This seminar combines experience and academic knowledge in an open and broad discussion about Norway’s policy for military deployments in fragile states. Since 2002 contingents from the Norwegian armed forces have been continuously sent to war zones in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. These engagements have been part of the West’s response to various terror attacks, insurgency and organised crime. Less is known about what the soldiers actually do when they are “over there”, what obstacles they meet and what results they achieve.
The main activity for deployed personnel both from conventional units and special forces is training local security forces. The overall goal is to give these forces the capacity to handle their own security problems. The achievements of Norwegian soldiers have been assessed to be of high quality, but these training programmes are demanding, dangerous and can also have adverse unintended consequences.
PRIO and the Norwegian Military Academy collaborate on a research programme concerning military capacity building. The programme consists of discussions between military personnel and policy makers with extensive experience from organising and implementing assistance, and researchers who have spent years studying assistance programmes in fragile states located in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Discussions will then be held on three broad themes concerning military capacity building by Norway and similar states: opportunities and challenges for small states; power relations and cultural differences; and hazards and dilemmas.
PROGRAMME
08:45-09:00 Welcome and registration
09:00–10:00 Opening remarks
Henrik Urdal, Director, PRIO
Colonel Sigrid Engebretsen-Skaret, Commander, Norwegian Military Academy
LtGen(r) Robert Mood, President, Norwegian Red Cross
Laila Bokhari, Non-resident Fellow Harvard Kennedy School
Øystein H. Rolandsen, PRIO
Kjetil Enstad, Norwegian Military Academy
10:00–10:30 Coffee break
10:30–12:00 Roundtable 1: Opportunities andchallenges for small states
Main Speaker:
Mats Berdal, King's College London
Commenters:
Laila Bokhari, Non-resident Fellow Harvard Kennedy School
Michael Miklaucic, National Defense University and editor of PRISM
Major Marius Kristiansen, Norwegian Army
Moderator:
Øystein H. Rolandsen, PRIO
Q&A
12:00–12:45 Lunch
12:45–14:05 Roundtable 2: Power relationsand cultural differences: The meeting betweenproviders and recipients
Main Speaker:
Pierre Dehaene, Belgian Special Forces and King's College London
Commenters:
Kjetil Selvik, NUPI and PRIO
Lt. Colonel Steinar Dahl, Operations section, Armed Forces Staff
MajGen(r) Kristin Lund, PRIO Practitioner in Residence
Moderator:
Kjetil Enstad, Norwegian Military Academy
Q&A
14:05–14:25 Coffee break
14:25–15:45 Roundtable 3: Hazards and dilemmas
Main Speaker:
Colonel Brage Larssen, Armed Forces' Special Command
Commenters:
Nina Wilen, PRIO Global Fellow & Egmont Institute
LtGen(r) Robert Mood, President, Norwegian Red Cross
Malin Stensønes, Author
Moderator:
Kristian Berg Harpviken, PRIO
Q&A
15:45-16:00 Closing remarks
MajGen Henning Frantzen, Norwegian Defence University College
16:00 Seminar ends
Location: Litteraturhuset, Wergelandsveien 29, 0167 Oslo, Norway
Date and time: 14 January 2020, from 08:45 to 16:00
To register for this event, please click on the registration tab above.
This event is jointly organised by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and the Norwegian Military Academy.
