Tag: war

Peace Research Institute Oslo: Historically high level of conflict in the world

Last year, the world experienced 61 armed conflicts, the highest number in over 70 years, according to a new report.

Could more than 2 million Palestinians really be forced out of Gaza?

"Parts of the Israeli government have an explicit goal of expelling the Palestinians," says a history professor.

Israeli soldiers: "They are the state's killing machines, but for the most part, they've managed to live with it"

How do Israeli soldiers manage to carry out their missions? Researcher Hanne Eggen Røislien has interviewed several of them. Her research has sparked reactions.

Trump’s logic of deal-making versus Putin’s logic of war-making

OPINION: As the Ukraine War approaches the grim mark of three years, it appears both ripe for an armistice and impossible to bring to an end.

Researchers: There are signs that the war is beginning to strain Russia's economy

The Russian population has seen significant economic improvements after the invasion of Ukraine. However, in Russia's 2025 state budget, researchers note signs that the war is beginning to take a toll on the economy.

Researcher: The Armed Forces need to take climate change seriously

The military's massive fossil fuel consumption contributes to pollution, says researcher.

What would happen if Ukraine falls?

If Russia wins the war in Ukraine, it will be because we chose to let it happen, a defence researcher believes.

This mass grave in Norway contained 19 men, each shot in the head and heart

“We shall die standing, boys!” Those were Arne Laudal’s last words just before the shots rang out.

People kept quiet about the war: Talking too much about traumatic events also has a downside

Sailors, torture victims, and war veterans often did not talk about their experiences from World War II. Researchers explain that they had their reasons.

Middle East expert believes she knows why Israel is so open about its secrets

Hilde Henriksen Waage is not aware of any other country in the world that reveals so much negative and horrific information about itself. She thinks she has figured out why Israel does it.

What happens to young children who become malnourished?

If a child becomes acutely malnourished during the first thousand days of their life, they can fully recover. But only if the child receives proper treatment, according to a professor.

The unknown story of the liberation of Norway: The Germans first surrendered to a group of journalists

A motley assembly of war correspondents and photographers tricked the German commander and were welcomed as heroes in Norway's capital Oslo.

Leif and Anette Marie were the first to lose their lives in the World War II in Norway

His story is well documented. Her story is forgotten.

Why is it so difficult to determine whether Israel is committing genocide?

For someone to be convicted, genocide must be the only possible explanation for what they have done. How do they figure that out? And what about Hamas, can they be convicted of the same?

The refugee camps that lie in ruins have been the homes of Palestinians for four generations. Will they be rebuilt?

“It’s in the refugee camps that militant groups often emerge,” a researcher says.

Professor: The UN International Court of Justice may soon demand Israel to halt military operations

South Africa has brought Israel before the UN Court with accusations of genocide. The proceedings might be prolonged – but Israel could face immediate pressure.

This little doll allows Russians to silently express their resistance to the war

People place little dolls with anti-war messages in squares in big Russian cities. The Russian war resistance lives on, researchers say.

“The Israeli war on terror is as unsuccessful as the US war that followed 9/11”

“Do the Israelis believe peace is what will rise from the ashes in Gaza?” researcher Dag Tuastad asks.

The extent of manipulated news, images, and videos is greater than ever, according to analysts

Fake news and videos make us trust real news less, according to a new study. “This is clearly a concern,” researcher says.

Many Norwegians have changed their views on the EU after the Ukraine war

“We found significant changes in 2022. These changes persist in 2023,” a researcher says.

Hitler was likely tricked into building 300 coastal forts and stationing more than 100 000 of his soldiers in Norway

Nazi Germany used enormous resources to defend itself against a possible allied invasion — which Adolf Hitler was convinced would first happen in Norway.

This Norwegian-Swedish cannon could be one of the oldest in Europe

The cannon was loaded and ready for battle when it ended up at the bottom of the sea 600 years ago off what was an important medieval Norwegian city.

The unknown wartime merchant seamen: Michael, a Briton, was 14 when he was killed on a Norwegian ship

30,000 foreign merchant seamen worked for Norway during the Second World War.

Norwegian Musketeers had to learn 43 moves to fire one shot

Young boys with imprecise weapons received training based on science and a French manual.

Even a limited nuclear war could cause billions to die of starvation

Soot in the atmosphere will cool the climate dramatically. The resulting failure in food production and trade will cause many people to starve, researchers say.

Ukraine war: The world will never be the same, says professor

Many people are quietly hoping that things will get back to normal, once Russia's war in Ukraine ends. It won't, says professor Janne Haaland Matlary.

War causes high inflation, a pandemic does the opposite

Pandemics and wars affect the economy in very different ways, researchers find. If not for the war in Ukraine, the pandemic could have resulted in many years with little or no price increases.

Experts warn against war fatigue in the West

Ukraine's planned spring offensive is a significant risk both militarily and politically, according to experts. They warn that support from the West may dry up.

The war in Ukraine has undermined environmental and climate research in the Arctic

The sanctions against Russia are putting the brakes on Arctic research. The lack of cooperation with the Russians means that a lot of information is being lost, says the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Researchers fear the US will not help Europe as they have in the past if a new war hits the continent

The US has so far accounted for 90 per cent of arms aid to Ukraine. Going forward, Europeans must prepare to manage without so much help from the USA, researchers say.

A mystery solved: Who killed the Swedish king Charles XII?

For centuries experts have debated who killed the Swedish King Charles XII. A new Finnish study in which the researchers shot at artificial skulls completely refutes the idea that he was killed by his own war-weary soldiers.

Negotiations over Ukraine at this moment will probably lead to more war in the long term, says law expert

Russia will never let go of the Crimean peninsula, as has been demanded by Ukraine as part of a negotiated peace, experts believe. Given this, there is a great deal of disagreement over whether negotiations should still take place.

Researcher accused of running Putin’s errands when the war broke out: "I have never before experienced such difficult times”

When Russia went to war against Ukraine in February, the war also crept into research circles.

Norwegian academics must be more vigilant against espionage, says intelligence expert

Universities need to improve their background checks on visiting researchers in Norway.

Should Norway give away the billions of dollars made in profits from the war in Ukraine?

Never before has Norway made as much money from gas and oil exports as now.

Man suspected of being a Russian spy in Norway participated in training to find weaknesses in the handling of hybrid threats

One of the scenarios discussed during a conference he participated in was sabotage of gas pipes, writes Norwegian newspaper VG.

Man suspected of being a Russian spy arrested in Northern Norway

A Brazilian citizen was arrested this Monday on his way to work at the University of Tromsø in Northern Norway. The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) suspect that he is Russian and is in Norway using a false identity.

Six decades after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the use of nuclear weapons is again part of the war game

The world has never been closer to nuclear war than when Soviet missiles were installed on Cuba in 1962. Putin is now deliberately unclear about the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

What’s the truth about the Communist resistance in Norway during the second world war?

Few topics are as controversial in the history of WWII in Norway as the Communist sabotage actions and conflicts with the Norwegian Resistance. Recently, the foremost historians in the field met for a debate.

Military expert: Norwegian pipelines may already be exposed to sabotage

The government is dragging its feet in securing critical infrastructure, according to military expert Tor Ivar Strømmen. He thinks there could already be explosive charges on Norwegian pipelines.

“Putin can lose all of Ukraine but present it as a victory”

Ukraine's offensive is a headache for Vladimir Putin's army, which is now openly criticised on TV. The invading army can crumble, expert says. What will Putin do then?

Why don't more people become angry and violent?

Many people in the world have a thousand reasons to be angry. Nevertheless, only a small minority actively embraces radical, violent ideas, says researcher Morten Bøås.

Ukraine: How can we protect animals when we can’t even protect humans?

OPINION: Ukraine may be a game changer for pets and animal protection rules, and for how we understand pets as a humanitarian protection problem.

Ukrainian women engage in resistance and should be in the peace talks

OPINION: Despite both women’s agency and victimization in Ukraine, they have not been included in peace talks so far. A recent survey finds that Ukrainians believe they should be.

War in Ukraine could last for months

OPINION: The war in and over Ukraine has already lasted nearly two months. There is little reason to assume that it will be over anytime soon.

“Western equipment has changed the war, but we should have given much more,” says researcher

Like most other countries, Norway is sending equipment which is relatively old, yet still works.

Are Russians more macho?

OPINION: Is it Russian propaganda alone that provides the basis for support for the war in Ukraine, or is there a need for dominance in the Russian people's soul?

Can Ukraine be divided into two?

"Top military leaders must now carefully prepare Putin to accept a variety of different possible outcomes," says reseacher Pavel Baev.

What is a hypersonic weapon?

They move very, very fast, but that's not the most important thing about these weapons.

Ukrainian sociologist fled to Oslo: "Its really hard for me to be here, even though I'm safe"

She managed to cross the border from Ukraine to Poland by foot. Now sociologist Oleksandra Deineko works as a guest researcher at OsloMet.

Fewer than 1 per cent of Ukrainians believe Russia will win the war

Ukrainian and Norwegian sociologists have asked 3 000 Ukrainians about their lives during the war. They found surprisingly little psychological damage. Researchers link this finding to the people’s strong will to resist.

Survey from besieged Ukraine:Will Russian terror deter or motivate Ukrainian resistance?

OPINION: The Russian forces have turned to terrorizing ordinary citizens, hoping that Ukrainians will lay down their arms. It may have the opposite effect.

Putin may fall

OPINION: We can be pretty sure that the likelihood of both a coup and a revolution in Russia is significantly higher today than it was a couple of months ago.

Supporters of Ukraine may decide to restrict supplies of arms that Ukraine wants

OPINION: Compared to direct deployment of military forces, arms supplies are often seen as relatively uncomplicated and low cost means to assist a friendly or allied state. That's not always the case, argues Nic Marsh.

What motivates soldiers to fight?

There is reason to doubt that Russia’s military leaders could have made a more accurate estimate of the Ukrainians’ resilience and battle morale. The only way to assess an enemy’s willingness to fight is to actually engage in combat.

What do ordinary Russians know about the invasion of Ukraine?

Vladimir Putin is fighting to maintain control of what his citizens know. “It’s easy to understand why the Russian authorities fear independent news channels,” researcher says.

Will Taiwan be the next Ukraine?

OPINION: A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be more likely to ignite World War III than the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Why does Poland welcome Ukrainian refugees but not others?

OPINION: More than a million people have fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine through the country’s borders to neighbours in Central and Eastern Europe. In a context of war in Europe, and the human suffering it brings,here are some rough reflections on mobility and inequality, but also solidarity.

The Russia-Ukraine war is stuck. Putin may resort to desperate manoeuvres

OPINION: Wars rarely go according to plans. This one, however, never had a chance to register a success.

Invasion of Ukraine: “A lot of historical parallels to Hitler-Germany in the 1930s”, says Norwegian professor

“Putin is behaving like a Tsar and using rhetoric to justify an illegal war against Ukraine”, says professor Janne Haaland Matlary from the University of Oslo.

Russia has become a classic dictatorship

Vladimir Putin has ended up in the same situation as many dictators before him. He is surrounded by fewer and fewer advisers, those that are left tell Putin what they think he wants to hear, believes Norwegian researcher.

People who experienced war want reconciliation – but their children remain bitter

When the past is difficult, politicians use it to advance their cause. Now researchers have found that people who have not experienced a conflict are more bitter than those who have gone through it.

Putin and the West have different morals. Does that lie at the root of the conflict?

Putin is concerned with honour. The West is concerned with dignity.

From the Nobel Peace Prize to the front lines: Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed named worst head of state in the world

In competition with among others Jair Bolsonaro and Boris Johnson, Abiy Ahmed has been named the worst head of state in 2021 by a panel of professors and researchers, on behalf of the Norwegian newspaper Morgenbladet.

UN Lebanon-mission in 1978: Norway wanted to support the UN and the US – sent troops off in a hurry without really understanding the consequences

Historians have now gone through classified documents to understand what really happened behind the scenes when Norway almost immediately agreed to participate in the UN force. Former UNIFIL soldier Harald Stanghelle is sceptical of some of the researchers' analyses.

Militant political Islam wins, peaceful political Islam loses – Is that the lesson we want to teach the world?

Whilst the world closely watched the debacle in Afghanistan, equally important events in Tunisia fell under the radar. Ironically, the dissolution of the Tunisian parliament enhances the lessons that jihadists might draw from Afghanistan. The combined lessons from events in Tunisia and Afghanistan send a signal that will come back to haunt the West.

An effective ban on foreign fighting? Wider implications of the Czech policy towards foreign (terrorist) fighters

“Foreign terrorist fighters” (FTFs) are commonly understood as being synonymous with jihadists. But what if we were to be faced with a foreign terrorist fighter, who is not a jihadi and is hardly ideologically motivated at all? C-REX Postdoctoral Fellow Kacper Rekawek discusses the recent conviction of three Czech foreign fighters involved in the conflict in Ukraine, who fall into that category. Their cases differ substantially from their jihadi counterparts and offer a fascinating insight into how different Western states approach the issue of their citizens or inhabitants deploying to foreign wars.

Afghanistan crisis: Is cooperation with the Taliban a recipe for disaster or a new way forward?

OPINION: Whilst we wait for the Taliban to meet international human rights standards, it would be wrong to withhold humanitarian assistance as the harsh winter draws in. Humanitarian action will build confidence on both sides whilst providing critical aid.