News archive

"Policymakers in Pakistan need to set the country’s house in order and work to convince its youth, its future leaders, that the country is worth staying in and building up," writes our member Arsalan Bilal (AB) in The Diplomat.

Click here to read the full article.

"At first, a Taliban victory in Afghanistan was considered synonymous with Pakistan’s victory. But disappointed hopes on both sides now have the neighbors at loggerheads," writes our member Arsalan Bilal (AB) in The Diplomat.

Click here to read the full article.

The Grey Zone research group, in collaboration with the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS), hosted a special interactive seminar to commemorate the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukrainian soil on February 24.

The Arctic 5 Chair in Security Studies project, in collaboration with The Grey Zone research group and WarPeD research network, hosted a special seminar titled "Hybrid Threats in the Arctic".

AB (Arsalan Bilal)—The Grey Zone coordinator—was interviewed by Le Monde, one of the most popular French newspapers, for an investigative story about the ongoing hybrid warfare around Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Click here to read the piece.

"There is a sizeable gap between China’s ambitions for the PSR and its actual capabilities and accomplishments in the Arctic – and the gap has widened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."

Click here to read the full article.

"Despite a deal between the PIF and other Micronesian states, Kiribati declared it still intends to withdraw from the premier regional forum."

Click here to read the full article.

"The deal was likely China’s response to AUKUS. Now Australia and the U.S. will consider how to respond, possibly intensifying the security competition in the Pacific."

Click here to read the full article.

AB (Arsalan Bilal)—The Grey Zone coordinator—was interviewed by BBC Serbia for an article on hybrid wars, the ways in which hybrid threats jeopardise state and societal security, as well as viable policy measures to surmount them.

Here's the link to the piece (use Google Translate to read it in English).

The Grey Zone member Marc Lanteigne was interviewed by Al Jazeera English for 101 East—a weekly current affairs programme—on China's Arctic policy amidst melting ice caps in the region.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE PROGRAMME ON YOUTUBE.

"The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February will result in aftershocks throughout Europe and the global community for months, and possibly years, to come. The Arctic will not be unaffected by this conflict, given Moscow’s dominant presence in polar politics and the overspill effects of the diplomatic rift, now a chasm, between Russia and the West, into Arctic security concerns."

 

Click here to read the full article by The Grey Zone member Marc Lanteigne.

The Grey Zone member Marc Lanteigne was interviewed by CNBC on the rising importance of the Arctic shipping routes amidst melting sea ice in the region.

Watch/read the special report here.

The much-anticipated FAKENEWS project, which is funded by the Research Council of Norway, has officially been launched at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TENTATIVE PROGRAMME.

Project Information:

The overarching objective of the FAKENEWS project is to generate new data on civilian roles in crises as well as provide a new resilience framework to help predict the impact of disinformation within a society.

FAKENEWS delves into what people do in crises—particularly in the light of increased mis- and disinformation that can be used to mislead people and exacerbate, rather than mitigate, a crisis situation.

In particular, the project focuses on the Norwegian and Swedish reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of disinformation during the migration crisis as a hybrid threat to create destabilisation at the societal level.

On 3 February 2022, Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv (UiT) joined Outi Jalonen from the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) to discuss the ways in which gender and other identities have been targeted and manipulated in disinformation campaigns. The session was "hybrid" with the presenters joining on MS Teams, while most participants met up at the Transatlantic Room at NATO HQ. Over 40 people participated. 

"The world’s first famine caused by climate change rather than conflict continues amid insufficient domestic and global attention."

Click here to read the full article published in African Arguments.

On 9 december 2021 UiT Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) hosted a seminar led by The Grey Zone (GZ) research group, in partnership with the prestigious Polish Institute of International Affairs on the use of migration as a tool in hybrid threats. The discussion ranged from issues around international migration as a whole to perspectives from Poland and Norway regarding the use of migrants – in particular the use of refugees fleeing conflict.

The speakers included senior experts from the Polish Institute of International Affairs and UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Please find below the seminar program with speakers, followed by the recording of the event.

‘International migration and the use and abuse of migration as a hybrid threat strategy- Perspectives from Norway and Poland’ 

Moderator: Damian Wnukowski, Polish Institute of International Affairs

15.15 - Introduction: Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, Professor, Centre for Peace Studies, Leader for “The Grey Zone” research group, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway and Damian Wnukowski

15.30 – Opening remarks: Patryk Kugiel, Senior Analyst, PISM

‘The Migration-Development Nexus – findings from the MiDeShare project’

15.40 – Jolanta Szymańska, European Union Programme Coordinator, PISM: Poland

‘The Belarusian border crisis and migration as a hybrid warfare?’

15.50 – Marc Lanteigne, A.Professor, Political Science, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway

‘Too many shadows: Belarusian insecurity and implications for Europe’’

16.00 – Q&A Session

16.25 – Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, UiT. Closing remarks.

(NB Audio from 1:45)

Dr. Hanne Eggen Røislien, an eminent researcher and cyber security expert, has been appointed an Associate Professor (II) at the Centre for Peace Studies - UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

 

Hanne Eggen Røislien is a senior researcher and advisor to the Cyber Defense unit of the Norwegian Armed Forces. She is also affiliated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Hanne works especially with topics that pertain to the cultural and human aspects of cyber and modern warfare. Hanne has a doctorate in religious history from NTNU, with a focus on Israeli defense. Previously, she has also researched the radical Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Her long career in the Middle East has made her a well-known voice in the media in connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hanne has extensive international experience, and she has worked for both the UN and the Pentagon. She has several books and articles to her credit.