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The document analyzes the political discourse and center-region tensions in Russia following the 1997 decision to remove the 'nationality' entry (the 'fifth point') from internal passports. It explores the arguments regarding minority rights, assimilation, and civil liberties, and assesses the eventual resolution of the conflict in 2001 in relation to the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on Minority Rights.

The report examines the role of migrant remittances in development, noting that registered flows to developing countries were nearly 100 billion USD in 2004. It analyzes various transfer mechanisms, from formal bank transfers to informal value transfer systems (IVTS) like hawala, and discusses the complex impacts of these flows on poverty, inequality, and national economies. The document provides specific policy recommendations for Norway, suggesting the use of Pakistan as a test case for engagement and proposing measures to reduce transfer costs, promote financial literacy, and support transnational entrepreneurship.

The report examines the complex relationship between the Buddhist Sangha and the peace process in Sri Lanka. It details the organizational structure of the Sangha, the influence of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism, and the emergence of politically active monks, specifically the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party. While many monks fear that a federal solution would lead to the division of the country and the betrayal of Buddhism, a minority of peace-activist monks and some high-ranking mahanayakas support a negotiated settlement. The report suggests that Norway, as a facilitator, should engage more deeply with influential monks to prevent them from becoming spoilers and to secure public support for a political solution.

The report argues that integrating mine action with development requires understanding local contexts, institutional memory, and funding flexibility. In Cambodia, the 'Locality Demining' model reduces costs and supports vulnerable households by employing local residents. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 'Task Assessment and Planning' (TAP) methodology integrates community liaison and socio-economic analysis into demining operations to align with national and local development priorities.

The author posits that the imprisonment of Yukos owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky on tax evasion charges represents a critical turning point in Russia's move toward curtailing democratic institutions and reversing economic reforms, which in turn impacts Russian foreign policy and projects in the Caspian region.

The study finds that youth bulges significantly increase the risk of domestic armed conflict, particularly when combined with economic stagnation. Using a dataset of sovereign states and dependent areas from 1950 to 2000, the author argues that the risk is heightened in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world where youth bulges coexist with poor economic performance and unstable political regimes. The research rejects Samuel P. Huntington's theory of a specific 'critical level' threshold for conflict and suggests that previous World Bank studies failed to find these effects due to flawed measurement methods. Additionally, the author identifies migration as a critical 'safety valve' that can mitigate youth discontent.

The document examines the challenges of managing a population of 2.3 million Afghans in Iran, distinguishing between legal refugees and labour migrants. It argues for a comprehensive migration management approach that includes screening, sustained reconstruction in Afghanistan, and regional cooperation to facilitate gradual, voluntary repatriation while maintaining legal labour channels.

The report identifies a significant gap between high-level policy and project-level implementation in peacebuilding efforts by the U4 governments. It recommends shifting impact assessment from individual projects to a strategic level and adopting formal frameworks for both general and case-specific intervention strategies.

The report examines the intended and unintended gendered consequences of three international interventions: the UN Mission in Eritrea/Ethiopia (UNMEE), the NATO Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR), and the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH). It identifies significant gaps between UN norms—such as Resolution 1325—and field realities, highlighting issues like increased prostitution in Eritrea, the failure to treat sexual violence as a security threat in Bosnia, and the need for gender-sensitive training in Hebron. The authors argue that gender mainstreaming is often treated as a 'soft' issue rather than a rational security necessity and recommend that Norway lead efforts in creating gender-aware recruitment databases and a Nordic-Canadian lobby to promote these goals within the UN system.

The report assesses Norway's peacebuilding efforts across nine recipient countries, analyzing the integration of development and peacebuilding. It highlights the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and NORAD, the introduction of 'transitional assistance' to bridge the gap between humanitarian and long-term aid, and the specific instruments used in security, political, socio-economic, and reconciliation sectors. While noting successes in high-profile peace processes, the report identifies a lack of clearly defined peacebuilding goals in socio-economic projects and a need for more consistent regional perspectives and long-term sustainability in post-conflict reconstruction.

The report describes a 'conflictual peacebuilding' process in Afghanistan where the goals of the Bonn Agreement were often undermined by an ongoing war, a heavy dependence on foreign aid, and the continued influence of warlords. While it notes achievements in establishing a political arena and increasing school enrollment, it highlights critical failures in demobilization, human rights, and regional integration. The authors argue that the market-driven reconstruction model risks exacerbating regional inequalities and creating a 'rentier state' accountable to donors rather than citizens.

The research examines whether boundary length or neomalthusian factors, such as shared rivers and water scarcity, better explain the incidence of international conflict. Using a dataset covering the Correlates of War period, the authors find that while boundary length shows a significant association with conflict in bivariate analysis, this effect disappears when neomalthusian willingness measures are introduced. The results suggest that neomalthusian factors are significant, though not dramatic, in their effects on conflict.

The report examines 'village demining' in Cambodia, where locals use basic tools to clear land for survival. It contrasts this with professional humanitarian mine action, which prioritizes absolute safety and standardized procedures. The author argues that professional agencies often ignore the relative risks—such as starvation and landlessness—that compel villagers to clear mines. The document recommends a paradigm shift toward community-oriented strategies, including the use of mobile quick-response teams and the integration of mine action with broader development and land-titling initiatives to reduce the vulnerabilities that make village demining necessary.

The author argues that while the end of the Cold War initially saw a rise in local conflicts, the overall trend is moving toward a more peaceful world. This optimism is grounded in the observed decline in the number of armed conflicts since the late 1990s and the positive influence of global trends such as poverty reduction, democratization, and the rise of international military interventions for conflict settlement. The analysis highlights that internal conflicts (civil wars) are the dominant form of violence and are most strongly linked to poverty, though the author distinguishes between 'greed' and 'grievance' motivations. The document also notes that while ethnic polarization and resource scarcity are often cited as causes of war, systematic evidence is often ambiguous or secondary to broader economic and political factors.

The document is an annotated bibliography of 165 entries covering water conflicts from 1996 to 2001. It categorizes research into general theoretical and empirical studies, as well as regional studies focusing on the Middle East, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa. The author analyzes trends in the literature, noting a growth in general conceptual works and a debate between 'alarmists' who predict 'water wars' and 'skeptics' who emphasize cooperation and risk management.

The author examines whether the 9/11 attacks necessitate a paradigm shift in international relations theory, arguing that while existing theories like neorealism and constructivism remain viable, the event should prompt IR scholars to prioritize previously neglected areas such as international terrorism, US foreign policy, and the transatlantic relationship.

The document is a collection of academic contributions from the 2001 NACS conference. It explores the complexities of China's transition to a market economy, focusing on the adaptability of the Communist Party, the challenges of urban neighbourhood governance in Shanghai, the dilemmas of bilingual education in Tibetan areas, and the development of indigenous social sciences. It also examines specific cases such as microcredit for poverty alleviation and the failure of a Sino-Norwegian environmental technology project in Yantai.

The briefing argues that establishing a functioning state in Afghanistan requires a new power-sharing formula that avoids reliance on military strength, a long-term commitment from neighboring states to prioritize Afghan stability over regional rivalries, and a shift in international aid from short-term emergency relief to long-term peacebuilding and capacity-building. It warns that any new government must be developed from within to be legitimate, though it suggests an international presence—potentially involving the UN and the Organization of the Islamic Conference—may be necessary to support the transition.

The report finds that Sida's support for Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) has been fragmented and ad hoc, heavily prioritizing mine clearance (85% of funding) over other essential components like impact assessment and survey. While Sida has been a major global donor, its funding trended downward after 1998. The evaluation highlights a 'quiet revolution' in HMA, shifting from output-based measures (mines removed) to impact-based measures (societal effect), and argues that Sida must institutionalize impact assessment to ensure sustainable, development-oriented assistance. It analyzes various implementation channels, noting that NGOs are flexible and innovative but struggle with long-term sustainability, while government/military channels offer better sustainability but may lack humanitarian sensitivity. The report also critiques Sida's R&D and technical initiatives, such as the Mine Detection Dog project in Cambodia, for failing to base needs on local stakeholders and lacking sustainability.

The research examines the link between shared river systems and interstate conflict, finding that while joint rivers increase the probability of militarized disputes beyond simple contiguity, this effect is smaller than that of contiguity itself. The study notes that water scarcity and upstream-downstream relationships are associated with conflict, though these results are not strongly supported by systematic data on the specific issues involved.