Utvalgt bibliografi Kjetil Selvik 1973-2024

publishedVersionMinneord av Kari Osland s. 2

Stuxnet, revisited (again): Producing the strategic relevance of cyber operations

More than a decade after Stuxnet hit the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Iran, it is still discussed as the most vivid example of a cyber operation causing kinetic damage to infrastructure with implications for national security. This article shows that Stuxnet is due a revisit by arguing that the operation represents a paradigmatic shift in perceptions that continue to produce the meaning of ‘strategic relevance’ for cyber operations. The exceptional story of Operation Olympic Games and the Stuxnet malware has underpinned the way contemporary understandings of the (potential) role of cyber operations in international conflict prevail. Through a critical review of academic and policy discourse largely driven by orthodox perspectives on strategic security, the article demonstrates how these perspectives continue to influence American and Western policy objectives based on the imagined utility of cyber operations as an instrument of power. When exploring the strategic relevance of cyber operations as historically and politically produced, tied up in discursive and material interactions, it allows for scholars across the spectrum of security studies to critically consider the emergence of ‘new’ security threats and strategic capabilities.Stuxnet, revisited (again): Producing the strategic relevance of cyber operationsStuxnet, revisited (again): Producing the strategic relevance of cyber operationspublishedVersionpublishedVersio

Peace and security ad hoc coalitions: engagement of the Global South and the Global North

The Global South has become progressively involved in the governance of peace and security within the United Nations (UN) and regional organisations. At the same time, these established international organisations (IOs) have faced challenges in addressing conflicts swiftly. States have increasingly relied on more informal arrangements in an increasingly denser global governance landscape. In the peace and security area, more states are using ad hoc coalitions (AHCs) as an alternative to responding to crises collectively and quickly. While much is known about the Global South’s engagement in formal peace and security mechanisms, knowledge about their involvement in the increasingly relevant informal arrangements is still scarce. This article systematically compares the patterns of engagement of the Global North and Global South in AHCs. Theoretically, it builds on the literature on UN peace operations and military interventions to propose a multilevel framework for this comparison. Empirically, it draws on an novel dataset to analyse similarities and differences among the two groups of states when contributing to AHCs in terms of their own attributes, the characteristics of the states and crises to which they contribute, and their relations with these target countries.Peace and security ad hoc coalitions: engagement of the Global South and the Global NorthpublishedVersio

Makrellens utfordringer: fra regulering og soneadgang til kvalitet og handelshindringer

Dette prosjektet har sett på et knippe utfordringer for makrellnæringen de siste årene, og sammenhengen mellom noen av dem. Siden 2009 har det ikke vært en fungerende kyststatsavtale om fordelingen av makrellen i NordAtlanteren. Flere stater har gjort krav på makrellen, og det har vist seg vanskelig å få forpliktende avtaler, med overfiske og synkende norsk andel som resultat. Norske fartøy fisket i enkelte år før Brexit mye (inntil 85 %) i EUsonen. Etter Brexit hadde man to år uten adgang til britisk sone, så to år med adgang til å fiske 60 % i britisk sone. Med dårligere soneadgang har den norske flåten fått økte fangstkostnader og lavere fangst av makrell i den perioden kvaliteten er på sitt beste. Norge har også dårligere markedsadgang til Japan enn det EU og Storbritannia har. På tross av utfordringene har både norsk flåte og norsk industri gjort det godt de siste årene. Dette prosjektet har undersøkt utfordringer for makrellnæringen de siste årene og sammenhengen mellom dem. Siden 2009 har det ikke vært en fungerende kyststatsavtale for makrellfordeling, noe som har ført til overfiske og en synkende norsk andel. Norske fartøy har måttet fiske mer i EU-sonen, og etter Brexit har adgangen til britisk sone variert. Norge har også fått dårligere markedsadgang til Japan sammenlignet med EU og Storbritannia. Fangstene i Smutthavet har økt etter 2014, og norske fiskere har opplevd lavere kvalitet på fangsten. Tollavgifter i Japan har også svekket Norges konkurranseposisjon. Som følge av disse forholdene har Norge tapt markedsandeler, og britisk makrell har økt sin andel betydelig. Økonomisk usikkerhet har vært stor, men til tross for dette har den norske flåten hatt gode resultater de siste årene. Pelagisk konsumindustri har også hatt historisk høye marginer de siste årene. Uenigheten med EU om kvotefordeling kan føre til større innsats for å påvirke fremtidige forhandlingerMakrellens utfordringer: fra regulering og soneadgang til kvalitet og handelshindringerpublishedVersio

REPORT – 2 / 2025: The IDP situation in Borno State, Nigeria – returning to uncertainty?

Nigeria is faced with a protracted displacement crisis caused by jihadist insurgencies, banditry and natural disasters. This crisis is particularly manifest in the north-east, where for more than 12 years over 2 million people have been forced to move in to, out of and between internally displaced person (IDP) camps and informal settlements. Some have tried to return home or resettle to another community, only to have to move again. All suffer from limited access to essential services such as healthcare and education, and deficiencies in food security and adequate shelter (INGOFORUM 2023/2024; Mercy Corps 2023b). Moreover, the young age of the IDP population (UNHCR 2021) means many camp residents have few, if any, memories of their lives prior to leaving their homes of origin. The state of Borno is one of the most affected in Nigeria. Here, about 900,000 people continue to live in about 65 formal and 158 informal camps (Baba-Ibrahim 2024). In 2021, Borno State Governor Prof Babagana Umara Zulum began the process of closing the camps and returning IDPs to their homes of origin (Human Rights Watch 2022). While more than 100,000 people have already moved out of the camps (Human Rights Watch 2022), uncertain remains as to what the majority of IDPs will do once the camps are closed. This report aims to fill this knowledge gap by presenting a foresight study that, coupled with analysis of previous studies, draws on ethnographic data and field observations collected among IDP populations around Maiduguri in October 2024. The foresight analysis framework (Wiebe et al. 2018) used relies on three inter-related factors: 1) the weight of history; 2) the contradictions of the present; and 3) the pull of the future. While this method cannot offer statistical representativity, it does allow for indicative scenarios encompassing known (albeit uncertain) risks and probable futures. These scenarios are not only valuable for policy planning, but constitute important pilot data for larger, more systematic studies going forward.REPORT – 2 / 2025: The IDP situation in Borno State, Nigeria – returning to uncertainty?publishedVersio

Care, Control and Calories: A Genealogy of Measuring International Undernutrition

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Integrating ad hoc Coalitions in International Conflict Management

International conflict management is undergoing profound transformation.3 Since 2014, traditional UN peace operations have declined, while the demand for swift crisis responses has increased dramatically. With the UN, AU, and EU often slow to act, ad hoc coalitions—flexible, temporary arrangements among like-minded states—have gained traction as a tool for rapid deployment in conflict zones. This shift to what we call conflict management à la carte reflects both opportunities and risks. While ad hoc coalitions offer speed and flexibility, they also raise concerns about legitimacy, accountability, and the erosion of institutional memory. Integrating these coalitions with established UN and regional mechanisms is critical for maintaining effective and legitimate conflict management.Integrating ad hoc Coalitions in International Conflict ManagementpublishedVersio

The World According to Military Targeting

A revealing account of the prevalence—and alarming ubiquity—of military targeting, and how it has become a self-propelling worldview driven by dominance, violence, and power. The World According to Military Targeting engages directly with our grave world condition, asking how we ended up in a “closed world” made for military targeting by military targeting. In this book, Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud explores how the operational logics and seductive forces of targeting produce a world in which the only ways to think about politics and security is through military supremacy, endless war, and global domination, with serious implications for social and political life. Offering a critical investigation of military targeting through the lenses of its historical formation, current operations, and future implications, the author presents an innovative investigation into targeting’s radical knowledge production, how it abstracts and brings into being new worlds, and the violence and destructive effects it generates. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the book draws attention to military doctrine and methodologies; statistical thought and practice; the mathematical and computational techniques of data production, processing, and modeling; and the so-called machine-learning algorithms and AI of today. The resulting narrative provides novel insights into how imagining the world, producing the world, and operationalizing the world are always wrapped up in each other and profoundly embedded in sociotechnical systems.The World According to Military TargetingpublishedVersio

Status symbols in world politics

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Global militær integrasjon i Indo-Stillehavet

Kinas militære opprusting, mer provoserende adferd mot nabostater, og økende grad av samarbeid med Russland, Nord-Korea og Iran har vært katalysatorer for tettere militær integrasjon mellom stater i flere verdensdeler som alle har en felles interesse av å balansere Kina. Den sikkerhetspolitiske dialogen og det militære samarbeidet i Indo-Stillehavet foregår ikke innenfor rammen av en internasjonal organisasjon eller allianse, men i all hovedsak mellom stater i både Asia, Stillehavet, Nord-Amerika, Sør-Amerika og Europa. Nasjonalstatene har inngått et stort antall bilaterale, trilaterale og multilaterale avtaler som har resultert i fremveksten av et omfattende og komplisert sikkerhetsnettverk i Indo-Stillehavet. Samvirket på tvers av landegrensene skjer i hovedsak i rammen av en rekke flernasjonale militære øvelser i Indo-Stillehavet. I tillegg er det et samarbeid innen forsvarsindustrien. Forsvarssamarbeidet resulterer i en stadig økende grad av integrasjon og interoperabilitet, som igjen legger forholdene til rette for å kunne etablere militære ad hoc koalisjoner ved behov.publishedVersio