Mother of all Deadlines

Days are hectic at PRIO, as we approach the big deadline of the year, for the main RCN application round. I have seen over a dozen fiches, and read several ready (or almost ready) applications, and we should be well equipped to take home several victories this year. It is – believe it or not – fun to read and comment upon applications when they hold the extraordinary PRIO quality standard. I look forward to some champagne in late November!

My blog has been unusually quiet for a while, not so much because there has been plenty of other things to cater to (which has been the case), but rather because I have entertained a light tenosynovitis (‘seneskjedebetennelse’ in Norwegian). As I laid the last editorial hands on a volume of Comparative Social Research about a month back, there was a keyboard overload. Luckily, I have a customer relationship with the world’s best chiropractic, and as always, he is helping me out.

I am now in Copenhagen, stranded on my way to Delhi due to technical error. While delayed, I will get to Delhi in time to give my talk on Afghanistan and the neighbourhood to a gathering of Norway’s ambassadors. I am well equipped with a new PowerPoint presentation (prepared by Halvor) and new-won insight on neutrality status (researched by Jonas). I look forward to a long and fruitful discussion on an issue that figured so prominently on Obama’s agenda in March 2009, but which has since been cut back from a comprehensive regional perspective to AfPak only. Back at PRIO on Thursday. I wish you all good days.