- Research Professor+47 99242512
The GEOPOL Centre will strengthen knowledge about international power relations and the positions of the major powers, and how this affects Norway's interests and politics.
The world is in a period of sharp intensification of political and economic rivalry. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is an expression of this, but political and economic tensions between the US and China have also increased. The rivalry now takes place under different conditions than in previous historical periods. There is a different distribution of power and geographical focal points, intertwined global investments and trade relations, several institutional players and rapid technological changes.
The rivalry will have a strong impact on Norway. Therefore, we must prepare foreign policy responses and strategies based on new forms of geopolitical analysis.
The Centre will investigate the key drivers and content of intensifying relations between great powers, and the consequences for international order and for Norway. GEOPOL will research structural features of great power rivalry with analyses both of domestic factors, regional-level differences, as well as variation across issue-areas The project will have a particular focus on issues of relevance for Norway.
The Centre is led by The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and is a partnership with the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, UiT -The Arctic University of Norway and the University of Oslo. Together, the Centre combines country-specific expertise on USA, China, the EU and Russia, regional expertise on the Arctic, Asia, Africa, Europe and America, and expertise on key themes such as security, multilateralism, growth and innovation, and energy and sustainability.
FNI leads the work on geopolitical rivalry related to sustainability, with a focus on Chinese climate and energy policies, and Arctic Geopolitics. Topics include domestic drivers of energy policies, energy security, critical materials, the role of the Arctic in Sino-American rivalry and in Sino-Russian relations, as well as China’s and India’s policies/interests in the Arctic and their role in Arctic regional governance mechanisms. In this work, we assess the content of geopolitical rivalry related to sustainability and the Arctic, including the extent to which Chinese energy policies reflect such rivalry, and how other great powers may respond, and its possible manifestations within global environmental governance. We analyze the drivers of shifts within these policy areas. We further outline the consequences political rivalry may have on these issue-areas, and its impact on Norway.
Project period: 2023 - 2029
FNI PROJECT LEADER
FNI PARTICIPANTS
- Senior Researcher+47 47330349
- Research Professor+47 92696167
- PhD Research Fellow+47 92518517
- Senior Researcher+47 93419569 / 47476821
- Director+47 67111900
- Research Professor Emeritus+47 97073042
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) (Coordinator)
- The Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS)
- University of Oslo
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway
- Research Council of Norway
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES AND CHAPTERS
-
In Paul Midford, Jennifer Bailey, Katja Levy and Espen Moe (eds), Navigating East Asian Maritime Conflicts: Technological Change, Environmental Challenges, Global and Regional Responses. Palgrave Macmillan, 2024, pp. 127-150
-
Marine Policy, Vol 167, available online 15.06.2024, 13 p.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
-
Internasjonal Politikk, Vol 82, No 3/4, 2024, pp. 288–304. In Norwegian.
-
Aftenposten, January 8, 2025. In Norwegian.
-
Arctic Today, August 30, 2024.
-
Dagens Næringsliv, July 1, 2024. In Norwegian.
-
The Arctic Institute, June 25, 2024.
-
Aftenposten Innsikt, 4 / april 2024.
-
The Hindu, April 16, 2024.
-
South China Morning Post, February 5, 2024.
-
NRK Ytring, February 1, 2024. In Norwegian.
-
Panorama Nyheter, December 17, 2023. In Norwegian.
RELATED RESEARCH AREA(S)
IN MEDIA
-
USA: – Gått fra å være partner til problem (USA: from partner to problem)
VG, January 9, 2025. In Norwegian.
-
Trump vil overta Grønland
NRK Nyhetsmorgen (TV/radio), January 8, 2025.
-
Trump vil overta Grønland (Trump’s Greenland Grab)
NRK Nyhetsmorgen (TV/radio), January 8, 2025. In Norwegian.
-
Norway’s Security vis-à-vis Russia | Eastern Expres
TVP World, November 12, 2024.
-
Norge og USA etter valget (Norway and the US after the Election)
NRK Helgemorgen (TV/Radio), November 9, 2024. In Norwegian.
-
Forsker om kinesisk markering på Svalbard (Researcher on Chinese Presence at Svalbard)
NRK Troms (Radio), November 8, 2024. In Norwegian.
-
Kartlegger havnenes betydning for nasjonal sikkerhet: – Havna er vår livslinje (Norwegian government assesses port security)
NRK Troms og Finnmark, October 3, 2024. In Norwegian.
-
China’s Coast Guard claims to have entered the Arctic Ocean for the first time as it ramps up security ties with Russia
CNN, October 3, 2024.
-
Så vill Ryssland och Kina väcka spökstad till liv – på Natomark (Russia and China to revive ghost town on NATO soil)
Dagens Nyheter, September 29, 2024. In Swedish.
-
Regjeringen bruker sikkerhetsloven mot Kirkenes havn: – Ikke et sekund for tidlig (Government invokes security law against Kirkenes port)
NRK Troms og Finnmark, September 20, 2024. In Norwegian.
-
Forsvarsministeren i Asia (The Minister of Defense visits Asia)
NRK Helgemorgen (TV/radio), September 1, 2024. In Norwegian.
-
Spotlight on Svalbard: Realities and myths in a microcosm of Arctic geopolitics
Polar Geopolitics (podcast). August 30, 2024.
-
Myths of Svalbard Geopolitics Debunked by Researcher
High North News, August 1, 2024.
-
The ghosts of the Arctic are stirring back to life
ABC News, July 24, 2024.
-
Stanser gigantsalg på Svalbard: – Nærmest skamløs promotering (Halts Giant Sale at Svalbard)
TV2, July 1, 2024. In Norwegian.
-
Understanding Xi Jinping’s China: Power Competition and Geopolitical Dynamics in Contemporary International Relations
The World Stage, NUPI (podcast), June 24, 2024.
-
Frontlinjestaten (The Frontline State)
Weekendavisen, April 19, 2024. In Danish.
-
Kinas interesser i Kirkenes (China's interests in the Arctic)
NRK Helgemorgen (TV/radio), April 14, 2024.
-
India kan bli en polar partner (India can become polar partner)
Svalbardposten, March 19, 2024. In Norwegian.