Lake Chad Basin : Understanding the Drivers of the Boko Haram Insurgency.
No full textBy providing an analysis of the historic dynamics of the Lake Chad Basin region and the common challenges that Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria face, this brief deconstructs common narratives around ‘violent extremism’ held by the policy community; it provides a more nuanced explanation to the drivers of the Boko Haram insurgency; and it offers a set of recommendations to governments and policymakers on ways to manage the ongoing crisis.publishedVersio
Challenges in deploying effective police to international peace operations
Get PDFThis paper examines the challenges of deploying and using adequately prepared and appropriate skilled police personnel in UN peace operations. It approaches this issue primarily, although not exclusively, through the prism of training. It briefly describes changes in the demand for and role of police in contemporary peace operations, and the existing system of recruitment, selection and training of police peacekeepers. It then considers four types of problems encountered in deploying effective police personnel in the areas of supply of personnel, skillsets, predeployment training, and performance. The paper holds that problems in these interconnected areas undermine the effectiveness and impact of police components in peace operations. While the UN has made some important efforts to improve recruitment and selection of police peacekeepers, and to standardize peacekeeping training of police prior to deployment, both selection and training standards continue to be inconsistently applied and inadequate. Resolving the perpetual problem of getting police peacekeepers with the needed capabilities deployed to missions will require more than simple technical fixes; the human resources challenge for police (as well as military and civilian personnel) in UN operations goes beyond recruitment and training to include questions of effective guidance, management, resourcing, and the monitoring and evaluation of peacekeeper performance to support institutional learning and adjustment of recruitment and training processes. The problem is complex and multifaceted, not least because the UN is an international organization with management challenges that are distinct from those encountered by national public service organizations. The UN’s organizational structures and processes themselves require attention. Solutions call for commitment and corrective action by PCCs, UN HQ, and the leadership of UN field missions. The paper contributes to broader ongoing discussions about what is required to improve the impact and effectiveness of peacekeeping personnel, and of peace operations more broadly.publishedVersio
Plug and Play: Multinational Rotation Contributions for UN Peacekeeping Operations
Get PDFIn January 2016, Norway deployed a C-130 military transport aircraft to the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Given the number of attacks on patrols and logistics convoys of MINUSMA, which has been called ‘the world’s most dangerous UN mission’, a military transport aircraft like the C-130 is considered a critical enabler to the UN mission, whose ability to operate safely and carry out its mandate has often been limited by the lack of air assets. From the beginning of the mission in July 2013, European troop-contributing countries (TCCs) have provided military aircrafts (C-130s and smaller C-160s and C-295s), but the difference between these and the 2016 deployment was that the latter was longer term, providing more predictability for the UN since it would be part of a multinational rotation contribution (MRC) initiated by Norway, followed by Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Belgium.This policy brief is part of the project ‘Overcoming Legal and Support Obstacles to Peacekeeping Strategic Force Generation’, funded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence.publishedVersio