Op-ed in Morgunblaðið (based on this study co-authored with Anders Wivel) on the impact of Brexit on the Nordic states (in particular, Iceland). The chapter is from a forthcoming Routledge book. The study was also cited in this recent Bloomberg News article.
Article in Global Affairs co-authored with Pétur Gunnarsson is now freely available. The article explores Iceland's participation in sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine. It is shown that the Icelandic government considered withdrawing its support for the sanctions, in large part due to lobbying by the Icelandic fishing industry (which was harmed by Russian counter-sanctions).
Two interviews about Russian aggression and interference in the Western world. The British government reaction to reports of Russian assassinations in London appear to be too lenient.
Spies, the growing Russian threat, political chaos in Britain and the United States. A less secure world? Discussions on international affairs in Viglínan (the Front Line), a Saturday news show on the Icelandic Channel 2 TV station.
Few worls on stereotypes in a brilliant new internet TV series on LGBTQ+ rights by the Icelandic National Radio.
Forthcoming chapter (co-authored with Anders Wivel) in the The Routledge Handbook of the Politics of Brexit (Routledge, 2019), edited by P. Diamond, P. Nedergaard, and B. Rosamond. The aim of the chapter is to unpack how Brexit influences small states in Europe. The main argument is that while all small states are negatively affected by the British decision to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon and thereby to effectuate the outcome of the British 2016-referendum on EU-membership to leave the European Union, some small states are considerably more affected than others. As a result, small states are likely to pursue different strategies to meet the challenges following from Brexit. The most prominent among these strategies are hedging, hiding and seeking shelter.
The BA students in Political Science at the University of Iceland have published a new issue of their magazine. The issue includes a summary of a new study (published in Global Affairs, co-authored with Pétur Gunnarsson) on Iceland's participation in sanctions on Russia.
There is considerable interest in Norway about the position of the Icelandic government on Brexit. A paper on Iceland and Brexit: Island and Brexit: ‘Icexit’ fra söknaden om eu-medlemskap?
There is still an ongoing debate in Iceland on whether or not the country should join the European Union. In a new book chapter I make an attempt to examine why the Icelandic centre right party, the largest and most influential political party in the country, is against membership of the EU. The chapter is titled Iceland: The Dominant Party in Thrall to Its Past Discourse. The chapter examines how the party's firm adherence to its belief in the importance of national sovereignty, its Cold War ideological stance and its closeness to the fisheries and agrarian sectors have shaped its European policy and kept Iceland as an awkward partner in the European integration process.
Our paper on Iceland's approach to Brexit it out. The last Icelandic government and the current sitting government in the country have somewhat had a different take on Brexit than their counterparts in the other EFTA states and in the EU member states. According to prominent Icelandic politicians Brexit presents certain opportunities for Iceland and they have until recently put aside challenges associated with it in the public debate. We claim that the rhetoric in Iceland during and after the Brexit referendum has mainly centred around three topics: (1) how to protect Icelandic interests after Brexit, (2) how to utilize associated opportunities, and (3) what implications Brexit would have on Iceland’s pending EU membership application. The paper is written in Norwegian and titled Island and Brexit: ‘Icexit’ fra söknaden om eu-medlemskap? (Iceland and Brexit: Icexit from the EU membership application?). You will find it in a special issue on the Nordic states and Brexit in Internasjonal Politikk.
