The state is often seen to be undermined by the forces of globalization. The power to shape and manage governance efforts has diffused from the state to transnational policy networks where the state plays a strategically important rather than a necessarily dominant role. Still, we have few indications that the state is in decline or has become powerless in the face of global challenges. Rather, how the state governs and interacts with different types of actors at the national and global level has changed, with more emphasis on indirect governance such as soft law, global best practices, and the delegation of governance tasks to non-state actors.
NUPI's Centre for Global Governance is a strategic research initiative aimed at analyzing these trends and assessing its implications for the power and governance strategies of the state in general and for the Norwegian state in particular. The Centre will serve as a hub for research across NUPI’s research departments, and will address four inter-related questions:
- What are the dominant forms of global governance?
- How is the authority to govern institutionalized and how does it change over time?
- What is the power and authority of the state relative to non-state actors in different networks of global governance?
- How can global governance be improved and made more effective and legitimate?
Current research [More]
Health and Foreign policy
The project aims to explore the mutual interrelatedness between health and foreign policy. More
Armed Violence in Urban Settings: New Challenges, New Humanitarianisms
Cultural Dialogue in International Security
The project looks at the conditions for and role of dialogue by focusing on how a select number of states have defined and responded to a series of crises. Studying the behaviour of states during times of crisis offers a good vantage point from which to gauge states’ interests and behaviour and by implication the conditions for, and role of, dialogue. More
Completed projects [More]
Publications
- Neumann, Iver B. (2013). Diplomatic Sites. New York, Columbia University Press. 176 pages. In this book Iver B. Neumann investigates diplomatic sites - from the dinner table to sites of conflict mediation and peace facilitation, via representations of diplomacy in popular culture.
- Sending, Ole Jacob, Andreas Stensland
(2013). Unpacking the “Culture of Protection”: A Political Economy Analysis of UN Protection of Civilians ,
in Benjamin de Carvalho and Ole Jacob Sending (eds.) The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping: Concept, Implementation and Practice.
.Baden-Baden,Nomos.p. 63-88.The chapter demonstrates how different institutional actors – such as OHCA, ICRC, and OHCHR – all advance different interpretations of “protection” in order to further their respective institutional interests. Because the term “protection” is a vehicle to advance different, even conflicting, institutional interests it is unlikely that there will be greater conceptual clarity in the foreseeable future. [url] - de Carvalho, Benjamin , Ole Jacob Sending
(2013). Introduction: A Concern with Protection,
in Benjamin de Carvalho and Ole Jacob Sending (eds.) The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping: Concept, Implementation and Practice.
.Baden-Baden,Nomos.p. 17-23.The authors argue that we have witnessed the emergence of a new discourse on the protection of civilians over the past decade. Grounded in the practice of peacekeeping in UN missions, this discourse and evolving norms has sought to distance itself from the rather rigid understanding of protection of civilians as understood in International Humanitarian Law, focusing instead on practical challenges on the ground. [url] - de Carvalho, Benjamin , Ole Jacob Sending [ed.] (2013). The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping: Concept, Implementation and Practice. Baden-Baden, Nomos. 206 pages. This edited volume explores the Protection of Civilians (PoC) and offers comparisons and in-depth studies of protection mandates in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa. The book seeks to show that however PoC is defined at headquarters level, successful implementation must rest on an understanding of the limits and challenges encountered in mission, on the ground.
- Neumann, Iver B.
(2013). Den religiøse stemme som taler sannhet til makten,
i Oddbjørn Leirvik, Kjetil Fretheim og Beate Fagerli (red.) Sannhetens øyeblikk
.Oslo,Akademika Forlag.p. 189-199. [url] - Neumann, Iver B., Nicholas Kiersey [ed.] (2013). Battlestar Galactica and International Relations. London, Routledge. 226 pages. Looking at a television franchise like Battlestar Galactica (BSG) is no longer news within the discipline of International Relations. A growing number of scholars in and out of IR are studying the importance of cultural artifacts – popular or otherwise – for the phenomena that make up the core of our discipline.
- Leira, Halvard , Iver B. Neumann
(2013). Dyrisk diplomati,
i Internasjonal Politikk 71 (1)
.Oslo,Universitetsforlaget.p. 98-108.Denne artikkelen er en del av dette nummerets forkusspalte og viser hvordan dyr, både konkret og symbolsk, har fungert i diplomatiet. [url] - Neumann, Iver B., Stefano Guzzini [ed.] (2012). The Diffusion of Power in Global Governance. Hampshire, England, Palgrave Macmillan. 276 pages. The study of global governance has often led separate lives within the respective camps of International Political Economy and Foucauldian Studies. Despite vast differences in these approaches, Guzzini and Neumann's study recognises that ongoing changes in global governance go far beyond a proliferation of steering techniques and has a systems-changing potential.
- Neumann, Iver B.
(2012). Fred og forsoning som norsk utenrikspolitikk,
i Internasjonal Politikk Årgang 70 nr. 3.
.Oslo,Universitetsforlaget.p. 362-371.Artikkelen undersøker hvordan fred- og forsoningspolitikk kan påvirke handlingsrommet for norsk utenrikspolitikk. [url] - Rieker, Pernille , Ole Jacob Sending [ed.] (2012). Inter-cultural dialogue in international crises. Oslo, NUPI. 103 pages. The aim of this report is to study the role of dialogue as a tool to prevent, manage, and resolve international conflicts, illustrated by three cases that differ in terms of type of conflict, duration and outcome.
- Leira, Halvard , Iver B. Neumann
(2012). Consular Diplomacy,
in Pauline Kerr & Geoffrey Wiseman (eds.): Diplomacy in a Globalizing World.
.Oxford,Oxford University Press.p. 160-174.In this chapter, Leira and Neumann give a brief presentation of the history of colsuls and the consul system, and relate it to diplomacy today and in the past. They find that in the past, consular tasks were often not linked to diplomacy, and that consular tasks have been given priority in times when the international system is perceived to be changing. The consul system is both more agile and less tied to the idea of imposing sovereignty than diplomacy, they argue. [url] - Eriksen, Stein Sundstøl, Sverre Lodgaard, Arne Melchior, Karl Rich, Elana Wilson Rowe, Ole Jacob Sending (2012). BRICS, Energy and the New World Order . Oslo, NUPI. 39 pages. In this report, NUPI researches examines various aspects of the issue BRICS and global energy.
- Neumann, Iver B.
(2012). Euro-Centric Diplomacy: Challenging but Manageable,
in European Journal of International Relations 18 (2).
.Sage Journals.p. 299-321.Neumann suggests a layered conceptualization of diplomacy as consisting of myths, sociabilities and practices which allows us to open the question of diplomacy’s Euro-centrism to empirical scrutiny. [url] - Neumann, Iver B.
(2012). Preface ,
to Andreas Behnke: NATO’s Security Discourse after the Cold War
.London,Routledge.p. iix-ix. [url] - Eggen, Øyvind , Ole Jacob Sending (2012). Recent contributions to research on health and foreign policy . Oslo, NUPI. 36 pages. The report reviews recent research literature on the interrelations between health, on the one hand, and foreign policy/ diplomacy and global governance, on the other. It discusses how the literature responds to different challenges involved, and concludes by pointing at some shortcomings to be addressed in future research.
- Andersen, Morten Skumsrud
(2012). Legitimacy in State-Building,
in International Political Sociology Volume 6, Issue 2.
In this article, which focuses on different concepts of state-building and legitimacy as used in the mainstream International Relations (IR) literature, Andersen suggests that recent debates may be categorized in a two-by-two matrix. The axes concern the choice between a normative or a sociological perspective on the one hand, and a focus on state institutions or on society on the other.
The article identifies an empiricist-sociological approach. Still, the almost exclusive reliance on an ontology of entities and their attributes hampers foci on relations as constituting both “insides” and “outsides” in state-building, and on legitimacy as important in its own right as ongoing public contestations. In a concluding section, Andersen explores the purchase of a relational sociology for future studies of legitimacy in state-building.
.International Studies Association .p. 205–219.In this article, which focuses on different concepts of state-building and legitimacy as used in the mainstream International Relations (IR) literature, Andersen suggests that recent debates may be categorized in a two-by-two matrix. [url] - Andersen, Morten Skumsrud, Iver B. Neumann
(2012). Practices as Models: A Methodology with an Illustration Concerning Wampum Diplomacy,
in Millennium - Journal of International Studies vol. 40 no. 3.
.Sage Journals.p. 457-481.Rather than seeing social practices as general "doings", this article argues that they could with advantage be conceptualised in a specific, scientific model. In the last section of the article, one such model of practices is applied to the case of Iroquis diplomacy, where the ritual exchange of Wampum belts can be seen as a central practice. [url] - Eriksen, Stein Sundstøl, Øyvind Eggen, Aparajita Biswas, Ajay Dubey, Mzukuzi Qobo (2012). India in Africa. Oslo, NUPI. 67 pages. NUPI-rapport. The report provides an overview of Indian engagement in Africa, and discusses the implications it has for African countries and for Norway.
- Eggen, Øyvind , Ole Jacob Sending
(2012). Global helse,
i Internasjonal Politikk 2/2012
.Oslo,Universitetsforlaget.p. 208-217.Sending og Eggen diskuterer i denne artikkelen hvordan global helse som felt de siste årene har fått økt status i utenrikspolitikken og i akademia. [url] - Neumann, Iver B., Cecilie B. Neumann (2012). Forskeren i forskningsprosessen. Oslo, Cappelen Damm Akademisk.. 120 pages. Metodelitteratur og veiledere oppfordrer ofte studenter og forskere til å reflektere over profesjonsidealer og forskerens etiske ansvar, men gir sjelden konkrete råd om hva man kan gjøre i praksis. Det gjør forfatterne av denne boka.
- Neumann, Iver B., Sergei Medvedev
(2012). Identity Issues in EU-Russian Relations,
in Constructing Identities in Europe: German and Russian Perspectives.
.Berlin,Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik.p. 9-29. In this book chapters Neumann and Medvedev argue that identity structures play a role in the relations between the EU and Russia. [url] - Neumann, Iver B., Thomas Ugelvik [ed.] (2012). Mat/viten. Oslo, Universitetsforlaget. 238 pages. Mat er mer enn næring. I denne boka ser bidragsyterne på mat fra ulike ståsted. De viser at matvaner og etikette er kulturelle størrelser. Maten man spiser kommuniserer noe om hvem man er og hvilke fellesskap man er del av.
- Neumann, Iver B. (2012). At Home With the Diplomats. , Cornell University Press. 232 pages. In this book, Iver B. Neumann offers unprecedented access to the inner workings of a foreign ministry. Approaching contemporary diplomacy from an anthropological perspective, Neumann examines the various aspects of diplomatic work and practice, including immunity, permanent representation, diplomatic sociability, accreditation, and issues of gender equality.
- Neumann, Iver B., Sharam Alghasi
(2012). Innledning. Hvorfor festskrift?,
i Universitetsforlagets og Norsk Antropologisk Tidsskrifts nummer 1/2012 viet Thomas Hylland Eriksen.
.Oslo,Universitetsforlaget.p. 9-15.Dette er innledningen til NATs nummer viet Thomas Hylland Eriksen. [url] - Neumann, Iver B.
(2012). Introduction to the Forum on Liminality,
in Review of International Studies, 38 (2).
.British International Studies Association .p. 473-479.With this Forum, liminality arrives within the discipline of International Relations (IR) in earnest. The rest of this Introduction will give some historical background that situates the Forum's three post-structural protagonists, note how their undertaking is part of a wider thrust towards process-oriented and relation-oriented work within the social sciences and introduce the pieces. [url] - Eriksen, Stein Sundstøl
(2012). Regimes, Constituencies and the Politics of State Formation: Zimbabwe and Botswana Compared,
in International Political Science Review June 2012; 33 (3)
.Sage.This article analyses state formation in Botswana and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. It seeks to explain why Botswana became a strong state, while state power in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has eroded. [url] - Neumann, Iver B.
(2011). Norges nye vi: Diasporaer som faktor i norsk utenrikspolitikk,
Internasjonal Politikk, 04/2011
.Oslo,Universitetsforlaget.p. 569-577.Artikkelen gir en kortfattet oversikt over Norges historiske erfaring med diasporaer, både diasporaer i Norge og norske diasporaer i utlandet. [url] - Neumann, Iver B., Helge Jordheim
(2011). Empire, imperialism and conceptual history,
i Journal of International Relations and Development Volum 14.(2)
.Palgrave MacMillan.p. 153-185.Concepts are defined by their meanings and uses and become powerful in battle with other concepts. The concepts discussed in this article, ‘empire’ and ‘imperialism’, have lately made their return to the grand stage of world politics, most significantly as descriptions, and indeed, self-descriptions of the role and position of the United States. How is this return possible? What does it mean? [url] - Godzimirski, Jakub M., Iver B. Neumann, Sharam Alghasi (2011). Norges nye vi. Oslo, HiO NUPI. 115 pages. Rapporten diskuterer hva slags påvirkning diasporaer har på norsk utenrikspolitikk
- Neumann, Iver B., Thomas Hylland Eriksen (2011). Norsk identitet og Europa. Oslo, UiO NUPI UMB (Europautredningen 2012). 17 pages. Dette kapitlet i Europautredningen tar for seg norsk identitet i Europa.
- Sending, Ole Jacob
(2011). United by difference: Diplomacy as a thin culture ,
in International Journal, volume 66, issue 3
.Canadian International Council.p. .New article by Ole Jacob Sending about diplomacy as a thin culture. Sending acted as guest editor of this volume of International Journal together with Vincent Pouliot and Iver B. Neumann. [url] - Seabrooke, Leonard
(2011). Economists and diplomacy: Professions and the practice of economic policy ,
in International Journal, volume 66, issue 3
.Canadian International Council.p. .Leonard Seabrooke looks into the relationship between economists and diplomacy in this article on professions and the practice of economic policy. [url] - Neumann, Iver B.
(2011). Peace and reconciliation efforts as systems-maintaining diplomacy: The case of Norway,
i International Journal, volume 66, issue 3
.Canadian International Council.p. .In this article, Iver B. Neumann analyzes the role of peace and reconciliation efforts as systems-maintaining diplomacy. He uses Norway as a case study. [url] - Neumann, Iver B., Thomas Hylland Eriksen
(2011). Fra slektsgård til oljeplattform,
i Internasjonal Politikk 3/2011
.Oslo,Universitetsforlaget.p. 413-436.I denne artikkelen utforsker forfatterne Europas og EUs plass i norsk identitetsdannelse. De spør blant annet hvorvidt trenden i faglitteraturen - at Europa faller ut - kan gjenfinnes i norsk identitetsdannelse selv. [url] - Sigvald Hauge, Iver B. Neumann (2011). Hva er diplomati. Oslo, Universitetsforlaget. 150 pages. Boken tar for seg diplomatiets historie fram til i dag, introduserer de viktigste diplomatiske praksisene og diskuterer ulike dilemmaer diplomater blir stilt overfor.
- Neumann, Iver B.
(2011). The Steppe and Early European State Formation,
in Uluslararasi Iliskiler Vol. 8, No 30
.Turkey,International Relations Council of Turkey.p. 3-12.In this article, Iver B. Neumann maps out the relation between nomads and sedentaries on the Eurasian steppe in the middle ages and the significance this relation had for early European state formation. [url] - Neumann, Iver B.
(2011). End Comment: The Practices of Interdisciplinarity,
in Aalto, P. Harle, V., Moisio, S. (ed.), International Studies. Interdisciplinary Approaches
.Hampshire, England,Palgrave Macmillan.p. 257-269.In this concluding chapter, Iver B. Neumann summarises the discussion on interdisciplinary international studies and their relations to the discipline of international relations. [url] - Sending, Ole Jacob, Iver B. Neumann
(2011). Banking on power: how some practices in an international organization anchor others,
in (ed.) Emanuel Adler and Vincent Pouliot International Practices
.Cambridge University Press.p. 231-254.The article focuses on the practices that structure the relations between states and international organizations and seeks to capture the situated and contextualized character of how states operate within IOs, and how IOs operate vis-à-vis states. Crucially, the question of possible IO authority and autonomy may then be analyzed as the effects of concrete practices rather than as emanating from a priori defined features of IOs and/or states. [url] - Eriksen, Stein Sundstøl
(2011). The Possibility of State Formation: the Experience of Botswana in a Theoretical Perspective,
in European Journal of Development Research, no 1, 2011
.Pallgrave MacMillan.p. 444-458.This article examines the process of state formation in Botswana in the light of the major theoretical literature on the issue. It is argued that neither the geopolitical nor the fiscal theories of state formation can explain why the state in Botswana became so strong and effective. An alternative framework is outlined, in which state formation is seen as shaped by the relationship between states, regimes and social groups. The formation of a strong state in Botswana became possible because it was compatible with the interests of the ruling regime (politically as well as economically), and because the ruling regime had sufficient power to carry out a project of state strengthening. [url] - Neumann, Iver B.
(2011). Our Culture and all the Others: Intercultural and International Relations,
in Batora, J and Mokre, M (ed.) Culture and External Relations. Europe and Beyond
.Ashgate .p. 33-46.The chapter dicusses the usefullness of 'culture' as an analytical point of departure in studying the kind of relationships that International Relations specialize in, namely those between different political entities. [url] - Neumann, Iver B., Vincent Pouliot
(2011). Untimely Russia: Hysterisis in Russian-Western Relations over the Past Millennium,
in Security Studies, vol. 20, no. 1
.Routledge.p. 105-137.This article draws on Pierre Bourdieu's sociology to explain how a lack of fit between a repertoire of bodily practices accumulated through history, on the one hand, and the field in which it is employed, on the other, can take shape in world politics. [url] - Eriksen, Stein Sundstøl
(2011). 'State failure’ in theory and practice: the idea of the state and the contradictions of state formation ,
i Review of International Studies, vol. 37, issue 1
.British International Studies Association (BISA).p. 229-247.This article provides a critique of the discourse of ‘failed states’, and outlines an alternative approach. [url] - Sending, Ole Jacob, Andreas Øien Stensland (2011). Unpacking the “culture of protection”. Oslo, NUPI. 48 pages. Security in Practice. Rather than using conceptual vagueness as an explanation for the lack of operational effectiveness on Protection of Civilians (PoC), this report focuses on the organization-specific interests of the key actors involved and their different views of, and interests in, the concept of PoC.
- Sending, Ole Jacob, Iver B. Neumann, Vincent Pouliot
(2011). The future of diplomacy: Changing practices, evolving relationships,
in International Journal 2011, vol. 66.(3)
.Canadian International Council.p. 527-542.This article deals with the future of diplomacy. [url] - Neumann, Iver B.
(2011). Entry into international society reconceptualised: the case of Russia,
in Review of International Studies vol. 37 2011
.Cambridge,Cambridge Journals.p. 463-484.This article addresses how entry into international society has been conceptualised, suggests a reconceptualisation that will make the concept more relational, and illustrates with a case study. [url] - Leira, Halvard , Iver B. Neumann
(2011). The many past lives of the consul,
in Jan Melissen and Ana Mar Fernandez (eds.) Consular affairs and diplomacy
.Leiden/Boston,Martinus Nijhoff.p. 225-246.The article traces and discusses the different roles and statuses assigned to consuls throughout the history of international relations. [url] - Neumann, Iver B.
(2011). 'Religion in Sort of a Global Sense': The Relevance of Religious Practices for Political Community in Battlestar Galactica and Beyond,
in Journal of Contemporary Religion 2011, vol. 26 (3)
.Taylor & Francis.p. 387-401.With reference to the works of Carl Schmitt and Eric Voegelin, Iver Neumann argue that the key precondition for the co-existence of religions in the series Battlestar Galactica is the avoidance of what Voegelin calls political theology. Differences in creed, doctrine, and specific religious practices may exist side by side as long as certain practices associated with the sacred—in the case of BSG, primarily practices that have to do with burying and remembering the dead—are shared. [url] - Andersen, Morten Skumsrud (2011). How Empires emerge. NUPI Working Paper: 786. 44 pages. The social mechanisms behind the formation of empires is an understudied field of enquiry within analyses of hierarchy in international relations. In this working paper, an ideal type of the constitution of empires is suggested, leaning on developments within institutional theory and relational network analysis. It is argued that such a model is a useful additional tool for analyses of contemporary world politics.
- Andersen, Morten Skumsrud, Ole Jacob Sending (2011). Accountability in the United Nations. NUPI Working Paper: 785. 46 pages. This report presents the key findings from a study of the role and functioning of the Board of Auditors (BoA), the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU). The report analyses the functioning, mandate and perceived effectiveness of each of these three core organizations.
- Eriksen, Stein Sundstøl
(2010). State Formation and the Politics of Regime Survival: Zimbabwe in theoretical perspective,
in Journal of Historical Sociology, no 2, 2010
.Wiley.p. 316-340.This article analyses state formation in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. The main question posed is this: Why has state power eroded so dramatically? To answer this question, the development of the state is analysed in the light of general theories of state formation. In spite of a situation which according to prevailing theories was conducive for the formation of a strong state, Zimbabwe entered a downward spiral, where state power gradually eroded. To explain this, it is necessary to move beyond these theories, and analyse the changing nature of the ruling regime's constituencies. While security threats and sources of revenue are important, their impact on processes of state formation is mediated by the inter-relationship between ruling regimes and their constituencies, which is shaped by society's class structure. [url]
