I have spent the evening commenting on the confrontation between the UN Special Representative to Afghanistan, Kai Eide (picture), and his deputy, Peter Galbraith. The former, who is Norwegian, is accused of having become too close to President Karzai, and to be lax on fraud in the elections. Eide counters that he has to follow Afghanistan’s constitution and that he fell out with his American deputy because the latter wanted to bend the rules and interfere unduly in the process. The fall-out comes as no surprise to those who know the two, they were working together in the Balkans in the 90s, and were not best buddies then either (Norwegian readers may consult the book Fredskrigeren, on Thorvald Stoltenberg, which came out this week). When Galbraith was appointed as a deputy earlier this year, it was after a process of unprecedented speed within the UN, and it was clear that this was a move by the US to strengthen its influence.
The actual working day, I spent at Voksenåsen, where directors of (almost) all relevant institutes in the Nordic countries and a number of key bureaucrats from the five countries were gathered to discuss crisis management. This is one element in the report that Stoltenberg (Thorvald, the elder S) wrote for the Nordic Council. Following a day of discussion, I remain unconvinced that putting a Nordic umbrella will do much for improving international capacities to assist in crisis, but it may of course enhance the Nordic influence in the world. Yet, the seminar was interesting, and certainly a good meeting place. And Voksenåsen is worth watching, as they are building up a new seminar activity (Dag Hammarskjøld series?), I talked last week on what 911 did to us (i.e. the West...). And soon there will be a Gandhi exhibit.
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