The sum of the efforts is that Norway belongs to the world’s most central suppliers of peace diplomacy of many different kinds. Norway has been involved in attempts to find peaceful solutions to most of the world’s most important conflicts since the year 2000.
- Tromsø. The stretch to the last of Norway’s international power fields is the longest. It goes around the Syrian airspace, which is closed due to the war raging, and then straight north. First to Tromsø and then to Longyearbyen (Svalbard). This is Norway’s location and natural geography – the long coast, the sea and the resources, which make Norway a geopolitical player, and a significant country in the North Calotte. Among other things, this role is expressed in the Arctic Council .
6: Where Norway can make a difference
These four cities symbolize Norway’s four global force fields and most important arenas for promoting Norwegian interests and views:
- International organization
- Petroleum and energy (linked to climate policy and the environment)
- Peace work and humanitarian conflict work
- The High North and the sea.
In these four areas, Norway has its greatest international potential . Most of the long-term Norwegian influence in the world is found in one of these areas. Every Norwegian foreign policy, regardless of the composition of the government, which does not have these at the center of its policy, pursues foreign policy that is either irrelevant or short-term. In addition, Europe and the EU come with the EU capital Brussels . At the same time, the four force fields are identical to what are Norwegian society’s most important opportunities and interests in the world in the years to come. We can formulate it as a simple four-point to-do list.
- UN and organization:Norwegian society is fundamentally dependent on a well-organized world, and a strong legal order, globally and nationally, and especially at sea.
- Energy and climate:Norway has a strong interest in the fact that there is no battle for scarce energy resources on earth, or that there will be an uncontrollable climate crisis that leads to sudden restrictions on the use of fossil fuels.
- Peace contractor: Norwegian history, identity, money, location and expertise make Norway one of the world’s most important countries for mitigating, preventing or ending conflicts. This also gives Norway an important political role in the world.
- North: Norway needs peace and order in close waters and must have good relations with all three great powers (Russia, China and the USA) that have large (future) interests in the North.
According to PROZIPCODES.COM, these are Norway’s four main interests in the world (+ EU) Norway’s ‘smart power’ is to manage and utilize these. This is also Norway’s natural reservoir of power and potential. With these forces, and this starting point, Norway can really mean something in world politics, and be more present or stand out more than the size really should indicate. It is these resources that define what Norway is in the world, and where Norway can make a difference.
Facts
Seafood in no time
The Convention on the Law of the Sea deals with virtually all exploitation of the sea, with the exception of military matters. It takes into account that different ways of exploiting the sea are closely linked and must be seen as a whole. The convention has rules that collectively cover all sea areas, the airspace above them, the seabed and its subsoil. It regulates the states ‘rights and obligations in these areas, ie the states’ exercise of authority at sea.
Baseline : The starting point for the calculation of most maritime boundaries is the baselines. The baseline – i.a. at mainland Norway – is defined as straight lines drawn up between points on the outermost headlands and reefs that protrude above the sea at low tide (low tide). By straight line is meant the shortest line between two points. A total of 103 baseline points have been defined along Norway’s coastline. The baseline defines the line from which a country’s maritime territory is to be defined. Within the baseline, we find a country’s internal maritime territory, its inland waters. The outer border of the maritime territory indicates the outer border of Norway’s territory, and is referred to as the territorial border. Within this border, Norway has sovereignty. The territorial boundary extends 12 nautical miles from the baseline.
The continental shelf is the subsea extension of the land mass out to the great ocean depths. The continental shelf is subject to the national authority of the coastal state. The great ocean depths, on the other hand, are an international area.
According to the Convention on the Law of the Sea, all coastal states automatically have a continental shelf up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline . This is an economic zone where the coastal state has the exclusive right to utilize and manage the natural resources there. It is not the same as sovereignty; other countries can e.g. sail there. So far, the outer boundary of the continental shelf often coincides with the outer boundary of the economic zone . However, some states (among them Norway) may have a continental shelf that extends further and then according to criteria laid down in the convention.
