Hot PRIO summer in the media

The summer at PRIO should be quiet – a good working season for those who choose to spend it in the office, a good recharge for those who go vacationing. For a second week of July, PRIO’s media coverage over the past week has been quite outstanding:

• The last issue of the Economist carries an article based on the recent Climate Change and Conflict conference. In the spirit of the conference organizers, the article points out that the assumption that climate change will become a major driver of conflict is quickly becoming conventional wisdom – but, that ‘surprisingly few facts support these alarming assertions’. A well-informed article that bears testimony to the quality of the conference.

• The outstanding 2009 results for PRIO’s two journals on the ISI impact ranking have been picked up by various Norwegian media, thanks to an excellent press release written by Nils Petter. So far, the good news have been reported by Aftenposten, Morgenbladet, the Research Council and Forskning.no. The outcome was also mentioned in a commentary in Dagbladet yesterday, by Stian Bromark, who seemed to think that citations equals readership, to which Nils Petter has written a concise rebuttal.

• Afghanistan and the war on terror has been on the agenda, particularly in the aftermath of the arrest of three terror-suspects in Norway last Thursday. Driving from Nyksund, Vesterålen back to Harstad airport, I gave about a dozen interviews (but missed BBC world, who wanted me on while I was in the air...). I challenged the assertion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, that the military engagement was making the world a safer place, and this got significant attention (including a follow-on debate in Aftenposten).

Otherwise, the PRIO premises are fairly calm this week. I will be away for 3 weeks from Friday, but may show up on the blog. Wish you all a continued good summer!