Dealing with the challenge of Russian political warfare in the High North and the Black Sea Region

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022 most of the public attention was drawn to this dramatic event with huge consequences for Ukraine and for the security situation in Europe and in the broader global context. Russia’s use of military power against one of its neighbours has sent shock waves through the European continent. However, military instruments of power are but one of the instruments of power Russia has deployed to pursue its interests as defined by the current regime.
This seminar aims to present the main findings of the FLANKS II project conducted jointly by NUPI and the New Strategy Center in Bucharest (Romania) that examined Russia’s use of other instruments of power in the context of the war in Ukraine. The project focused on Russia’s use of elements of political warfare in the High North and the Black Sea region as well as on ways of dealing with this problem adopted at national levels in Norway and Romania.
To map the main challenges caused by Russia’s policies this project conducted two public opinion surveys in Norway and Romania and the results of these surveys will also be presented at the seminar to demonstrate how the public opinion in both countries has been influenced by the war in Ukraine.