Home  About FNI  Research  Publications  Staff  News & events  Contact		FNI PUBLICATION SUMMARIES Polar and Russian Politics Hønneland, Geir and Lars Rowe Nordområdene – hva nå? ('The High North – What Now?') Trondheim, Tapir Academic Press, 2010, 120 p. In Norwegian. > For orders, contact Tapir Academic Press There has been an increase in political attention to the High North since the turn of the millennium - globally, regionally in northern Europe and in internal Norwegian politics. This book gives an overview of current Norwegian politics in the High North, with an emphasis on the institutionalized collaboration with Russia as well as legal and geopolitical challenges in the Barents Sea region. The authors discuss whether a global race for the Arctic is indeed taking place, and they discuss the limits of what should count as High North politics in internal Norwegian affairs. They also ask some challenging questions about Norwegian financial support to Russia. Stabrun, Kristoffer The Grey Zone Agreement of 1978: Fishery Concerns, Security Challenges and Territorial Interests FNI Report 13/2009. Lysaker, FNI, 2009, 43 p. > Download full-text version (PDF) The Norwegian-Soviet Grey Zone Agreement – negotiated in 1977, and ratified and put into practice in 1978 – was a provisional solution that enabled the two countries to solve unanswered questions of jurisdiction and resource access in a disputed area in the Barents Sea. The report inquires into why and how the agreement came about as it did, focusing on the Norwegian position and the decision-making of the Norwegian government. The negotiations were initiated on the basis of the need to safeguard the fisheries, to avoid conflict and unstable conditions in the disputed area, and in order to prevent unwanted territorial consequences in the wake of the establishment of extended economic zones at sea. The negotiations leading to this provisional, practical fisheries arrangement became heavily influenced by the same foreign policy objectives as in the delimitation talks. Ultimately it was strategic foreign policy concerns that determined the final decision for the Norwegian government. Jensen, Øystein and Svein Vigeland Rottem 'The Politics of Security and International Law in Norway's Arctic Waters' Polar Record, Vol 46, 2010, pp. 75-83. > Access full-text version here (subscribers only), or contact the authors. Security policy challenges in the high north should be approached both as an insight into the international legal framework on which co-existence in the region rests and as a sober realpolitik analysis. Against this background, the objective of this article is to paint a more balanced picture of security policy options in Norway's Arctic waters, rather than observing contemporary general discourse on the topic might suggest. Management of marine resources, delimitation of unresolved maritime boundaries and relations with Russia in the northern maritime areas are used as examples to substantiate our main thesis which is that dispassionate diplomacy is more likely to resolve disputes than is military confrontation. Johansen, Roger Russland - En elefant i glassmagasinet? Russiske gassrelasjoner med Ukraina ('Russia - an Elephant in the China Shop? Russian Gas Relations with Ukraine') FNI Report 12/2009. Lysaker, FNI, 2009, 84 p. In Norwegian. > Download full-text version (PDF) This report looks into the question of whether Russia uses gas as a means of solving political conflicts in its bilateral relations with Ukraine. The report explores both gas relations and central political conflicts between the two countries. All relations are followed from the end of 1991 to the beginning of 2009. Neoclassical realism and complex interdependence are used to separate political and economic motives. The main part of the empirical material supports complex interdependence and the contention that Russia struggles to keep the gas sector and political conflicts separated. Ukraine has throughout the period been heavily indebted partly as a consequence of excess consumption of gas which the country has had problems paying for. Gazprom has clearly had an economic incentive to demand payment for this gas. However, due to Ukraine's position as a transit country for the bulk of Russian gas export, Russia has been very vulnerable. In instances when supplies to Ukraine have been reduced, Ukraine has compensated by diverting some volumes intended for Europe, which again has led to financial loss for Russia, and a dent in the image of Russia as a reliable gas provider for Europe. This vulnerability can explain why Russia has used much time and effort on negotiations and compromises with Ukraine within the gas sector during the period considered in this report. Grindheim, Astrid The Scramble for the Arctic? A Discourse Analysis of Norway and the EU's Strategies Towards the European Arctic FNI Report 9/2009. Lysaker, FNI, 2009, 51 p. > Download full-text version (PDF) This report examines the discourses on engagement in the European Arctic. Since 2006, both Norway and the EU have launched strategies directed toward engagement in the North. By means of discourse analysis, the report will investigate how the two actors have portrayed and discussed the European Arctic. Taking a social constructivist approach, it is assumed that regions are what we make them to be, and that discourse analysis can indicate the area of action for the region. Special attention is paid to climate change, environmental issues and energy, as these issues play a prominent role in the Arctic. The region shows evident signs of climate change – but it also contains perhaps 25% of the world’s untapped energy resources. This creates tension between the wish to preserve the environment and the climate, and the business potential of the energy reservoirs. The European Arctic was of high geo-strategic importance during the Cold War, and there is now talk of a possible renewal of that role. The report applies the theoretical approach developed by Buzan, Wæver and de Wilde (1998) about the widened security concept in examining whether the two actors’ discourses are framed within security terms and within a security framework. Stokke, Olav Schram, 'Protecting the Arctic Environment: The Interplay of Global and Regional Regimes' The Yearbook of Polar Law, Vol 1, 2009, pp. 349-370. > For more information and orders, see Brill's website What is the best division of labour between Arctic environmental institutions and the broader institutions whose spatial ambits include but exceed the Arctic? The article examines this question by narrowing in on the interplay of international institutions, especially on how such interplay may influence regime effectiveness. In focus are such salient regional and broader institutions in Arctic environmental governance as the Arctic Council and the global oceans regime based on the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, and the interplay between regional and global regimes in five areas of Arctic environmental governance: climate change, inflows of hazardous compounds, regional toxics, offshore petroleum activities, and maritime transport. The controversy over the role of Arctic institutions in the overall governance system originates in differing positions on the need for international regulation or on the usefulness of Arctic-level governance as compared to other levels. Functional interdependencies as well as legal and political realities mean that the problem-solving potential of Arctic institutions varies considerably across issue areas - and that point calls into question the wisdom of recent proposals for a comprehensive and legally binding treaty for Arctic environmental protection. Hønneland, Geir 'Cross-Border Cooperation in the North: The Case of Northwest Russia' In Wilson Rowe, Elana (ed), Russia and the North. Ottawa, University of Ottawa Press, 2009, pp. 35-52. > For more information and orders, see University of Ottawa Press The Kola Peninsula in the north-western corner of the Russian Federation was one of the most heavily militarized regions of the world a couple of decades ago, and largely closed to foreigners. Still home to the Russian Northern Fleet, it is assumed that the influence of the military and other power institutions is more significant here than elsewhere in Russia, and that this would reduce the potential for international cooperation. However, the region has since the end of the Cold War been drawn into a network of international collaboration of a civilian nature with its Nordic neighbors. This chapter gives a brief overview of the BEAR partnership and the bilateral cooperation between Russia and Norway on fisheries management and environmental protection, including nuclear safety, in the Barents Sea region. The latter section also touches briefly upon multilateral initiatives for nuclear safety on the Kola Peninsula. Towards the end of the chapter the implications of political developments and changing priorities on the Russian side are discussed. Jørgensen, Anne-Kristin 'Recent Developments in the Russian Fisheries Sector' In Wilson Rowe, Elana (ed), Russia and the North. Ottawa, University of Ottawa Press, 2009, pp. 87-106. > For more information and orders, see University of Ottawa Press In the course of the last decade and a half, the Russian fisheries sector has earned a reputation as being inefficient, criminalized and unreformable. Fundamental disagreements among decision makers on how the sector should be managed have frustrated all attempts to create a stable legal and institutional framework for the fisheries, despite a general consensus that stability and predictability are crucial factors if the current stagnation is to be overcome. In the chapter it is argued that the sector has been caught in a 'vicious cycle of reform': A number of major reorginazations since the early 1990s, aimed at improving the sector's performance, have instead resulted in a gradual loss of valuable expertise. Moreover, the continuous changes in the legal and institutional framework have caused business actors to focus on short-term rather than long-term gains, resulting in, inter alia, a very low investment rate and widespread poaching and overfishing. However, over the last couple of years the Russian political leadership has given increasing attention to the problems in the fisheries sector, and some progress has been made, particularly in the field of law-making. Moe, Arild and Elana Wilson Rowe 'Northern Offshore Oil and Gas Resources: Policy Challenges and Approaches' In Wilson Rowe, Elana (ed), Russia and the North. Ottawa, University of Ottawa Press, 2009, pp. 107-128. > For more information and orders, see University of Ottawa Press The aim of this chapter is to assess the place of offshore petroleum development in the context of overall Russian energy priorities and to examine the evolution of offshore policy and strategy at both the federal and company (Gazprom and Rosneft) levels. The chapter first reviews some key developments in Russian energy policy since 2005 before examining Russian governmental offshore policy development. The offshore strategies of the two companies likely to play a prominent role in Russian offshore development, Rosneft and Gazprom, as well as the interactions thus far between these two companies are then outlined. In tracing the often troubled and halting evolution of federal policy and practice, the question of the extent to which the strategic importance assigned to offshore petroleum reserves is translating into coordinated, strategic action and long-term policy thinking is raised and discussed in the concluding section. Rottem, Svein Vigeland Hva forsvarer Norge? Det norske forsvarets møte med en ny virkelighet ('What is Norway Defending? The Norwegian Defence'e Encounter With a New Reality') Doctoral dissertation, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tromsø. Tromsø, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tromsø, 2009, 193 p. > Read related FNI news release The dissertation is mainly empirically based, and seeks to understand Norwegian defence and security policies in the period 1999-2006. This was a period when the Norwegian defence was re-dimensioned for a new reality and where we witnessed its transformation from a mobilization-based defence into a relatively proactive Norwegian military. The dissertation analyzes three overarching approaches to recent Norwegian defence and security policies: Defence of ideals, (NATO) alliance obligations and Defence of territorial sovereignty and sovereign rights. Klick, Matthew T. The Political Economy of Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Development: A Case Study of Norway's Snøhvit Natural Gas Complex FNI Report 1/2009. Lysaker, FNI, 2009, 65 p. > Download full-text version (PDF) This project uses stakeholder evidence from semi-structured interviews to analyze the relative effectiveness of an oil company’s stated 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR) initiatives in a new, Arctic host community. Specifically, this project analyzes the outcomes of StatoilHydro initiatives to date in Hammerfest, Norway, where the Snøhvit (Snow White) natural gas project began production in 2007. It gauges the ability of 'socially responsible' approaches to development to internalize negative externalities and promote positive 'spin-offs'. Arctic countries are increasingly prioritizing petroleum development. The convergence of dramatic climate change, increasing energy demands, and high energy prices has made the Arctic an alluring frontier for the oil industry and Arctic governments. Small Arctic communities are increasingly playing host to large energy projects with the potential for dramatic cultural, social, environmental, and economic upheaval, but also economic growth and increased human capital. In this case study, CSR initiatives resulted in a broader accounting of social costs and benefits, an outcome that better internalized externalities, and pareto-improving trades between stakeholders and industry. Offerdal, Kristine 'The European Arctic in US Foreign Energy Policy: The Case of the Norwegian High North' Polar Record, Vol 45, 2009, pp. 59-72. > Download full-text version (PDF) or access it here on the website of the copyright holder Cambridge University Press (subscribers only) The article examines how US policy makers relate ot the European Arctic as an oil and gas region. The "high north" is defined as the Norwegian and Russian sectors of the Barents Sea. The Norwegian assumption that northern oil and gas is of interest to the international community is tested by analysing and explaining the character of the US approach, with an assessment of whether Norway has succeeded in influencing how the USA views the high north as an energy region. Norway has managed to raise the awareness of the high north as an energy region in Washington, but the interest in the topic has been moderate. Moreover, Norwegian policy makers in the first phase of the high north initiative have misinterpreted US officials' definition of the situation in which Washington's foreign energy policy is developed. Ironically, Norway's "exemplary" energy policy has led to less response than was initially expected, whereas Russia seems to be of significantly greater interest for the USA. With its relatively small resource potential, straightforward investment climate and unclear hight north strategy, Norway and its high north do not stand out as very interesting to the USA, which tends to direct more attention to cases in which its oil and gas companies work under more uncertain investment framework conditions in regions with huge energy resources. Aasjord, Bente and Geir Hønneland 'Hvem kan telle "den fisk under vann"? Kunnskapsstrid i russisk havforskning' ('Who Can Count "the Fish under Water"? Knowledge Dispute in Russian Ocean Research') Nordisk Østforum, Vol 22, No 4, 2008, pp. 289-312. In Norwegian. > Download full-text PDF version (provided by NUPI) The Russian federal ocean research institute VNIRO has recently introduced new models for estimation of fish stocks. Among these are the so-called GIS and Synoptical methods, which both indicate a significantly larger amount of Northeast Atlantic cod than the current assessments by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). While ICES’ methods are based on scientific surveys, the new Russian methods build on catch data from the fishing fleet. So far, ICES has not found the scientific basis of the proposed alternatives strong enough to reject the current method. This scepticism is shared by the leading Norwegian and Russian scientific institutes involved in the assessment of the Barents Sea cod. The article discusses three possible driving forces behind the Russian promotion of the new methods. First, there are knowledge-based driving forces: There are obvious margins of error in ICES’ current methods, and the new Russian methods offer an alternative approach. Second, there are political ones: ICES has introduced the precautionary approach to tackle the scientific uncertainty to the benefit of the fish stocks, but this approach seems to enjoy little legitimacy in Russian fisheries circles, being perceived as introduced by the West to support specific Western interests. Third, there are economically based explanations: There are obvious incentives for Russian fishers to give priority to short-term gain, and actors in the Russian fisheries bureaucracy likewise have incentives to support this strategy. Rowe, Lars 'Det brysomme nikkelverket' ('The Troublesome Nickel Plant') Fortid, Vol 5, No 4, 2008, pp. 23-28. In Norwegian. > Download entire journal (PDF) When the Norwegian-Soviet Environmental Commision was established in 1988, one immediate concern was the pollution stemming from the nickel plant in Pechenga in Murmansk county, Northwest Russia. Although situated on the Russian side of the border, the pollution from this industry has been labelled "Norway's biggest environmental problem". Several projects, under the auspices of the commission, have since been developed to limit the pollution - none of which succeded. This article describes three comprehensive programmes for limitation of the pollution, and discusses why none of them were brought to fruition. It also briefly describes some differences in the Russian and Norwegian approach to environmental issues. Moe, Arild 'The Russian Barents Sea: Openings for Norway?' In Gottemoeller, R. and R. Tamnes (eds), High North: High Stakes. Bergen, Fagbokforlaget, 2008, pp. 75-85. > For more information and orders, see Fagbokforlaget For many years, the prospects for developing the hydrocarbon resources on the continental shelf in the Russian part of the Barents Sea have attracted interest not only in Russia but also in neighbouring Norway. Substantial discoveries have been made and expectations of further discoveries are big and well founded, but considerable exploration must be carried out to establish a more certain picture of reserves. Two projects are under development: the giant Shtokman gas field and the Prirazlomnoye oil field. Current Russian shipping and offshore capacity is clearly inadequate for an expansive offshore development programme, however. The goal of rapid development of the Arctic con¬tinental shelf relying mainly on domestic equipment and services does not seem attainable. Russia will either have to accept more foreign involvement, or scale down its offshore ambitions. Hønneland, Geir and Lars Rowe Fra svarte skyer til helleristninger: Norsk-russisk miljøvernsamarbeid gjennom 20 år ('From Dark Skies to Rock Carvings: 20 Years of Norwegian-Russian Environmental Cooperation') Trondheim, Tapir Academic Press, 2008, 186 p. In Norwegian. > For orders, contact Tapir Academic Press > Read related FNI news release The topic of this book is the history of the first twenty years of cooperation within the framework of the Joint Norwegian-Soviet/Russian Environmental Commission. Established in 1988, the Norwegian-Soviet commission was an important first step towards solving some of the shared environmental problems in the border area. The most prominent issue has been the pollution channeled through the smokestacks at the nickel plant in Petchenga, but the commission has also dealt with other areas of interest, most notably nuclear waste on the Kola Peninsula and in the Barents Sea, biodiversity, preservation of cultural heritage sites and cleansing of industrial activity. In part I of this book, the authors review the establishment and development of the commission in light of the general political development, where the breakdown of the Soviet Union and Russia's post-Soviet challenges are important factors. Part II is devoted to in depth analysis of the issue of industrial pollution in the border area, the cooperation on radioactive safety, the close border-collaboration, the preservation of shared cultural heritage sites, biodiversity and marine and terrestrial environment. Raaen, Håvard Figenschou Hydrocarbons and Jurisdictional Disputes in the High North: Explaining the Rationale of Norway's High North Policy FNI Report 11/2008. Lysaker, FNI, 2008, 80 p. > Download full-text version (PDF) This report is a case study of Norwegian foreign policy in the High North since the year 2000. There has been an increasing interest towards the region’s hydrocarbon resources in recent years, and the current Norwegian government has initiated a High North Policy and made the region its most important strategic priority. Norway claims sovereignty to thirty percent of European land and sea areas, but some of its claims over maritime areas are disputed. This report seeks to explain the rationale of Norway’s High North Policy concerning three cases where Norway’s claims are challenged, and examine how it conflicts and converges with the interests of other states in the region. The three cases are: the disputed area in the Barents Sea, the Svalbard shelf and the areas concerned in the Norwegian continental shelf submission to the UN. The report is based on written sources as well as nine in-depth interviews with officials of the Norwegian ministries of foreign affairs and defence, as well as Oslo-based diplomats of the European Commission, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Russian Federation and the USA Skedsmo, Pål Wilter Evaluering av støtteordningen 'Demokratimidlene' ('Evaluation of the 'Democracy Funds'') FNI Report 8/2008. Lysaker, FNI, 2008, 51 p. In Norwegian > Download full-text version (PDF) In this report, the findings from the evaluation of the Democracy Funds are presented. This financial support mechanism is administered and managed by The Norwegian Children and Youth Council (LNU by its Norwegian acronym) and financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Democracy Funds seek to strengthen the role played by children and youth organisations in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus in building up sustainable civil societies, and support co-operation between Norwegian children and youth organisations and their partner organisations in the recipient countries. The support mechanism’s achievements have been evaluated, as well as LNU’s management of the support mechanism. The evaluation period has been 2000-2007. The main empirical source is interviews with participants on both sides in ten selected projects, as well as interviews with representatives from LNU and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Other sources of information have been project documents, guidelines and questionnaires. After examining and evaluating LNU’s management of the Democracy Funds and the extent to which the selected projects have contributed to meeting the objectives of the support mechanism, the report concludes with recommendations and a discussion of the potential for the future development of the Democracy Funds. Moe, Arild and Lars Rowe Petroleum Activity in the Russian Barents Sea: Constraints and Options for Norwegian Offshore and Shipping Companies FNI Report 7/2008. Lysaker, FNI, 2008, 26 p. > Download full-text version (PDF) Presently most attention in the Barents Sea is given to the Shtokman project. Experience from development of this field, where there are still many uncertainties, will have large consequences for the further development program and relations with foreign companies. The exploration activity going on is fairly limited, but over the last few years there has been a struggle over licenses and control over exploration capacity. In the medium term the goal of rapid development of the Arctic continental shelf has become intertwined with a comprehensive government effort to modernise the domestic shipbuilding industry to make it able to cover most of the needs offshore. With the shipbuilding industry in a deep crisis these goals are not fully reconcilable. Russia will either have to accept more foreign involvement, or scale down its offshore ambitions. We believe a combination of the two alternatives is likely. This means that there will still be room for foreign offshore and shipping companies, but that the total amount of activity on the continental shelf will not be as great as stated in official plans. Offerdal, Kristine 'Det norske nordområdeinitiativet og USA: Utenriks- eller energipolitikk?' ('The Norwegian High North Initiative and USA: Foreign or Energy Policy?') Internasjonal Politikk, Vol 66, Nos 2-3, 2008, pp. 349-372. In Norwegian. > Download full-text PDF version (provided by NUPI) This article argues that the High North initiative, with which Norway has been pressing its case in Washington, has exposed internal conflicts of interest within government in Norway that have marked Norway's dealings with the US Departments of State and Energy by ambiguity and inconsistency. Efforts to promote the Barents Sea as an energy province have largely failed to ignite widespread political interest in Washington. The US views few political rewards of an energy or foreign policy nature from strengthening its engagement in the Norwegian High North. The article concludes that Norway's self-image as a reliable, stable energy producer combines with the expectations of Western importing states to constrain opportunities to politicize relations with importing states on energy-related matters. It also argues that while the High North policy has attempted to re-kindle notions of the north as an important region and refashion the old Cold War image of Norway, Russia still seems to be the determinative element in Norway's relations with important allies. Rottem, Svein Vigeland, Geir Hønneland and Leif Christian Jensen Småstat og energistormakt: Norges sikkerhetspolitiske rolle i nord ('Small State and Energy Great Power: Norway's Security-Policy Role in the High North') Bergen, Fagbokforlaget, 2008, 136 p. In Norwegian. > For orders, contact Fagbokforlaget Recent years have seen an increase in interest in international relations in the High North. To a larger extent than during the Cold War, security is now seen to include issues of resource extraction, and interest coalitions among states are less stable and transparent. The book discusses the dilemmas that Norway faces related to jurisdiction and enforcement in the Barents Sea region. Applying theories on soft and hard power in international relations, the authors discuss challenges related to foreign fishing activities in the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard, increased petroleum activity in the Barents Sea and oil transport along the Norwegian coast from field further east in Russia. They also discuss coordination challenges between military and civilian authorities, within the Norwegian armed forces and between Norwegian and Russian authorities. Aasjord, Bente and Geir Hønneland Hvem kan telle den fisk under vann? En analyse av aktører og drivkrefter i norsk-russisk fiskeriforskningssamarbeid ('Who Can Count the Fish under Water? An analysis of Actors and Driving Forces in Norwegian-Russian Cooperation on Fisheries Research') HBO-rapport 3/2008. Bodø, Bodø University College, 2008. 76 p, In Norwegian. > Download full-text PDF version (5.1 Mb) The report reviews challenges in the marine fisheries research cooperation between Norway and Russia in the Barents Sea, with an emphasis on various Norwegian and Russian actors' perceptions of alternative models for stock estimation presented by the federal Russian fisheries research institute VNIRO. Among these are the so-called GIS and synoptical methods, which both indicate a significantly larger amount of Northeast Atlantic cod than assessed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). While ICES' current methods are based on catch data from the fishing fleet, the alternative Russian methods build on catch data from the fishing fleet. VNIRO brings forth a number of arguments to the effect that the alternative methods actually underestimate the fish stock, while ICES has not found their scientific basis strong enough to reject the currents methods. This scepticism is shared by the leading Russian and Norwegian scientific institutes involved in the actual assessment of the Barents Sea cod. The report presents three possible driving forces in the Russian promotion of the new methods: knowledge-based, politically based and economically based. Hønneland, Geir 'Kooperation an der Barentssee. Umweltschutz zwischen Russland und Norwegen' ('Cooperation on the Barents Sea: Environmental Protection between Russia and Norway') In 'Grünbuch. Politische Ökologie im Osten Europas', Osteuropa, Vol 58, Nos 4-5, 2008, pp. 447-458. In German. > Download full-text PDF version The main cooperation schemes between Norway and Russia in the Barents Sea region are of a different nature. The most general one is BEAR, which in recent years has concentrated on people-to-people projects and health issues. Environmental protection was one of the most important goals of BEAR in its formative years, but has since largely been left to other institutional arrangements. Arguably the most focused cooperative arrangement, and economically most important, is the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission, which sets annual quotas for some of the fish stocks of the Barents Sea. Not unexpectedly, Russian priority is highest in fisheries management. BEAR is largely left to regional authorities (and as far as finance goes: to the Nordic states), which since the turn of the millennium have lost much of the power they had at the time when this regional collaboration was initiated. Cooperation with Norway on environmental protection is managed by federal authorities, but here the problem is that this policy area enjoys little priority in Russian politics. Rottem, Svein Vigeland 'The Ambivalent Ally: Norway in the New NATO' Contemporary Security Policy, Vol 28, No 3, 2007, pp. 619-638. > Download full-text post-print version (PDF) or access the definitive version here (subscribers only) NATO's future has long been in question, with the core of the debate revolving around America and other great powers. This article finds comparable tensions among smaller members. Examining the case of Norway, it argues that since the Cold War, Norway has lacked a clear mandate for its role in NATO, and as such can be considered an ambivalent ally. This ambivalence is seen when Norway reluctantly follows through on NATO policy. NATO's readiness to act in the High North is also questioned. This article examines Norway's NATO relations in four dimensions, collective defence and collective security, position and values, influence and national priorities, scepticism and reliability. Here realism and constructivsm can provide us with an analytical backdrop to explain Norwegian ambivalence. International power structures create and constrain windows of opportunity for Norway, but national and international norms and identity should not be left out of the the analysis. Norway is entangled in realist policies, but the legacy of neutrality and the perception of Norway as a peaceful nation cannot be ignored. The result of this tension is Norway's unsettled relationship with the new NATO. Skedsmo, Pål 'Demokratisering og miljøkamp på Kolahalvøya' ('Democratisation and Environmentalism on the Kola Peninsula') Norsk Antropologisk Tidsskrift, Vol 18, No 3-4, 2007, pp. 241-252. In Norwegian. > Download full-text PDF version This article focuses on an exercise in democracy, in this case the cooperation between organisations across the Norwegian-Russian border; how cooperation takes place and, more specifically, how it can lead to an unintended patron-client relationship between the Norwegian partner and the Russian NGO called PiM. For PiM, drawing on the story lines and representations of the democratisation discourse appears to be key. Based on fieldwork in Murmansk, this theme is discussed and it is suggested that PiM in practice makes use of the discourse on democratisation in an instrumental rather than ideological manner. This is evident especially in regard to applications for funding and in interaction with foreign actors. When PiM confronts local bureaucrats and experts, the environmentalists appear to be dismissed as fanatics. This process is identified as taking part within an expert discourse, wherein participation is limited to experts only. Hønneland, Geir and Leif Christian Jensen Den nye nordområdepolitikken: Barentsbilder etter årtusenskiftet ('The New Norwegian Politics in the High North: Barents Images after the Turn of the Millennium') Bergen, Fagbokforlaget, 2008, 177 p. In Norwegian. > Read related FNI news release > Read book review (in UD-posten No 1, 2008, in Norwegian) > For orders, contact Fagbokforlaget When Jens Stoltenberg's second government came to power in 2005, it declared the High North as a top priority in Norway's foreign policy. It hence confirmed a development that had been underway for a couple of years, which for the first time since the end of the Cold War placed the northern areas on top of the country's foreign policy agenda. The book describes the events from the turn of the millennium up to 2007 and gives an overview of the public debates in which policy-making related to the High North took place. Petroleum developments, fisheries management and protection of the northern marine environment are given particular attention. Rowe, Lars, Geir Hønneland and Arild Moe Evaluering av miljøvernsamarbeidet mellom Norge og Russland ('Evaluation of Norwegian-Russian Environmental Collaboration 1995-2006') FNI Report 7/2007. Lysaker, FNI, 2007. 47 p, In Norwegian > Download full-text version (PDF) This report presents the findings of FNI's evaluation of the Norwegian-Russian collaboration on environmental issues from 1995 to 2006. The central body of this collaboration is the Norwegian-Russian Environmental Commission, established in 1988 (then as the Norwegian-Soviet Environmental Commission) and renewed in 1992. The Commission has developed a number of working areas, of which three have been studied specifically: (i) the cleaner production programme; (ii) the transboundary environmental collaboration; and (iii) the collaboration on cultural heritage. In addition, this evaluation concentrates on two project areas directly under the auspices of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: (i) the energy saving programme in Northwest-Russia; and (ii) the bioenergy programme in Russia. The main empirical source has been a number of in-depth interviews with participants on both sides. Additional information has been drawn from written material such as minutes, project reports, propositions to the Norwegian parliament, etc. After an examination of the overarching level of the collaboration and the individual project areas mentioned above, the report briefly discusses potential future developments in the Norwegian-Russian environmental collaboration. Stokke, Olav Schram Nordic Council of Ministers' Arctic Co-operation 2003-2005: An Evaluation / Nordisk Ministerråds Arktiske samarbeid 2003-2005 En evaluering ANP report # 714 (English) and 713 (Norwegian). Copenhagen, Nordic Council of Ministers, 2007. 94 p. In Norwegian and English. > Download full-text version in English (PDF) > Download full-text version in Norwegian (PDF) The Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) Arctic Co-operation Programme 2003-05 is thematically and geographically inclusive. Among the three main co-operation areas, projects on sustainable development have received roughly twice as much as have each of those on indigenous issues and welfare. All priority areas except Children and Young Adults have been in focus in two or more relatively large project activities. The project activities examined more closely in this study have been competently and seriously implemented. Substantial NCM allocations have supported cross-national competence-building and network development that are often difficult to finance from other sources. The complementarity involved here is valuable, especially if measures are taken within such projects to enhance the likelihood that new insights and networks can serve to generate lasting impacts. The procedure for selecting among project proposals under the Arctic Co-operation Programme, based largely on the Nordic Senior Arctic Officials as members of the NCM Arctic Expert Committee (AEC), works particularly well for proposals linked to circumpolar endeavours under the Arctic Council. It is not well adapted to evaluate research proposals unless those proposals attend directly to recognized policy priorities pursued by AEC members. Sectoral expertise is brought into the evaluation process, especially at national levels. The report makes a number of recommendations with a view to improving intra-NCM coordination on Arctic cooperation, evaluation of project proposals, strategic planning, dissemination of results, and profiling of the NCM in Arctic affairs. Inderberg, Tor Håkon Den utenrikspolitiske håndteringen av Elektronsaken: Kompetent realpolitikk eller kompetansestrid? ('Norwegian Foreign Policy Handling of the Elektron Incident') FNI Report 3/2007. Lysaker, FNI, 2007. 94 p, In Norwegian > Download full-text version (PDF) This report is an analysis of the 'Elektron Incident' in October 2005, where the Norwegian Coast Guard attempted to arrest a Russian trawler. This incident was a case of high politics between the two respective countries. This report presents and discusses various explanations for i) why the trawler was stopped and taken in arrest in the first place, and ii) why, when it chose to defy orders from the Norwegian Coast Guard and sat course for Russia, it was not stopped by stronger means. The report draws on several theories, derived from both state-internal and state-external perspectives. The report finds that there are several overlapping reasons for the two decisions mentioned, explained by realism, regime theory, organizational theory and bureaucratic perspective. The trawler was inspected and arrested due to Norwegian control of fish resources, claim to sovereignty, test of the control regime in the area, the Coast Guard’s analytical development, and, to the interest of some groups in the bureaucracy. The question of why harder means were not used when Elektron refused to obey orders, also has several answers. Stronger means were not used due to fear of a militarily strong Russia, the increasing opportunity to test the Russian view on the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard, non-transparent decision-making competence, the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and safety routines in the Norwegian Coast Guard. Kryukov, Valery and Arild Moe 'Russia's Oil Industry: Risk Aversion in a Risk-Prone Environment' Eurasian Geography and Economics, Vol 48, No 3, 2007, pp. 341-357. > Access the full-text version here (subscribers only) Starting in the late 1990s the performance of the Russian oil industry impressed the world oil market. Since 2004 output has levelled out, however. The article discusses the outlook for the industry in the medium and long term, with a focus on the relationship between the reserve situation and industry interests and strategies. Tendencies in the reserve situation are presented and analysed. Oil industry investment patterns and strategies are identified, and differences and similarities between companies noted. Strategies and lack of incentives inhibit long-term investment in the oil industry – even where financing is available. Explanations offered include internal factors in the companies, as well as framework conditions. Implications for production outlook are drawn. Jensen, Leif Christian 'Petroleum Discourse in the European Arctic: The Norwegian Case' Polar Record, Vol 43, No 3, 2007, pp. 247-254. > Download full-text version (PDF) or access it here on the website of the copyright holder Cambridge University Press (subscribers only) The article addresses old 'west-east discourses' and how they continue to develop in the high north, and, not least, in the Norwegian petroleum debate. Adopting a discourse analytical perspective the author shows how environmental safety is used as an argument in favour of Norway producing oil in the Barents Sea at the earliest possible moment. This is only feasible if a connection is made in the public mind between Russia and the environment. These views, it is argued, stem from ideas about Russia that gained currency after the demise of the Soviet Union. While they perhaps have less to do with Russia's petroleum industry and environmental performance today, they nevertheless have a strong impact on how challenges in the High North and Arctic region are perceived. And, perhaps even more importantly, they define freedom of action and available options. Hønneland, Geir 'Norway and Russia in the Barents Sea: Cooperation and Conflict in Fisheries Management' Russian Analytical Digest, No 20, 2007, pp. 9-11. > Download entire journal The Barents Sea fisheries are managed bilaterally by Norway and Russia. The Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission sets quotas for the most important fish stocks in the area which are allocated according to a standard formula. The collaboration between the two countries generally functions well, but has since the late 1990s been plagued by disparity between scientific recommendations and established quotas, and Norwegian claims of Russian overfishing. This article has also been republished in Forschungsstelle Osteuropa Bremen's Arbeitspapiere und Materialien, Vol 97, Nov. 2007. Rottem, Svein Vigeland 'Forsvaret i nord – avskrekking og beroligelse' ('Defence Policy in the High North - Deterrence and Reassurance') Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning, Vol 48, No 1, 2007, pp. 63-91. In Norwegian. > Download full-text PDF version In the political debate on defence and security in Norway, the impression is given that we are seeing radical changes in regard to its aims and means. Without implying that we are not seeing changes, it is suggested that Norwegian defence and security politics can still be described as being somewhere between deterrence and reassurance, similar to during the Cold War. With the help of theories from international politics, the ambition of this article is not to falsify theories, realism and constructivism in this case, in the traditional sense, but to use them as tools to illustrate the relationship between deterrence and reassurance. The empirical main focus is on the northern areas, which are in a unique position in regard to the administration of resources and sovereignty. The data on which this article was based were collected through a triangular approach, with public records, secondary literature and interviews making up the source material. Hønneland, Geir, Jørgen Holten Jørgensen and Arild Moe 'Miljøpersepsjoner i Nordvest-Russland: Problemoppfatninger knyttet til petroleumsutbygging i Barentshavet' ('Environmental Perceptions in North-Western Russia: Perspectives on Petroleum Development in the Barents Sea') Internasjonal Politikk, Vol 65, No 1, 2007, pp. 7-22. In Norwegian. > Download full-text PDF version (provided by NUPI) The article brings the results of an interview investigation about perspectives on petroleum development in the Barents Sea among representatives of the environmental bureaucracy, the petroleum industry, research institutes and environmental NGOs in north-western Russia, St Petersburg and Moscow. The expert opinion and experience from other ocean areas are highly valued in the Russian debate. They indicate that offshore petroleum development may create environmental problems, but that problems are seldom grave. Many interviewees express unwillingness to go into hypothetical discussions about future problems. Some environmental NGOs are more reserved in their enthusiasm than representatives of the bureaucracy, industry and research, but they are not opposed to offshore petroleum development. Instead, they prescribe higher environmental standards and better measures against oil spills. The environmental NGOs in the region can probably raise environmental awareness in case an accident takes place. Rowe, Lars and Geir Hønneland Russlandsbilder: Nye debattinnlegg om naboskap i nordområdene ('Images of Russia: New Contributions to the Debate about Neighbourhood in the High North') Bergen, Fagbokforlaget, 2007, 114 p. In Norwegian. > Read related FNI news release (in Norwegian) > For more information and orders, contact Fagbokforlaget The book consists of a selection of pictures from the Kola Peninsula and commentary articles about Russian politics and relations between Norway and Russia in the High North, written by FNI researchers and published in Norwegian newspapers over the last few years. The first part of the book is devoted to main trends in Russian politics, with a particular focus on the development of Russian democracy and civil society. The second part contains articles about jurisdiction and fisheries management in the Barents Sea, and the third part commentaries to Russian-Norwegian collaboration in energy, health and environmental regulation. The book reflects the Norwegian debate about Russia in an accessible way and should be of interest both to those who are already involved in cooperation with Russians and those who would like to know more about this part of Norwegian foreign policy in the High North. The book is the first in a series of three books about Norwegian politics in the High North, written by FNI researchers and to be published by Fagbokforlaget during 2007. Hønneland, Geir and Jørgen Holten Jørgensen Moderne russisk politik: En indføring i Ruslands politiske system ('Contemporary Russian Politics: An Introduction to Russia's Political System') Copenhagen, Forlaget Samfundslitteratur, 2007, 168 p. In Danish. > For more information and orders, contact Forlaget Samfundslitteratur This book surveys the political system and bureaucratic apparatus of the Russian Federation. The authors describe the basic features of the Russian Constitution, the major political federal institutions, and the relationship between the federal and the regional authorities. Then follows a chapter on sectors of particular importance for the Nordic countries, including fisheries management, petroleum policy and environmental protection. The media, NGOs, and civil society organizations are also discussed. The volume is well suited as a textbook, especially for students of Russian, political science, East European studies and journalism. It is indispensable for Scandinavians whose work brings them in contact with Russian policies and administration, and who need a deeper understanding of the background to their Russian partners. The book is a revised and updated version of the title published in Norwegian in 2006. Stokke, Olav Schram and Geir Hønneland (eds) International Cooperation and Arctic Governance: Regime Effectiveness and Northern Region Building London, Routledge, 2007, 196 p. > Read related FNI news release > Read book review (in Cooperation and Conflict) > For more information and orders, contact Routledge The post-Cold War era has seen an upsurge in interest in Arctic affairs. With new international regimes targeting Arctic issues at both the global and regional levels, the Northern areas seem set to play an increasingly prominent role in the domestic and foreign policies of the Arctic states and actors – not least Russia, the USA and the EU. The book distinguishes between three key kinds of impact: Effectiveness, defined as mitigation or removal of specific problems addressed by a regime; political mobilization, highlighting changes in the pattern of involvement and influence in decision making on Arctic affairs; and region building, understood as contributions by Arctic institutions to denser interactive or discursive connectedness among the inhabitants of the region. Empirically, the main focus is on three institutions: the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Region and the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Issue areas such as pollution, biodiversity, indigenous affairs, health and climate change are covered. Rowe, Lars and Geir Hønneland 'Communicable Disease Control' In Stokke, Olav Schram and Geir Hønneland (eds), International Cooperation and Arctic Governance: Regime Effectiveness and Northern Region Building. London, Routledge, 2007, pp. 50-78. > See Routledge for more information about the book Health issues came to the fore in the international Arctic collaboration in the late 1990s when alarming figures emerged about the spread of new and re-emerging communicable diseases, especially HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Lars Rowe and Geir Hønneland discuss the main experiences of the Barents Health programme (BEAR) and the Task Force on Communicable Disease Control in the Baltic Sea Region (CBSS). Both initiatives have focused on improving the capabilities of post-Soviet states for halting the spread of communicable diseases, particularly through introducing the World Health Organization's (WHO) regime for tuberculosis control. To the extent possible, Rowe and Hønneland assess the effectiveness of these responses as well as their mobilizing and region building impact. Stokke, Olav Schram, Geir Hønneland and Peter Johan Schei 'Pollution and Conservation' In Stokke, Olav Schram and Geir Hønneland (eds), International Cooperation and Arctic Governance: Regime Effectiveness and Northern Region Building. London, Routledge, 2007, pp. 78-111. > See Routledge for more information about the book Four environmental issues an the role of Arctic institutions in managing them, are in focus: improving monitoring, reducing discharges of hazardous substances, enhancing nuclear safety, and protecting biodiversity. Environmental monitoring has emerged as a specialization of the Arctic Council and is an area where this institution has made a significant difference. Findings have been fed into broader international efforts to regulate discharges of persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals, and has contributed somewhat to strengthening the position of those who favoured more ambitious regulation. Most of the monitoring, technology transfer and construction of storage and treatment facilities to improve nuclear safety in Northwestern Russia has been organized and financed by institutions other than those examined here, largely on a bilateral basis or drawing upon EU or US funds. The Arctic Council in particular has invested considerable energy in developing guidelines on the safe conduct of Arctic operations, especially with respect to oil, gas and shipping activities, and for certain specific conservation issues. None of those are legally binding, however, and there are no structures or procedures for systematic review of whether those soft law instruments are implemented by Arctic states or operators. Networks generated and maintained by the Arctic Council and the Barents Euro-Arctic Region have had some mobilizing, or empowering, effect on indigenous peoples’ organizations, environmental researchers and civil servants at the regional level of governance. Networks that have emerged within the environmental sector of the Arctic Council and the BEAR encourage participants to view the environmental challenges faced in the region within a Northern frame. That said, such a framing is limited by the circumstance that some of the most pressing Arctic pollution issues originates in industrial activities further south – and solving even some of those that relate to regional activities, such as nuclear safety, will require participation from outside the Arctic. Offerdal, Kristine 'Oil, gas and the environment' In Stokke, Olav Schram and Geir Hønneland (eds), International Cooperation and Arctic Governance: Regime Effectiveness and Northern Region Building. London, Routledge, 2007, pp. 138-163. > See Routledge for more information about the book Technological advances and a warmer climate have made rich hydrocarbon reserves in the Arctic increasingly accessible. The opportunities of social and economic developments in the region have been enhanced, but a future escalation of oil and gas extraction and transportation can also involve potential threats to the Arctic environment. Firstly, this chapter discusses the preparedness of Arctic institutions, especially the Arctic Council too meet the new challenges linked to offshore hydrocarbon activities. Secondly, the Council importance for its members as an arena to address their needs and priorities is discussed. Finally, the chapter assesses the region-building potential of the Council within this issue area. The chapter concludes that the effects of the Council’s work do not yet seem coherent with its aspirations. The greatest potential lies not in the regulative role, but in knowledge generation and agenda setting. It is further argued that the Council does not play an important role as regards region building within the issue area of oil and gas, but that the issue area in itself may have a significant region-building potential. Lastly, it is argued that the character of the forthcoming oil and gas assessment and its political implications will be crucial for the future direction of the Council’s work within this issue area. Stokke, Olav Schram 'International Institutions and Arctic Governance' In Stokke, Olav Schram and Geir Hønneland (eds), International Cooperation and Arctic Governance: Regime Effectiveness and Northern Region Building. London, Routledge, 2007, pp. 164-185. > See Routledge for more information about the book This chapter provides comparative analysis of how Arctic institutions affect regional connectedness, political involvement, and specific problem solving in five issue areas that rank high on Arctic political agendas. Starting from a low level, functional and discursive regionality is now on the rise in the Arctic. The institutions examined here have contributed to the development and maintenance of networks that nurture both aspects. Interaction within such networks is broadened by the involvement of province-level authorities and civil society groups, including indigenous organizations. Discursively, the emphasis of the Arctic Council on circumpolar environmental monitoring and indigenous issues has directed greater attention – within the region, and beyond – to the Arctic dimension of some global issues, like hazardous substances and climate change. Still, other levels of governance will continue to offer equally or more powerful instruments on many issues. Arctic institutions are the most effective – make the biggest difference – when they focus on activities or problem aspects where they enjoy niche advantages: where distinctive features of Arctic institutions make them better placed than others to extract or utilize the resources needed for problem solving. The cognitive, or fact-finding, niche is the one most widely chosen by Arctic institutions, especially within the Arctic Council. Normative contributions are far more limited, largely echoing broader international regimes already in existence. In the regulation of hazardous pollutants, Arctic institutions have served as platforms for efforts to influence spatially broader regulatory processes – partly by feeding in research findings on Arctic vulnerabilities, and partly by prodding Arctic states to take a more common stand on issues of concern. Finally, a capacity enhancement niche has been carved out in certain areas such as communicable diseases, cleaner production in process industries, and safer storage and treatment of hazardous waste. Moe, Arild 'Sjtokman-beslutningen: Forklaringer og implikasjoner' ('The Shtokman Decision: Explanations and Implications') Nordisk Østforum, Vol 20, No 4, 2006, pp. 389-403. In Norwegian. > Download full-text version (PDF) On 9 October 2006, Russia’s state-dominated gas company Gazprom declared a halt to the tender process for the giant Shtokman gas field, and that it was no longer interested in foreign ownership in the project. The plans to construct an LNG plant were also shelved. Instead Gazprom announced that it would develop the field on its own, and channel the gas via pipelines to European markets. This article offers various explanations for the decision. There have clearly been conflicts within Gazprom about priorities. The final decision was, however, most probably taken outside the company, with the active involvement of President Putin. The political considerations involved include a generally negative attitude to foreign companies and the lack of a supportive international political environment, but also the need to prioritize onshore field development to meet expected gas demand. The plans for a revised project under Gazprom's leadership seems unrealistic, and the overtures to Europe unconvincing. Even if the decision to shelve the project can be understandable, some of its elements indicate that the decision-making process was not thorough, probably due to centralization and administrative overload in the presidential administration. Jensen, Leif Christian 'Boring som miljøargument? Norske petroleumsdiskurser i nordområdene ('Drilling for the Environment? Norwegian Petroleum Discourses in the High North'). Internasjonal Politikk, Vol 64, No 3, 2006, pp. 295-309. In Norwegian. > Download full-text PDF version (provided by NUPI) Based on discourse analysis as a framework, the article examines how advocates of drilling have managed to get wide acceptance in the public sphere for their argument that Norway "must drill to help the environment". Such a statement is only possible if there are certain widely held perceptions in the Norwegian public about Russia and the environment. These perceptions have little to do with recent experience regarding Russian petroleum industry or Russian environmental standards in general, but have more to do with notions which date back to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Hønneland, Geir 'Power Institutions and International Collaboration on the Kola Peninsula' The Journal of Power Institutions In Post-Soviet Societies, Issue 4/5, 2006, online edition. > Full-text version available at PIPSS' website The article discusses how international cooperative projects have contributed to increased interaction between civilian authorities and the military or other power agencies in Murmansk Oblast. The cases of fisheries enforcement, nuclear safety and the fight against communicable diseases, especially tuberculosis in prisons, are reviewed. The main lesson is that international collaboration ventures can sometimes provide arenas for initiating new coordination patterns that would otherwise not have evolved. Occasionally, the international project is simply the pretext necessary for changing a situation that both civilian and power agencies view as irrational. Whether these changes are fundamental and structural, however, remains to be seen. Hønneland, Geir and Jørgen Holten Jørgensen Moderne russisk politikk: En innføring i Russlands politiske system ('Contemporary Russian Politics: An Introduction to Russia's Political System') Bergen, Fagbokforlaget, 2006, 168 p. In Norwegian. > Read related FNI news release (in Norwegian) > Read book review (in Utdanning, in Norwegian) > For more information and orders, contact Fagbokforlaget This book surveys the political system and bureaucratic apparatus of the Russian Federation, focusing on the similarities and differences between Norway and Russia: For example, has the government in Russia the same political influence as that in Norway? Is a Russian ‘governor’ the same as county governor in Norway? The authors describe the basic features of the Russian Constitution, the major political federal institutions, and the relationship between the federal and the regional authorities. Then follows a chapter on sectors of particular importance for Norway – including fisheries management, petroleum policy and environmental protection. The media, NGOs, and civil society organizations are also discussed. The volume is well suited as a textbook, especially for students of Russian, political science, Northern area issues and journalism. It is indispensable for Norwegians whose work brings them in contact with Russian policies and administration, and who need a deeper understanding of the background to their Russian partners. Hønneland, Geir and Jørgen Holten Jørgensen 'Administrativ reform i Russland' ('Administrative Reform in Russia') Nordisk Østforum, Vol 20, No 1, 2006, pp. 45-62. In Norwegian. > Download full-text PDF version (provided by NUPI) Upon his re-election in 2004, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin initiated a comprehensive reform to overhaul and streamline the entire government apparatus in the Russian Federation. Bureaucratic structures were to be organised according to a three-tiered structure where (1) ministries (ministerstva) were made responsible for formulating policy within their sphere of competence; (2) federal agencies (agentstva) should take charge of relevant policy implementation; and (3) services (sluzhby) were to control and monitor the others’ work. The main rationale was to keep the policy-formulating, implementing and controlling tasks separate from each other, in an attempt to clarify roles and combat corruption. In addition, the reform aimed at reducing the number of ministries and sub-divisions, as well as the number of vice ministers and total staff in the federal bureaucracy. After giving a description of the general outlines of the reform, this article continues with short case studies from two sectors, the fishery and environmental protection, by explaining what changes the reform has brought to the management of these. An assessment of how the reform has been implemented is given. Although the reform did provide the government apparatus with a new face, it is argued in this article that the reform so far has failed to deliver on important tasks as combating corruption or reducing the number of civil servants. Moreover, as old habits die hard, operational procedures appear to have survived, despite the new formal organisational relations set by the reform. Rowe, Lars and Bernd Rechel 'Fighting Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in Northeast Europe: Sustainable Collaboration or Political Rhetoric?' The European Journal of Public Health, Vol 16, No 6, 2006, pp. 609-614. > Full-text version available at Oxford Journals' website In April 2000, the Council of the Baltic Sea States established the Task Force on Communicable Disease Control in the Baltic Sea region (the Task Force). A successor structure, the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing, was established in autumn 2003. This article, a follow-up study to a series of evaluations of the Task Force, examines whether the Northern Dimension has succeeded in developing the achievements of the Task Force and ensuring the sustainability of regional health collaboration. The study is qualitative, relying on documentary analysis and semi-structured in-depth interviews with key actors. Relevant literature and key programme documents were consulted, and approximately 100 interviews were conducted. The short history of the Northern Dimension Partnership shows that many of the problems encountered in the Task Force are reappearing. Inter-state rivalry, most prominent between Nordic countries, still hampers progress, with resulting scarce funding. The Partnership emphasises the need to anchor future collaboration in centrally placed agencies in all participating countries. This is a time consuming process, and has the inevitable effect of slowing down project work. Although epidemiological data clearly illustrate the need for continued multinational support to communicable disease control in Northeast Europe, the above-mentioned factors impede progress in this respect. While there are good reasons for cultivating partnerships with Russian federal agencies in terms of sustainability, this focus does represent a loss of momentum that may be difficult to overcome. Jørgensen, Jørgen Holten and Geir Hønneland 'Implementing Global Nature Protection Regimes in Russia' Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy, Vol 9, No 1, 2006, pp. 33-53. > Download full-text post-print version (PDF) or access the definitive version here (subscribers only) The article discusses Russian implementation of the Ramsar Convention, the World Heritage Convention, CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The country’s international obligations are part of Russian law, but little has been done by Russian authorities to implement the agreements on the ground. Compliance with the international agreements is the result of Russian protection measures that exist independently of the conventions. Environmental concerns have been given reduced priority since the early 1990s. An independent environmental protection agency no longer exists, and the number of inspectors has been drastically reduced. Implementation activities are undertaken primarily by international NGOs, and partly by regional authorities. Hønneland, Geir 'Samarbeidet med Russland - erfaringer og utgangspunkt' ('The Cooperation with Russia - Experiences and Point of Departure') Ottar, Vol 52, No 2, 2006, pp. 57-62. In Norwegian. > Download full-text version (PDF) An integrated management plan for the Barents Sea will be presented by the Government of Norway in spring 2006. The article discusses the potential for including Russia in integrated marine management in the region. Experiences from thirty years of joint fisheries management between the two countries are largely good. The combination of low environmental consciousness in Russia and the high degree of compartmentalization of the Russian bureaucracy creates particular challenges for the Norwegian aim of extending the integrated management plan to the entire Barents Sea. Jensen, Leif Christian "Boring for miljøet": Russland og miljø i den norske petroleumsdiskursen ("Drilling for the Environment": Russia and the Environment in the Norwegian Petroleum Discourse) FNI Report 2/2006. Lysaker, FNI, 2006. 62 p, In Norwegian > Download full-text version (PDF) This report is based on the master thesis Russia and Environment in the Norwegian Petroleum Debate: A Discourse-Analytical Perspective, and examines how arguments about Russia and the environment are portrayed together in the Norwegian petroleum debate regarding drilling in the Barents Sea. The report examines how advocates of drilling have managed to get wide acceptance in the public sphere for their argument that Norway "must drill to help the environment". Such a statement is only possible if there are certain widely held perceptions in the Norwegian public about “Russia and the environment”. In addition to the empirical focus of the report, there is also an attempt to utilize and examine certain theoretical and methodological aspects of discourse analysis. Kongshaug, Ellen Diskurser i norsk atompolitikk: Kolahalvøya i et diskursanalytisk perspektiv (A Discourse Analytical Perspective on the Kola Peninsula Radioactive Pollution: Catastrophe or Not?) FNI Report 1/2006. Lysaker, FNI, 2006, 62 p. In Norwegian > Download full-text version (PDF) The main scope of this report is examining the textual features with which discourses are produced, reproduced and maintained - in this case within the field of Norwegian nuclear politics. Through the analysis of central texts from the non-governmental organisation Bellona, as well as the government agency Statens strålevern and Norwegian political authorities, different discourses appear: On one hand a moderate, reassuring discourse, on the other a discourse of crisis and urgency. The analysis shows the latter to be the more obvious and ‘powerful’ discourse in Norwegian nuclear politics. The closing chapter contains a discussion of consequences of discursive domination, be these democratic or political consequences, and concludes that the possible relationship between language and politics deserves attention and further investigation. Schei, Peter Johan and Arild Moe 'Le Grand Nord - Défis et Potentiels' ('The High North – Challenges and Potentials') Nordiques, No 9, 2006, pp. 21-40. In French. > Download full-text version (PDF) In the European High North, Russia and Norway have the dominant territorial as well as economic interests. We find bilateral and multilateral co-operation, but also conflicts of interest. During the Cold War, these areas were largely seen internationally through the prism of security policy. In the 1970s, issues of nature conservation also came to attention. Today these areas have re-emerged with a focus on their hydrocarbon resources. They will become increasingly important for energy supplies to Europe in the coming years. Further development of the bilateral relations between Norway and Russia – regarding good fisheries management, environmental conservation and safety standards for exploitation and transportation of oil and gas – will be essential for sustainable resource management in the North. However, Norway has traditionally been reluctant towards arrangements that would act to leave Norway alone with its big and powerful eastern neighbour. To balance a heightened relationship with Russia, and in line with its general support of multilateral arrangements, the Norwegian government (both the old and the new) has argued for the need to develop further alliances with its traditional allies to find solid political common ground regarding developments in the North. Gold, Edgar and Peter Leckie Wright Marine Insurance Coverage for the Sea Carriage of Oil and Other Energy Materials on the Northern Sea Route: Moving from Theory to Reality ARCOP Report. Helsinki, ARCOP, 2006, 51 p. > Full-text version available on ARCOP's website The principal purpose of ARCOP Sub-Project WP 2.4 during the three-year period 2002-2005 was to provide an assessment on the availability of adequate and appropriate risk coverage for vessels, especially those carrying potential pollutants and hazardous and noxious substances, navigating the Northern Sea Route and Russian Barents Sea. It is obvious that without adequate and appropriate risk coverage such navigation would not be economically or environmentally viable. This report summarizes the ARCOP Sub-Project WP 2.4 findings based on the research work carried out during this period. In addition, the Report also provides an assessment of the marine insurance industry’s interest in developing a sustained system of coverage for this type of risk Skedsmo, Pål 'Doing Good' in Murmansk? Civil Society, Ideology and Everyday Practices in a Russian Environmental NGO FNI Report 14/2005. Lysaker, FNI, 2005. 82 p. > Download full-text version (PDF) This report investigates the relationship between an ideology of civil society and everyday practices in a Russian environmental youth NGO called PiM. Data for this report was gathered in 2004 during fieldwork conducted in Murmansk, Russia. The term civil society is a common reference in development aid programmes directed towards Russia, and is as such part of a process of constructing ‘the other’, e.g. the recipients of development aid. A general description of the concept ‘civil society’ in development discourse is followed by a discussion of everyday practises in PiM. In order to discuss the relationship between ideology and everyday practices, three empirical levels are separated and analysed: (i) individual strategies and perceptions; (ii) internal organisational practices and cooperation between PiM and its Norwegian partner; and (iii) external organisational practices as PiM advocates for change in environmental policies. The study finds that among members of PiM, the possibility of gaining personally from voluntary work is imperative, hence that accumulation of individual social capital is significant as PiM provides a platform in which members can access valuable capital, maintain networks and the like. Nonetheless, members involve themselves in and voice an altruistic ideology. Thus, I find that self-interest and altruism seem to dialectically reinforce each other. Social capital may also enhance PiM’s operational skills, but as individuals compete for scarce resources, individual accumulation may be parasitical. PiM is to a significant degree subject to governance, and contributes to its own self-governance by adjusting to the demands of its Norwegian donor and partner. Thus, a relationship of dependency is created, where PiM is the weaker part. When PiM members try to advocate change in environmental policies they are considered by their adversaries (such as politicians and industrial managers) as ignorant persons, and treated as intruders in a field perceived as belonging to experts. Finally, the report elaborated upon the term habitus in order to suggest that negative experiences of the past form practices at present in NGO life. Valeriy Kryukov and Arild Moe 'Hydrocarbon Resources and Northern Development' In Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland (eds), Tackling Space: Federal Politics and the Russian North. Lanham (MD) and Oxford, University Press of America, 2005, pp. 125-142. Oil and gas play a pivotal role in the Russian economy. They represent about 20 percent of GDP, 55 percent of the country’s export income, and 40 percent of taxes paid. Russia’s Northern regions are responsible for an overwhelming share of oil and gas output. This chapter focuses on those Northern regions where oil and gas resources already play an important role, or where they have a clear potential. The main questions discussed are: Has there been a “Northern component” in Russia’s hydrocarbon policy? How have oil and gas activities affected broader social and economic development in Russia’s hydrocarbon-producing regions? Developments in recent years are bringing back features from the Soviet system – extensive redistribution of income and resources from the regions, via Moscow and back, and a more monopolistic industrial development. These are features associated with economic inefficiency. Russia has never really developed a Northern policy in its management of hydrocarbon resources. Not surprisingly, then, the results after 15 years are meager. Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland 'The Burden and Blessing of Space' In Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland (eds), Tackling Space: Federal Politics and the Russian North. Lanham (MD) and Oxford, University Press of America, 2005, pp. 193-204 Russian politics of the 1990s was characterized by devolution of power, unpredictability, and the divide-and-rule strategies of Boris El’tsin. In the country’s public administration, this led to serious infighting in the federal bureaucracy, and a considerable room for bargaining in relations between the federal and regional authorities. Two trends have counteracted these developments after Putin came to power. One is the reversal of the 1990s devolution of power to the federal subjects. Another is the streamlining of the federal bureaucracy as such. In the country's policies on the North, there is a reorientation away from the traditional territorial approach, with a separate federal body of governance responsible for the northern regions. Finally, while the Soviet mythologization of the North still wields considerable residual power and attraction, in practical politics economy is now more important than ideology. Profitability is seen as the main criterion for the future development of the northern resource base. Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland 'The Russian North – An Introduction' In Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland (eds), Tackling Space: Federal Politics and the Russian North. Lanham (MD) and Oxford, University Press of America, 2005, pp. 1-24 The chapter starts with a review of recent social science literature on Arctic affairs, including the international relations literature ("the age of the Arctic"), studies that portray the Arctic as periphery ("coping & survival") and more specific analyses of the Russian North. The second part of the chapter provides an introduction to the region, explaining the Russian definitions of "the Far North" and "territories equivalent to the regions of the Far North". Notably, the definitions follow neither climatic nor administrative borders, and they have frequently been changed over time. Characteristics of the region in terms of population, economy and natural resources are then given. From an economic perspective, the single most important resource is the vast deposits of hydrocarbons. The Soviet "conquest of the North" had increased the northern population from less than 2 mill. in the 1920s to 10 mill. at the end of the Soviet period. The collapse of the Soviet system led to a reversal of migration flows. Except for Khanty-Mansi and Iamal-Nenets, the economic locomotives of the Russian North, all regions of the North have recorded negative population growth over the past 15 years. Geir Hønneland 'Whose Fish: Federal Property or Northern Asset?' In Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland (eds), Tackling Space: Federal Politics and the Russian North. Lanham (MD) and Oxford, University Press of America, 2005, pp. 107-124 Russia is one of the world's leading fishing nations, with considerable catches within its exclusive economic zone and on the high seas. Fish is a typical "northern asset": the two largest of Russia's five officially defined fishery basins serve the country's north-eastern and north-westerns corners. During the 1990s, regional authorities in Russia increased their influence on fisheries management beyond the role assigned in the 1993 Constitution. They has a say in the distribution of quotas between federal subjects, and they were in command of distribution among shipowners within their own territory - even though the Constitution has set this as a federal responsibility. The regional influence was reduced when quota auctions were introduced in 2001. A new quota system in 2003 left the regions with practically no influence on fisheries management. Geir Hønneland and Jørgen Holten Jørgensen 'The Ups and Downs of Environmental Governance' In Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland (eds), Tackling Space: Federal Politics and the Russian North. Lanham (MD) and Oxford, University Press of America, 2005, pp. 143-162. It is widely held that environmental concerns were neglected in the Soviet Union, then came to the fore in the final years of the Union’s existence, but again lost significance in Russian political life during the 1990s. This chapter explores the ups and downs of environmental governance in post-Soviet Russia, with a particular view to the potential consequences for the country’s northern periphery. A main conclusion is that federal authorities have all but abandoned any ambition to conduct strict environmental regulation, while some northern federal subjects - especially the wealthy hydrocarbon and diamond regions - have established their own envioronmental programs, especially in the sphere of nature conservation. Continuous reorganizations of the environmental bureaucracy have also reduced effectiveness. Ragner, Claes Lykke 'Transport Infrastructure: Continued Federal Involvement in the North' In Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland (eds), Tackling Space: Federal Politics and the Russian North. Lanham (MD) and Oxford, University Press of America, 2005, pp. 79-106. This article examines the development of each different transport mode (railways, road transport, sea transport, river transport, pipelines and air transport) in the Russian North, with emphasis on developments since the break-up of the Soviet Union. The article shows that while the authorities have relinquished much of their previous control over the Russian transport sector and some parts of Northern transport – such as the marine export of Russian Arctic oil and Northern passenger air traffic – now take place on largely commercial terms, federal involvement in northern transport infrastructure remains relatively strong. This is seen not least through the annual state-organized and state-sponsored Northern deliveries-campaigns, which during the summer season employs almost every mode of transport available to get food, fuel and other supplies delivered to Russia’s arctic settlements. Even though Northern industry has consolidated to focus on more profitable activities, and even though the Northern population has shrunk considerably, many of the activities and settlements of the North remain unsustainable in purely commercial terms. However, the Russian authorities feel determined to uphold much of this, for military, social and other reasons, and therefore, a continued federal involvement in and economic support of Northern infrastructure is required. Blakkisrud, Helge and Geir Hønneland (eds) Tackling Space: Federal Politics and the Russian North Lanham (MD) and Oxford, University Press of America, 2005, 222 p. > For more information and orders, contact University Press of America The North is intrinsic to the way most outsiders imagine Russia: snow, long winters and the endless Siberian forests. Indeed, about 70 percent of the country’s territory is defined as belonging to the North. These inhospitable tracts contain immense natural wealth, and large cities were constructed in Soviet times to supply the labor force for extraction industries. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian North has become both a burden and an asset. It is overdeveloped, with its now obsolete mono-industrial towns, and underdeveloped, with its still largely untapped natural resources. Today’s Russian authorities face the challenge of developing a new Northern policy adapted to the realities of the 21st century. With its expert contributions from political science, economics, geography, and anthropology, this book represents the first comprehensive study in the Western literature of federal politics towards the Russian North. In addition to mapping the scope for federal governance, it covers such important issue areas as infrastructure development, natural resource management, environmental affairs, and policies towards indigenous peoples. Hønneland, Geir and Lars Rowe 'Western versus Post-Soviet Medicine: Fighting Tuberculosis and HIV in North-West Russia and the Baltic States' Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol 21, No 3, 2005, pp. 395-414. Western governments and international organisations have since the late 1990s been involved in efforts to combat tuberculosis and HIV in north-west Russia and the Baltic states, and reform the post-Soviet health-care system. The article reviews Russian and Baltic perceptions of these efforts. WHO’s tuberculosis strategy DOTS encountered fierce resistance in the Russian tuberculosis establishment, but has been implemented in the north-western rim regions in Russia and all Baltic states. While many view Western aid as a welcome contribution, others feel the problems are exaggerated by the West. The Western emphasis on prison reform and sex workers also meets resistance in the post-Soviet context. Hønneland, Geir and Jørgen Holten Jørgensen 'Federal Environmental Governance and the Russian North' Polar Geography, Vol 29, No 1, 2005, pp. 42-57. The article explores Russian environmental politics at the federal level, with a particular view to the consequences for the country's northerly regions. It investigates the goals of the federal authorities in the field of environmental protection, and their ability to translate these into political action at the regional level in the Russian North. After a brief outline of Soviet environmental politics, the "green wave" of the 1980s and the setbacks of the 1990s are described. The general reorganization of the federal Russian bureaucracy of 2004 is treated separately, before developments at the regional level in the Russian North are discussed. Rowe, Lars and Geir Hønneland 'Smittevern og internasjonal politikk' ('Communicable Diseases and International Politics') Tidsskrift for Den norske lægeforening, No 12, 2005, pp. 78-80. This article briefly presents the international collaboration to fight the spread of communicable diseases in the Baltic Sea region, under the auspices of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. It then discusses the political motivation behind the initiative, and elaborates upon some of the historically and culturally determined obstacles to fruitful East-West collaboration in the field of Communicable Disease Control. It is stated that Western medical solutions to a certain degree have been forced upon highly qualified Russian specialists, and that Western participants in health programmes are, to some extent, perceived as arrogant and not sufficiently humble when dealing with their Russian counterparts. The article supports this criticism, but also attempts to draw a more complicated picture, by describing the post-Soviet development that has lead to what can be called ‘The Cold Peace’, in which Russian scepticism to the West is revived along the lines of the traditional slavophile-westerniser dichotomy. Finally, the article gives examples of projects where these obstacles have been overcome, and thus led to successful outcomes. Gulbrandsen, Lars H. and Arild Moe 'Oil Company CSR Collaboration in "New" Petro-states' Journal of Corporate Citizenship, No 20, 2005, pp. 53-64. > Download full-text version (PDF) This article explores oil company collaboration in handling corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Both states display some features of the ‘paradox of plenty’ thesis, that is, large mineral resources, overspending due to exaggerated expectations of petro-riches, a weak system of tax collection, accumulation of loans, lack of development of other sectors of the economy but oil, and increasing social inequality. We ask whether oil companies assume any responsibility for improving this situation and propose that oil companies are likely to co-operate to promote economic, social and political development in new petroleum provinces. Such collaboration could reduce the individual company’s economic costs and risk of exposure in sensitive issues. It is found that although oil companies have established co-operative forums in both states to address CSR, government policy or adjacent issues, little has been achieved. While the co-operative CSR forums in Azerbaijan have ceased to exist, those identified in Kazakhstan have dealt with oil companies’ core business interests rather than wider CSR issues. Various explanations for the lack of co-operative success in handling CSR are discussed. Rowe, Lars 'Et propagandistisk alternativ til diplomati - Sovjetisk utenrikspolitikk og Fredsfronten i Norge' ('A Propagandistic Alternative to Diplomacy: Soviet Foreign Policy and the Norwegian Peace Front') Historisk tidsskrift, Vol 84, No 2, 2005, pp. 297-310. In Norwegian. The article is based on studies of the Norwegian Peace Movement and its alleged role as a messenger of Soviet foreign policy views during the Cold War. It has been broadly assumed, by contemporaries and historians alike, that in the early years of the Cold War, Soviet diplomacy was to a large extent replaced by a comprehensive effort to exert pressure on Western governments through rallying support from Western peace activists. Throughout this period, it was frequently claimed that the Peace Movement was an instrument in the hands of the Communists, and under the direct influence of the Kremlin. Through documentation from Russian and Norwegian archives, it is asserted in this article that the Soviet foreign policy apparatus in the early Cold War years (1949-1956) was indeed geared on strengthening and utilising forces within the Peace Movement to reach certain foreign policy goals. Direct Soviet initiatives in establishing a ‘new peace movement’, headed by the World Peace Council and its national sections, are also documented. Further, the present article describes the fundamentals in what the author calls ‘the Communist Peace Mythology’, and elaborates on the impact the Soviet peace strategy had on the Norwegian peace movement. The author discusses briefly how the Norwegian press and political establishment perceived the peace offensive. The concluding section discusses whether the ‘peace offensive’ was a trait of Soviet foreign policy, Stalinist foreign policy, or merely a strategy that could be applied in times of high tension in the international arena. The last and most general interpretation is chosen. With reference to both the anti-fascist Popular Front in the 1930s, and the Communist revitalisation of the peace struggle during ‘the second cold war’ in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, it is argued that Soviet diplomacy gave way to the Soviet Peace Offensive in high-tension periods. In place of diplomacy came propaganda, voiced through a conglomerate of so-called progressive organisations headed by the World Peace Council. Hønneland, Geir Barentsbrytninger. Norsk nordområdepolitikk etter den kalde krigen. ('Barents Breaking. Norwegian Foreign Policy in the North after the Cold War') Kristiansand, Høyskoleforlaget, 2005, 190 p. In Norwegian. > For more information and orders, contact Høyskoleforlaget > Read book review (in Norwegian) Norwegian foreign policy in the north has changed dramatically since the early 1990s. The Cold War's focus on Soviet military force and delimitation of the Barents Sea has been replaced by issues such as the development of East-West contacts in trade and industry, environmental clean-up and the fight against communicable diseases. At the same time, new dimensions have been added to traditional policy questions of the European north, such as the status of the Svalbard archipelago and the Norwegian-Russian regime for fisheries management in the Barents Sea. The book reviews various arenas for collaboration between Norway and Russia in the north and dominant discourses in Norwegian foreign policy in the area after the Cold War. Brunstad, Bjørn, Eivind Magnus, Philip Swanson, Geir Hønneland and Indra Øverland Big Oil Playground, Russian Bear Preserve or European Periphery? - The Russian Barents Sea Region towards 2015 EBURON Academic Publishers, 2004, 218 p. > For more information and orders, contact Eburon This book is a result of the Barents Russia 2015 project, and presents three plausible, but provoking scenarios for the future of Barents Russia: “Big Oil Playground”, “Russian Bear Preserve” and “European Periphery”. The scenarios will hopefully contribute to increased attention and deeper understanding of the forces and actors that will shape the region. Barents Russia 2015 is a cooperative project headed by ECON analysis, with participation from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), and Wikborg Rein law firm (WR). A number of individual Russian researchers have also contributed. Hønneland, Geir Russian Fisheries Management. The Precautionary Approach in Theory and Practice Leiden and Boston, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers / Brill Academic Publishers, 2004, 210 p. > For more information and orders, contact Brill. This book is the first comprehensive introduction to Russian fisheries management in the Western literature. It sets out the basic principles and organisational structure underlying Russian fisheries management and describes associated processes and practices, such as quota allocation, technical regulation and enforcement of fishery legislation. The book focuses attention on fisheries management at the federal level and in Russia's northern fishery basin, which is the largest fishery region in European Russia. Problems such as institutional conflict, alleged corruption and incomplete legislation on fisheries are discussed, as are the assets of scientific and technical expertise found in the country's Soviet legacy. Throughout the book, the performance of the Russian system for fisheries management is evaluated in relation to the requirements of a precautionary approach to fisheries, as set out in contemporary international law. Hønneland, Geir and Lars Rowe Health as International Politics: Combating Communicable Diseases in the Baltic Sea Region Aldershot & Burlington (VT), Ashgate, 2004, 150 p. > For more information and orders, contact Ashgate > Read book review (in Norwegian) In recent years, health has become a pressing issue in international politics - a development which has been reflected in the growth of academic literature on the subject. The emergence of new (and re-emergence of old) infectious diseases since the early 1990s has attracted scholarly interest from various fields of investigation. At the same time, in a European context, the dramatic rise in tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in some former East Bloc countries has been a cause of particular concern. This timely work provides a detailed account of how the states around the Baltic Sea have met the challenge of communicable diseases and used health issues as an instrument in their foreign policy more widely. Rowe, Lars Report from the Steering Committee for Evaluation of the Task Force on Communicable Disease Control in the Baltic Sea Region FNI Report 9/2004. Lysaker, FNI, 2004, 27 p. This report is the main product of the Steering Committee for evaluation of the Task Force on Communicable Disease Control in the Baltic Sea Region. Unlike the four external evaluations, which are focused on specific themes in the Task Force collaboration, this report concentrates on the general picture, and attempts to answer the following questions: Did the Task Force's model of organisation or management structure allow it to achieve its goals effectively? What are the main achievements of the Task Force as an international programme? What were the programme's shortcomings and what lessons can be drawn from them? Task Force documents enumerate a large number of objectives, among them, to raise extra money for the work to fight communicable diseases; to secure political commitment to this fight; to develop networks linking medical experts and health officials in the region; and to develop prison health care. Did the Task Force achieve these objectives? The report describes and analyses main aspects of the chosen management model, and assesses the success of the flat and anti-bureaucratic structure, which was a central characteristic of the Task Force. Further, it presents some main findings made by the evaluations, and seeks, on that basis, to contribute some general conclusions. Finally, the report gives a number of recommendations for future health collaborations in the area. Hønneland, Geir 'Fish Discourse. Russia, Norway and the Northeast Arctic Cod' Human Organization, Vol. 63, No 1, 2004, pp. 68-78. The article argues that discourse analysis can help explain why Russian and Norwegian fishery authorities in the period 1999-2001 set quotas for the Northeast Arctic cod far above scientific recommendations. While the 'sustainability discourse' dominated on the Norwegian side - framing discussions in terms of the quotas being 'sustainable' or not - the Russian discourse centered around the battle between the two nations involved. According to the 'Cold Peace discourse', Norway wants to reduce the quota to ensure competitive prices for cod on the world market or, alternatively, simply to 'ruin Russia'. The 'seafaring community discourse' feeds on distrust on both sides of the border of scientific prognoses and serves to weaken the arguments of the 'sustainability discourse' and strengthen the conclusions of the 'Cold Peace discourse'. The 'pity-the-Russians discourse' offers a way out of the deadlock: feeding on the Western perception of Russians as 'poor', the Norwegians are ready to set scientific recommendations aside on humanitarian grounds. Overarching discourses in society provided 'windows of opportunity' for the given outcomes. Notably, the 'Cold Peace discourse' made it possible for Russian shipowners to argue against a quota reduction, and the 'pity-the-Russians discourse' made it acceptable for the Norwegians to agree to Russian claims. Hønneland, Geir 'Nuclear Safety Discourse in the European Arctic' Polar Record, Vol 40, No 212, 2004, pp. 39-49. The article outlines discourses surrounding the emergence and implementation of the Norwegian Plan of Action for nuclear safety in Northwestern Russia. The launching of the Plan of Action was facilitated by the 'Barents euphoria discourse', which held optimistic views of a general 'clean-up' in Northwestern Russia by the help of infrastructure financed by the Nordic side, and the 'nuclear disaster discourse', hinging of the idea of a 'ticking time bomb' in Norway's immediate vicinity to the east. The latter discourse clashes with the prevalent Russian 'nuclear complex discourse' whose main assumption is that issues of nuclear safety should be left to the experts, not to the general public. Criticism of the Plan of Action mounted around the turn of the century, eventually causing the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to designate it as largely unsuccessful. The 'environmental blackmail discourse' took over in Norway, with its story line that 'the Russians are taking advantage of us'. The 'Cold Peace discourse' in Russia has primarily served to obscure Norwegian motivations for the Russians. Brubaker, R. Douglas The Russian Arctic Straits Leiden, the Netherlands, Martin Nijhoff Publishers, 2004, 276 p. > For more information and orders, contact Martin Nijhoff Publishers The issues surrounding the regimes of ice-covered areas, international straits, and passage rights of State vessels are analysed for the purpose of assessing the status of law and State practice in Russian Arctic waters. Passage through the Northern Sea Route has for decades been one of the most contentious legal issues in Soviet/Russian - U.S. relations. The jurisdictional claims of the large Arctic coastal States indicate substantial deviation from application of established law of the sea. The regimes of straits used for international navigation and passage rights of State vessels seem subordinate to the regime of ice-covered areas. The main finding is that there are certain elements of consistency in the common interpretation of existing law and the behaviour of these States. These elements seem to have put into action the process of formation of a specific customary international law, as well as implementation and interpretation of the law under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The book is developed from International Northern Sea Route Programme (INSROP) working papers and the author’s doctoral dissertation from the University of Stockholm. It is part of the publisher’s International Straits of the World series. Jørgensen, Jørgen Holten 'Svalbard: russiske persepsjoner og politikkutforming' ('Svalbard: Russian Perceptions and Policy-making') Internasjonal politikk, No 2, 2004, pp. 177-197. In Norwegian. > Download full-text version (PDF) This article looks at Russian perceptions on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Since the early 1930s, the Soviet Union (since 1991 - the Russian Federation) has been the only country, apart from Norway, maintaining sizeable settlements on the archipelago. The politics of non-interference during the Cold War gave way to a significantly more active Norwegian management of Svalbard and the Fishery Protection Zone surrounding Svalbard during the 1990s. This has not always been welcomed by the Russians. Indeed, the Russians have seen the new Norwegian environmental legislation as being directed explicitly against Russian economic and geopolitical interests on Svalbard. In the Fishery Protection Zone, the Norwegian Coast Guard has been accused of discriminating Russian trawlers. Using discourse analysis, this articles aims to explain how this misunderstanding on behalf of the Russians came about. Moe, Arild, Kristian Tangen, Vladimir Berdin and Oleg Pluzhnikov 'Emissions Trading and Green Investments in Russia' Energy & Environment, Vol 14, No 6, 2003, pp. 841-858. In simple terms a Green Investment Scheme (GIS) entails connecting revenues from emissions trading to investments in environmental activities in Russia. This article presents insights derived from an international project on the GIS. The idea of a Green Investment Scheme grew out of the external opportunities for Russia created by the Kyoto mechanisms as well as the needs and challenges for Russian economic development. The GIS also takes into consideration the obligations of large emitters, such as the EU, Japan and Canada to find ways to offset their own emissions and gives impetus to the development of an environmentally benign system for trade in Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) . To make the concept operational several issues must be addressed, which are discussed in the article, on the background of the domestic, as well as international interests connected to a GIS. GIS is a worthwhile concept with the potential to bring real environmental benefits and meet profound concerns from several of the key actors in the Kyoto regime. However, establishing a well-functioning GIS means removing many of the current barriers that hold back investments in Russia. GIS illustrates that there will be substantial benefits for Russia from ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, which is a prerequisite for its entering into force. Brubaker, R. Douglas and Leonard S. Spector 'Liability for Nuclear Damage - Survey of Nuclear Co-operation between the West and Russia - Focus on Norway' The Nonproliferation Review, Vol XI, No 1, 2003, pp. 1-39. The underlying purpose of Western nuclear aid to Russia is to stave off catastrophic damages from nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. To date, donor States have concentrated on practical programs to reduce dangers from various elements of Russian nuclear and other high-risk WMD activities. Such risk reduction efforts are widely recognized as valuable - indeed, critical - to international security and well-being. There is, however, a second method for reducing risk, to share it. This method is fully appreciated in the international civil nuclear community, where a range of risk-sharing arrangements are in place or unfolding. The approach of risk-sharing needs to be adapted to the unique circumstances of Western nonproliferation assistance programs to Russia. It will not only reduce the impact of a nuclear or other WMD calamity on individual actors, but will also facilitate the expansion of the practical risk reduction programs, easing the impasse over liability and encouraging wider participation by Western enterprises. Hønneland, Geir Russia and the West: Environmental Co-operation and Conflict London and New York, Routledge, 2003. 184 p. > For more information and orders, contact Routledge How do Russian and Western perceptions of Arctic environmental affairs differ? Does the way we talk about the environment affect politics in the area? The Russian part of the European Arctic contains some of the gravest environmental problems to be found in Europe today and this book discusses the East-West interface in Arctic environmental affairs since the early 1990s, tracing the dominant discourses in Russia and the Nordic countries. Russia and the West traces similarities and differences between Russian and Western perceptions of these problems, of what causes them and of how they are being dealt with at the international level. It focuses on how environmental problems are framed and how this affects politics. Using a distinctive crosscutting focus on environmental discourse and East-West relations, the author provides an in-depth analysis of the interface between Russia and Western countries over environmental issues such as nuclear safety, air pollution and the management of living marine resources. Hønneland, Geir and Anne-Kristin Jørgensen Implementing International Environmental Agreements in Russia Manchester and New York, Manchester University Press, 2003. 176 p. The book is the first systematic study of how international environmental agreements are transformed into political action in Russia. Using three illuminating case studies on the implementation process in the fields of fisheries management, nuclear safety and air pollution control, this book fills an important gap in existing literature. While the focus in current social science debate on international environmental regimes is on accumulating knowledge on 'implementing activities' at both national and international level, this book goes one step further and examines implementation at national and regional level. This topic is of great theoretical relevance to the study of environmental politics as well as the more general debate on contemporary Russian politics. In particular, it offers valuable new material on regional politics in Russia. With its emphasis on the politics of environmental and resource management, this book continues the description of political processes where most accounts of Russian politics tend to stop. Hønneland, Geir and Anne-Kristin Jørgensen 'Implementing International Environmental Agreements in Russia: Lessons from Fisheries Management, Nuclear Safety and Air Pollution Control' Global Environmental Politics, Vol 3, No 1, 2003, pp. 72-98. > Download full-text version (PDF) The article discusses implementation of Russia's international obligations in fisheries management, nuclear safety and air pollution control. Empirical evidence is taken from the country's northwestern region. A main theoretical question is to what extent the observed level of compliance with international agreements can be explained by the nature of the problem and agreements at hand, and by the implementation activities of public authorities and target groups. The implementation performance in the case of fisheries management can be explained mainly by both positive and negative elements in public authorities' implementation efforts. In air pollution control, the nature of the commitments, i.e. the very limited need of behavioral changes, is the main explanation of implementation performance. The picture is a bit more complex in the case of nuclear safety where all the factors reviewed have had a moderate or considerable effect on implementation performance. Sawhill, Steven and Claes Lykke Ragner 'Shipping Nuclear Cargo via the Northern Sea Route' Polar Record, Vol 38, No 204, 2002, pp. 39-52. The commercial nuclear industry is considering the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an alternative transit route for shipments of radioactive material between Europe and Japan, and as an import/export route for shipments in to and out of Russia. Technologically, the NSR is a practicable route, and factors that currently make it uneconomical for most commercial cargoes do not generally apply to nuclear ones. A shorter route between Europe and Japan may reduce operating costs and could enhance the safety and security of nuclear material. Shippers are also attracted by the prospect for reducing political opposition along current routes. These advantages are offset by the cost of building specialised ships, uncertainties associated with Russia and its icebreaker fleet, and uncertainties regarding the risk and effects of a severe transport accident involving radioactive material. The likelihood of using the NSR for nuclear transport remains uncertain. Transit use is unlikely without a basis for long-term transport between Europe and East Asia. Russia's plans to expand its nuclear services industry are not dependent on using the NSR: the Arctic alternative via the port of Dudinka is only one of several suggested routes. Whether it is selected will depend upon whom Russia gains as customers and whether it provides the most convenient, cost-efficient option. Hønneland, Geir and Helge Blakkisrud (eds) Centre-Periphery Relations in Russia - The Case of the Northwestern Regions Ashgate, 2001, 245 p. > For more information and orders, contact Ashgate The relations between Moscow and the federal subjects have been one of the main issues of contention in Russian politics since the establishment of the Russian Federation in 1991. Whereas most attention traditionally has been given to the political struggle between 'pro-' and 'anti-reform' groups in Moscow, a no less fierce battle is being fought out between the federal centre and the regions. The present book addresses the attempts at regionalisation that have taken place in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union. In particular, it focuses on the power balance between Moscow and the north-western periphery of the federation. The book is unique in its cross-field approach to these issues, covering both legal, political and economic aspects of centre-regional relations. Moreover, it reports experiences from relations with the federal centre in sectors of particular importance to Northwestern Russia: fisheries, offshore hydrocarbon resources and the military. Moe, Arild and Kristian Tangen The Kyoto Mechanisms and Russian Climate Politics London, Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2000, 110 p. The Kyoto Protocol established binding emission reduction targets for the industrialised countries, including economies in transition. It also introduced the so-called 'Kyoto Mechanisms' to help meet these targets in 'flexible' and cost-effective ways. This book analyses Russian climate policy,both development of negotiating position, on the background of energy sector interests and trends in emissions, and emerging issues in domestic implementation of the climate regime: How are various interests affected and how are they likely to respond? Special attention is given to the Russian natural gas sector. This sector will be an important factor in Russia's achievementof its own targets (stabilisation at 1990 levels) and in the development of international emissions trading and joint implementation projects. Hønneland, Geir and Arild Moe Evaluation of the Norwegian Plan of Action for Nuclear Safety: Priorities, Organisation, Implementation Evaluation Report 7/2000. Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2000, 64 p. > Download the report The main goal of the Plan of Action is to protect Norwegian health, the environment and business against radioactive contamination and chemical weapons pollution from sources on Russian territory. Altogether 113 projects have been supported by the Plan of Action, and 343 mil NOK has been spent 1995-99. There is a high degree of correspondence between the official aims of the Government and the practical intentions spelled out in the Plan of Action. But a range of underlying dilemmas faces Norway in its nuclear safety co-operation with Russia. This relates to priorities between different goals, to the organisation of activities on the Norwegian side, and to contact patterns with Russian partners. The policy pursued thus far has attempted to face these dilemmas and to achieve a balance between the various Norwegian considerations.The report reviews the priorities made and the organisation of co-operation, particularly in two of the Plan's priority areas, management, storage and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; and radioactive pollution in northern areas. Six projects are reviewed in some detail. Several of the identified problems cannot be directly solved or adressed by Norwegian authorities. But the evaluators argue that there is a scope for improval in the way work under the Plan of Action is co-ordinated. The recommendations from the evaluators fall into four categories:1) Relations with Russia, 2) Development and implementation of projects, 3)Organisation on the Norwegian side, 4) Further evaluations. Moe, Arild and Anne-Kristin Jørgensen 'Offshore Mineral Development in the Russian Barents Sea' Post-Soviet Gegraphy and Economics, Vol 41, No 2, 2000, pp. 98-133. Starting with exploration activities which began during the Soviet period and have been extended to the present, the status of the major development projects and conflicting regional and central government interests involved in such development, is described and evaluated. Coverage includes the emergence of Rosshelf, an oil/gas conglomerate formed to facilitate defense conversion activities of major naval shipyards. Critical to analysis of the projects' potential is assessment of alternative gas supplies as well as energy development strategies. Vidas, Davor (ed) Implementing the Environmental Protection Regime for the Antarctic Springer, 2000, 446 p. > For more information and orders, contact Springer When the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty entered into force on 14 January 1998, a new phase commenced for the Antarctic Treaty System. Now several crucial implementation questions need to be solved in order to enhance and make possible the implementation of the Protocol. What would be the consequences for the parties of a possible failure to resolve these issues, on what premises can solutions be based, and what are the options? This book provides a systematic overview of the implementation issues in sections on jurisdiction, control and enforcement in the Antarctic (Part I), institutional support to the implementation of the Protocol (Part II), normative support to the implementation of the Protocol: an Antarctic liability regime (Part III), relationships with other international instruments and arrangements (Part IV), and issues, illustrated through case studies, involved in domestic implementation of the Protocol (Part V). Ragner, Claes Lykke (ed) The 21st Century - Turning Point for the Northern Sea Route? Springer, 2000, 307 p. > For more information and orders, contact Springer The Northern Sea Route (NSR) along the coast of Siberia has the potential of cutting sailing distances between Northwest Europe and Northeast Asia with as much as 50%. Furthermore, the route passes some of the world’s largest deposits of oil and gas. The route’s feasibility – in commercial, technological and environmental terms – has been the object of several years of research within the International Northern Sea Route Programme (INSROP) coordinated by the Fridtjof Nansens Institute. The results of this research was presented to the international shipping industry and other potential users and stakeholders at the Northern Sea Route User Conference in Oslo, November 1999. Furthermore, new Russian policies towards Northern Sea Route shipping were presented at the Conference by Russian transport authorities. The present volume contains the Conference Proceedings, where the question of international shipping on the NSR is discussed more comprehensively than ever – not only as a theoretical object of research, but also as a practical object of use as assessed from commercial, political and maritime viewpoints. Ragner, Claes Lykke 'The Northern Sea Route: Commercial Potential, Economic Significance, and Infrastructure Requirements' Post-Soviet Geography and Economics, Vol 41, No 8, 2000, pp. 541-580. This paper assesses the Northern Sea Route's commercial potential and economic importance, both as a transit route between Europe and Asia, and as an export route for oil, gas and other natural resources in the Russian Arctic. First, it makes a survey of past and present Northern Sea Route (NSR) cargo flows. Discussions follow of the route's commercial potential as a transit route, as well as of its economic importance and relevance for each of the Russian Arctic regions. These discussions are summarised by estimates of what types and volumes of NSR cargoes that can realistically be expected in the period 2000-2015. Then follows a survey of the status quo of the NSR infrastructure (ice-breakers, ice-class cargo vessels and ports), with estimates of its future capacity. Based on the estimated future NSR cargo potential, future NSR infrastructure requirements are calculated and compared with the estimated capacity in order to identify the main, future infrastructure bottlenecks for NSR operations. Hønneland, Geir and Anne-Kristin Jørgensen Integration vs. Autonomy: Civil-Military Relations on the Kola Peninsula Aldershot, Ashgate, 1999, 200p. >For more information and orders, contact Ashgate On the basis of leading theoretical work on civil-military relations, the authors elaborate their own model, emphasising the continuum between military autonomy (which has traditionally characterised the military sector in Russia) and integration with civil society (which one might expect would be the result of the political changes having taken place in Russia over the last decade). Three indicators of this relationship are selected: i) the participation of military personnel in civilian life, and in particular politics; ii) the status of closed cities; and iii) conversion of military industry to civilian production. These indicators are investigated at the federal level and at the regional level pertaining to Murmansk oblast (the Kola Peninsula), which is one of the most heavily militarised areas of the world. The study is based on extensive "on-the-spot" data gathering in Murmansk, including interviews with officers, redundant officers and inhabitants of the closed cities of the area. Hønneland, Geir and Anne-Kristin Jørgensen 'Closed Cities on the Kola Peninsula: From Autonomy to Integration?' Polar Geography, Vol 22, No 4, 1998, pp. 231-248. The article investigates the extent to which six closed cities in Murmansk oblast' - the region in Russia with the highest concentration of closed cities - are being integrated into the economic and social fabric of Russia, as measured by the strength of linkages between institutions and people inside and outside the closed cities, as well as the relationship between civilian and military authorities within these cities. Particular attention is devoted to an examination of similarities and differences among the six cities in terms of their basic economic activities, current situation, and ties with the outside world. Stokke, Olav Schram 'Nuclear Dumping in Arctic Seas: Russian Implementation of the London Convention' In Victor, D.G. et. al. (eds), The Implementation and Effectiveness of International Environmental Commitments: Theory and Practice. MIT Press, 1998, pp. 475-517. This article argues that the regime set up by the London Convention on dumpinghas helped reduce domestic access barriers in the Soviet Union and Russiato decisions on disposal of nuclear waste and promoted a step-wise broadening of actual participation of regulative agencies and societal intervenor groups.The consequences of these changes for the effectiveness of the international dumping regime have been measured along three dimensions: monitoring, regulation,and compliance stimulation, including enhancement of target-group capacityto avoid dumping. Top		More Polar and Russian politics publications on FNI's Polar and Russian politics page More publication summaries: Global governance and sustainable development Marine affairs and Law of the Sea Biodiversity and biosafety Polar and Russian politics European energy and environmental politics Chinese energy and environmental politics Free e-subscription to FNI's publications on polar and Russian affairs: Click here to register.
			Fridtjof Nansen Institute P.O. Box 326, 1326 Lysaker, Norway. Tel: (+47) 67111900 / E-mail: post (+@fni.no)