Blog

James Rogers joins Cornell Tech Policy Lab as Non-Resident Senior Fellow

We are proud to announce that James Rogers has joined the excellent Cornell Tech Policy Lab as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow. As part of their Emerging Technologies section, the team & James will be forging new Transatlantic projects on the future of drone warfare.

MOISL-students participating in WorldMUN

For the very first time, students from our Master’s in International Law and Security have participated in World Model United Nations – an educational simulation where students must solve international problems with other delegates from around the world! Picture taken by Victor Risom.

Associate Professor Louise Moe receives funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark for a major research and capacity-building programme on climate change resilience.

Funded with DKK 11,770,885 from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the research programme "Pastoralist Climate Change Resilience in Somaliland (PACCS)" will generate cutting-edge theoretical and policy knowledge on local climate change resilience in Somaliland, focusing on the critical but overlooked livelihood system of pastoralism. Picture by Charles Fred (GNU Free Documentation License).

Anna Nadibaidze chosen as winner of the 2021 OSCE-IFSH Essay Competition

Our colleague Anna Nadibaidze was chosen as one of the winners of the 2021 OSCE-IFSH Essay Competition on Conventional Arms Control and Confidence- and Security Building Measures in Europe. Her essay explored the impacts of weaponized artificial intelligence and the role that the OSCE can play in mitigating risks associated with the lack of regulation of autonomy in weapons systems.

Picasso's Drone

Postdoc Dominique Routhier has written the essay “Picasso’s Drone” that ponders what art history teaches us about the recent shift in drones from war machines to commercial products. Picture taken by Dominique Routhier.

MICS mentioned in the Danish Government's proposal on cyber security

Minister of Defense Trine Bramsen presented a new proposal on cyber security, which will strengthen Denmark's ability to withstand threats in the cyber domain. The proposal contains new and improved tools to increase cyber security, referring among other to our new professional Master degree in Intelligence and Cyber Studies (MICS).

Why did Denmark help the US spy on its European allies?

Denmark's public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) revealed last week that the Danish Defence Intelligence Service had cooperated with the US National Security Agency (NSA) to enable spying on several European partners and close allies. Considering the major reputational costs, why did Denmark allow the NSA to use Danish data cables to spy on senior officials in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, including German chancellor Angela Merkel? Read Amelie Theussen's assessment in The Conversation.

What to do about Islamic State supporters still in Syria? Denmark’s decision sets a worrying trend

Denmark has decided to repatriate some Islamic State (IS) supporters from camps in Syria, but seems to have prioritised security and politics over legal norms in making these decisions. This sets a worrying precedent. Read Kerstin Carlson's assessment in The Conversation.

CWS professor Anders Engberg-Pedersen wins prestigious EliteForsk Prize

Anders receives the highly prestigious EliteForsk prize for his research on cultural forms of war from the Napoleonic Wars to today, and how war, literature, aesthetics and creativity are intertwined. The prize comes with 1 million DKK for research. You can read more about Anders, his research and the prize here on Fyens.dk (in Danish).

Trine Flockhart i RÆSON SØNDAG: Boris Johnsons ”Global Britain” er ikke den stormagtsplan, den påstår at være

CWS Co-Director and Professor Trine Flockhart wrote an article about Global Britain in Ræson 2/5-2021. (Picture licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0)

New member to our team

We are very pleased to announce that Claire Yorke has been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, and will be joining our team to develop her project Empathy and International Security (EIS). What is her background and what is the project all about? Find out here.

The significance of AI-driven weapons systems in the context of remote warfare

Debate about AI-driven weapon systems is new, but how practices of warfare compromise human control is not argue CWS’ Ingvild Bode and Hendrik Huelss’s in introductory volume on remote warfare.

ICC judges ignored Ongwen’s background in guilty verdict. Why it is a mistake

The Ongwen case at the ICC concerns a victim turned perpetrator. The judgment shows the ICC ignored the 9-year-old boy who survived abduction and flourished in a brutal environment to find the now 46-year-old Ongwen guilty. What does this mean for international criminal law?

Op-Ed in Altinget regarding recent Supreme Court Hate Speech Decision

In an Op-Ed in Altinget Miriam Mckenna, postdoc Lund University, and CWS’ Associate Professor Kerstin Bree Carlson discuss the Danish Supreme Court decision refuting “refugees” as a protected group for purposes of hate speech law. They argue that the decision goes against international law, which is unequivocal. Read here their arguments for, why Danish law should be revised.

Iran and Turkey have become drone powers

Assistant Professor James Rogers wrote an article for the Washington Post. The article ties in events from the last 12 months of drone warfare to raise awareness for the Biden Administration.

Talent Track - Meet Kerstin Bree Carlson

How do we ensure that an - often implicit - bias does not affect law and legal justice? Kerstin Bree Carlson, an Associate Professor at the Department of Law and one of the emerging career scholars in the SAMF Talent Track, suggests that countries that apply transitional justice methods will have less biased court processes. To test this hypothesis, she will compare terror trials from Colombia, Ireland, France, and Denmark. SAMF Talent Track is a new initiative to support young ambitious researchers who have the potential to make significant contributions to their field of research. Read a Q&A with Kerstin Bree Carlson.

CONNECTIONS – Sculpture Exhibition by Steinunn Thórarinsdottir

Today, the world is marked by division both physically and ideologically. Find out how 10 sculptures by the artist Steinunn Thórarinsdottir this summer 2021 should help people connect. The exhibition is part of professor James Rogers’ interdisciplinary project on war and art. Photo: Arnaldur Halldórsson

The Liberal International Order and Peaceful Change – Values, Visions, and Passions

Ernst Haas was ahead of his time when he focused on emotions to explain peaceful change, but he was wrong about which emotions matter. What matters for achieving peaceful change is pride and enthusiasm rather than frustration and disappointment. The essay is written by professor Trine Flockhart and is part of a Roundtable on “International Institutions and Peaceful Change”.

The "Second Drone Age" Requires a New International Accord

In the article “We need a new international accord to control drone proliferation”, published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, James Rogers and Agnes Callamard argue that the world has now entered a “second drone age” with uncontrolled proliferation of armed drones that requires a new international accord. The article is available through the following link on the Danish Institute of Advanced Studies' website.

Nato-Russia tensions: what a Biden administration can do to lower the temperature

In the article professor Amelie Theussen and Senior Researcher Dominika Kunertova analyze the tensions between Nato and Russia. They describe what kind of policy priorities a Biden administration should have to lower the temperature.

A murder trial in Denmark leaves a nation wondering what constitutes a hate crime

In this blog professor Kerstin Carlson discusses what makes a hate crime? The discussion is based on a high-profile murder trial from the Danish island of Bornholm. The blog is published in The Conversation.

DIAS Virtual U.S. Election Briefings

The U.S. Election 2020 is billed to be “the most important election for a generation”. But what does this really mean? And how will the election result influence international affairs? What should Europe be ready for? To find out, check out the new DIAS Virtual U.S. Election Briefings, where experts from across the U.S. and Europe will discuss how the election will play out on the world stage.

The threat of ‘killer robots’ is real and closer than you might think

In this article, Ingvild Bode writes on how technology today is being incorporated into weapons for use in combat situations. The article is published in "The Conversation".

What Kabuga’s arrest means for international criminal justice – and Rwanda

In this article, Kerstin Carlson writes on how Felicien Kabuga’s arrest is affecting Rwanda and international criminal justice. The article is published in “The Conversation”.

Al-Bashir and the ICC: there are better ways to achieve justice

In this article, Kerstin Carlson writes on how Sudan is considering handing over former leader Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court. The article is published in “The Conversation”

Center for War Studies to host event at the Munich Security Conference

Why the Gambia’s plea for the Rohingya matters for international justice

In this article, Kerstin Carlson is writing about the Rohingya in Gambia and how they matters for international justice. The article is published in “The Conversation”

NATO @70: The Alliance’s Future Tasks and Roles

Read the summary of our NATO@70 conference with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, written by CWS PhD-candidates Vicky Karyoti and Michael Gjerstad. The conference was organized by Dominika Kunertova, Postdoc at CWS, in collaboration with the Royal Danish Defence College and the Royal Danish Military Academy and took place on 6. September 2019 at Frederiksberg Place.

Western states must repatriate IS fighters and their families before more break free from Syrian camps

Kerstin Carlson, Associate Professor at CWS, argues in her latest article for The Conversation that European powers have dallied over the question of what to do with the tens of thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and adherents captured following the fall of the so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq for more than a year. Now, with the US decision to withdraw troops and Turkey’s subsequent invasion of northern Syria on October 9, the West has lost the luxury of inaction as a rising number of detainees are escaping.

The Royal Danish Defence College Signature Conference 2019

Danita Catherine Burke, post-doc at the Center for War Studies, writes about Forsvarsakademiets Signaturkonference 2019 (Defense Academy Signature Conference 2019) from the 1st-3rd October 2019 in Nuuk, Greenland. The conference was jointly organized by The Royal Danish Defence College, the University of Greenland and the Joint Arctic Command, focusing on the role of Arctic and Northern security for the security of the Kingdom of Denmark.

CWS annual conference summary 2019

Alice Pannier Learning coalitions

Interested in collective learning within NATO and coalitions but were you unable to attend Alice Pannier's presentation at SDU in January? Then, take some time to read about her main conclusions here.

Why the NATO summit could deal a major blow to the international order

Trine Flockhart highlights the dangers of Donald Trump and his behavior for the liberal international order in light of the 2018 NATO summit. Can and will the international order survive President Trump?

War studies in a changing world

Did you miss CWS’ annual conference in October 2018? Don’t worry, Vasiliki Karyoti and Michael Gjerstad have put together a summary of discussions and presentations at the conference.

Why the new Arctic ‘Cold War’ is a dangerous myth

Are we really on the brink of a new ‘Cold War’ in the Arctic and what are the consequences of this rhetoric? Danita Catherine Burke argues that considering the increased military spending and activities in the Arctic region as “a new Cold War” detracts from the broader roles that militaries play throughout the Arctic and stokes the very tensions it warns of.

Gbagbos acquittal suggests confusion and dysfuction at the ICC

Kerstin Carlson analyses how the acquittal of highlights the messy, foundational disagreements pronounced within the institution itself – between prosecution and bench, within the trial chamber, between trial and appellate chambers – that render the International Criminal Court dysfunctional.

Understanding Russian soft power

Were you fascinated by Homeland´s last season featuring Russian influence in the US? Do you want to learn more about the strategies developed by the Kremlin? Vincent C. Keating, associate professor at the CWS, offers you two useful resources on the matter.