Global Politics and Security
The Programme for Global Politics and Security (GPS) is a thematic program that focuses on research and analysis of global developments. The global field is a constantly changing field of knowledge, marked by various trends and developments that sometimes stand in conflict with each other. The research within the program seeks to understand the global arena from different theoretical perspectives and includes a number of empirical fields. A common thread to the research is that it is problem-focused and aims to produce new empirical knowledge and theoretical development.
Focus areas
Climate and energy: collaborations and security risks
Climate change is one of the biggest social challenges of our time, the consequences of which are a challenge for political systems from local to global level. A key question is what capacity socities and institutions have to face these challenges, and how they can be shaped to achieve the societal transition that has been put forward in the global frameworks the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. Within the framework of the focus area, we examine opportunities and limitations for international coalitions to increase ambition in international cooperation and achieve carbon neutrality.
Borders and migration
A central point of departure for globalization is the diminishing importance of borders, where people move between countries, and ideas and information spread rapidly without regard to legal and administrative boundaries. At the same time, there is a development where borders are becoming increasingly important for identity politics, with consequences such as tougher border controls and a negative view of immigration. Simultaneously climate change leads to new migration patterns that present the international community with new challenges and questions regarding protection, responsibility and collective action. The focus area also examines memory politics and cultural heritage after conflict, the dynamics of divided cities and the connection between urban violence and armed conflict.
In addition to these two main areas of focus, we collaborate with associated researchers and other actors on issues on gender and rights, populism, and memory politics. These are critical topics in global politics today as political frictions between value systems and normative frameworks have become increasingly apparent over the past decade. Democratic values are threatened by right-wing populist and nationalistic movements, the power of Western states is challenged by alternative geopolitical actors, international climate and environmental cooperation is opposed at various levels, and the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people are questioned worldwide with reference to "traditional family values".
Collaboration
The programme works closely with the Institute's editors as part of the production of UI's magazine Världspolitikens Dagsfrågor (in Swedish) and its forum for analysis and opinion utrikesmagasinet.se (in Swedish and English) and the country database Landguiden.se (in Swedish).
