Syria is a diverse society composed of different religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups. The majority of Syrians are Arab and Sunni Muslim, with significant minorities of Alawites, Druze, Armenians and Kurds. There is also a small Christian population. Arabic is the official language, although Kurdish and Armenian are also spoken in some areas. Syria has… Read More »
7: What should the international community do? The first step must be to learn from the interventions that Western countries have already been or are involved in. An important aspect of this is to keep in mind that there is a large gap between our Western models of society and local conditions in Eastern Congo… Read More »
4: How important are choices? Countries like the ones we are talking about here are largely governed by what in technical language is called neo-patrimonial logic: That is, even though a modern country exists on paper, this country is more governed by personal relations with a socio-economic character (patrimonial ties) than of the bureaucratic-legal rationality… Read More »
The terrorist attacks in London in the summer of 2005 led to a renewed debate about international terrorism and the danger that Norway may also be affected by terrorism. What exactly is international terrorism? Where are the boundaries between terrorism and related forms of political violence? What kind of danger does terrorism represent? 2: What… Read More »
In October, it was announced that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2013 has been awarded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The actual award ceremony will take place in Oslo on 10 December. Just weeks before the announcement, more than 1,400 people were killed in a major gas attack in civil… Read More »
6: Chemical weapons in international law and who is outside? The use of chemicals has always aroused disgust and caused massive opposition to states or groups that have used them. There is a general opinion that the international agreements and conventions that deal with such weapons should be complied with and apply as international law… Read More »