EU-Norge Grønn Allianse mellom visjon og virkelighet: potensialet og barrierene i de kritiske mineral- og batterisektorene

Norway, a key supplier of hydrocarbons and clean energy, can play a pivotal role in the EU's green transition by providing critical raw materials and batteries. However, political and regulatory obstacles must be addressed to realize this potential. Norway's alignment with the European Green Deal and its commitment to sustainability initiatives make this easier on the onset, but challenges remain. The EU's regulatory landscape, including the European Green Deal, Critical Raw Materials Act, and Battery Regulation, aims to create a sustainable and competitive battery industry. Norway's policies, such as the Green Industrial Initiative and the Mineral Strategy, align with these goals, focusing on efficient processes, circular economy, and sustainable industry development. The report presents case studies of three significant mining projects in Norway: Nussir (copper), Nordic Mining (rutile and garnet) and Skaland Graphite. All three projects highlight the complexities of domestic mining, including regulatory hurdles, environmental concerns, and opposition from local communities and indigenous groups. These case studies underscore the need for balanced approaches that consider both economic benefits and environmental protection.EU-Norway Green Alliance between vision and reality: Exploring the potential and barriers in the critical minerals and battery sectorsEU-Norge Grønn Allianse mellom visjon og virkelighet: potensialet og barrierene i de kritiske mineral- og batterisektorenepublishedVersio

Securing the Frontlines: Experimentalist Governance for Critical Maritime Infrastructure in the Black Sea and North Sea

The proliferation of hybrid threats challenges both national security and the institutional foundations of governance. Nowhere is this tension more acute than in the maritime domain,where critical infrastructure such as undersea cables, offshore energy platforms, and subsea pipelines have become both economic lifelines and geopolitical fault lines. These infrastructures are increasingly exposed to hybrid operations designed to exploit legal ambiguity, attribution challenges, and the seams between civil, military, and private actors. Traditional security governance models premised on clear jurisdictional boundaries, centralized command structures, and rigid doctrinal templates, struggle to account for weaponized ambiguity and threats operating below thresholds of open conflicts. As sub-threshold threats continue to evolve and be refined, they reveal deep structural limitations in existing institutional responses, including sectoral silos, information-sharing deficits, and accountability systems illsuited for dynamic crisis environments. This paper explores the need for more adaptive governance frameworks capable of managing the uncertainty, complexity, and cross-sectoral interdependence that define today’s hybrid threat landscape. Specifically, it examines how experimentalist governance (EG) offers a promising architecture for coordinating the defense of critical maritime infrastructure (CMI) in the face of hybrid aggression. The paper analyzes two distinct cases: Norway, with its mature institutional capacity, dense subsea infrastructure, and strong integration with NATO and EU partners; and Romania,situated at the Black Sea frontier, where emerging offshore energy projects intersect with a fluid and contested security environment.Securing the Frontlines: Experimentalist Governance for Critical Maritime Infrastructure in the Black Sea and North SeapublishedVersio

The EU should get serious about maritime security in the Middle East and the Gulf

To achieve its global maritime ambitions, the EU must strengthen its presence in the Middle East and the Gulf. The current geopolitical climate offers a chance to become a key maritime security provider and a reliable partner to actors in the region. Securing shipping lanes from the Mediterranean to the Gulf is crucial for the EU’s economy, its energy supply, and its geopolitical influence. This policy note argues that the EU should (1) overcome fragmentation in its maritime operations in the region; and (2) emphasize the distinct ‘European approach’ to maritime security.The EU should get serious about maritime security in the Middle East and the GulfpublishedVersio

Malian women's experiences with violent extremism. What is known and how is it known?

This chapter analyses knowledge production about Malian women’s experiences in the context of the global agenda on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE). Research increasingly asserts that global discourse about women’s roles in preventing violent extremism tends to represent women in highly gender-stereotypical and limited ways, and women’s lived experiences with violent extremism are often missing from these accounts. The chapter suggests that these limitations are related to whose voices are heard, and how knowledge is produced, and circulated. Starting from an understanding of the omissions and silences in the global episteme as forms of epistemic violence, the chapter discusses the ways in which knowledge about Malian women’s experiences challenges, expands and feeds into the P/CVE episteme (or not). The analysis is based on a combination of sources, including reports and published accounts, reports from international and Malian human rights NGOs and statements by Malian activists to the UN Security Council.Malian women's experiences with violent extremism. What is known and how is it known?publishedVersio

Explaining changes in women’s representation in peace processes: The adoption of a gender quota in the Agreement Monitoring Committee in Mali

Dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in peace processes have in recent years received increasing attention in research and among policymakers and practitioners. Much of this attention has focused on inclusion in peace negotiations, whereas inclusion in post-agreement commissions or committee-type institutions has received limited attention despite the key role they play in peacebuilding. This article offers an in-depth exploration and process tracing of the introduction of a gender quota in the Agreement Monitoring Committee in Mali. It argues that changes in women’s representation in post-agreement committees in peace processes become possible when critical actors perform their work in the context of international gender equality norms and women’s mobilization. Based on analysis of documents and interviews with key actors involved in the peace process, it finds that critical actors use political accumulation, collaboration with women’s activists, and altering of the institutional environment to effect gender-based policy changes in peace processes.Explaining changes in women’s representation in peace processes: The adoption of a gender quota in the Agreement Monitoring Committee in MalipublishedVersionacceptedVersio

Regional Organization, Global Governance and the EU

D2.3. Regional organizations, global governance, and the EUsThis project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Call HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01 – Grant agreement n°101061621publishedVersio

Tåler Russland å krige til Putin når sine mål?

Denne korte teksten drøfter forskjellige typer faktorer som kan påvirke Russland evne til å fortsette krigen i Ukraina. Fokuset er på opinionen i Russland og økonomiske begrensninger som kan påvirke regimets beslutning om å fortsette eller stoppe krigen.Tåler Russland å krige til Putin når sine mål?publishedVersio

Norway and Poland as members of transatlantic and European security community. Opportunities and challenges (2024).

This NorPolFactor report takes a closer look at the role of Norway and Poland in transatlantic and European security communities. As Europe redefines its security architecture amid shifting global dynamics, Poland and Norway face a dual imperative: reinforcing their role in the transatlantic alliance while adapting to the EU’s growing defense ambitions. Their paths diverge institutionally but converge strategically in facing shared threats and navigating uncertain transatlantic commitments. Both countries anchor their security outlooks in NATO, historically seen as the cornerstone of collective defense. For Norway, a founding member since 1949, NATO has always been the primary framework due to its proximity to Russia and traditional skepticism toward EU supranationalism. Poland, though joining later, regards NATO as a vital deterrent and symbol of its return to the Western democratic fold. Yet, both recognize that hard security cannot be fully ensured without stronger European capabilities—particularly as doubts grow over the U.S. commitment to Article 5, exacerbated by Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. The EU, long seen as an economic actor, is increasingly asserting itself in security and defense. While it lacks NATO’s military reach, the EU has become a relevant player through initiatives like the European Security Union and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It is not merely about tanks and troops—it’s about cybersecurity, disinformation, border resilience, and strategic industries. Poland, especially during its 2025 EU presidency, pushed for greater coherence between NATO and EU tools, framing security in a broader sense that also includes economic and technological dimensions. A key insight from the report is the asymmetry in institutional participation. Poland is deeply embedded in both NATO and the EU, and actively promotes stronger integration and autonomy. Norway, although outside the EU, has to navigate an increasingly complex balancing act: remain closely aligned with EU strategies without formal decision-making power. This underscores a growing divergence in how member and non-member states adapt to the EU’s evolving security ambitions, and highlights the necessity of flexible formats for cooperation, including bilateral partnerships and NATO-EU bridges. Equally notable is the shared anxiety regarding future U.S. engagement in Europe. The perceived unpredictability of U.S. foreign policy pushes both Warsaw and Oslo to consider scenarios where Europe must act more independently. While some EU member states still see “strategic autonomy” as either unrealistic or undesirable, Poland and Norway, albeit from different perspectives, acknowledge the urgent need to reduce vulnerability to American political shifts. Yet, they differ in tone: Poland advocates for a Europe strong in its own right but anchored in U.S. partnership; Norway tends to hedge more cautiously, prioritizing alliance unity while avoiding overt reliance on EU structures. Ultimately, the report suggests that the traditional binaries (EU vs NATO, transatlantic vs European) are increasingly obsolete. The current moment requires hybrid thinking and dual-track engagement. Norway and Poland, while institutionally distinct, both serve as critical nodes in Europe’s collective security effort. Their cooperation, both bilaterally and through regional formats, will be instrumental in adapting Europe’s security community to the 21st century’s layered threats. In an era of strategic uncertainty, coordination, not just commitment, will be the true test of resilience.Norway and Poland as members of transatlantic and European security community. Opportunities and challenges (2024).publishedVersio

Populism, Energy Transition, and International Politics

In recent years, populist political forces both in power and in opposition, have engaged with energy politics in various ways. This chapter discusses how populists influence the international politics of energy. The departure point is a reflection on the specific relationship between populist ideology and international energy politics, and especially the ways in which the key dichotomies of populism play out in this political domain. The chapter first defines populism and its core features, then present energy politics as an unusual and unique area of public policy, highlighting both its domestic and international dimension. It further emphasises the problem of energy transitions as examples of rapid social change, and their role as a fuel for populist contestation, before moving to the two illustrative case studies of the USA under Donald Trump, and of Poland under the Law and Justice party government.Populism, Energy Transition, and International PoliticsacceptedVersio

Trump II: A new trajectory in Russia relations for NATO Nordic states

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