Open CPS Breakfast: How may the election of Trump as president in the US affect world order? Focus on Asia and the Arctic

The morning seminar is in English, and will wrap up and continue some of the discussions from Thursday's Internasjonalt Seminar:  

Europe is caught between an unpredictable Trump and an ever-strengthening China. The theme of this morning meeting is the global competition between great powers and the West's hegemony.

• Are we heading towards a new bipolar world order – "the West against the rest" – or a more multilateral structure where both large and small states assert their independence?
• How are human rights, international law, and the UN affected?
• What does the increasing global militarisation mean – from the Arctic in the north to the Pacific in the east and Africa in the south?

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the USA has been a superpower, with military, economic, political, and technological dominance. Today, the USA has over 800 military bases in 80 countries, including access to 47 military facilities in the Nordic region and 12 in Norway. Meanwhile, the West accounts for just over 1 billion of the world's approximately 8 billion people, while China is emerging as an economic and technological powerhouse. The BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – now represent over 40% of the world's population. The liberal West is showing signs of weakening, while the global South is becoming increasingly prominent. Are we facing the end of the "American century"?

SPEAKERS

• Stein Tønnesson, an Asia researcher at PRIO and member of the advisory board of the Centre for Peace Studies, UiT,will speak about deterrence and reassurance between the USA and China. He researches tensions in the South China Sea and has written several books on East Asia and the Vietnam War.
• Rasmus Gjeldssø Bertelsen, a professor of Northern Studies at UiT, will shed light on how global changes in politics, economics, security, science, and technology affect the Arctic.