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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

I dagens Aftenposten skriver jeg om hvorfor forfekting av multipolaritet er gunstig for Russland og hvorfor det ser ut til å funke

aftenposten.no

Putin insisterer på at verden er multipolar. Hvorfor?

Les Pål Rørens kronikk.

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EJIR @ejir.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

"Russia and the prestige of multipolarity" by ‪@palroren.bsky.social is out now in EJIR and available online. You can read it here: t1p.de/e000s

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

It depends on what you define great powers. If neorealism and polarity - yeah, Russia doesn't qualify. But if we think of great power as status then there is certainly a growing recognition of Russia as a great power. I wrote about the latter here: direct.mit.edu/isec/article...

direct.mit.edu

The Belligerent Bear: Russia, Status Orders, and War

Abstract. Do states get higher social status from fighting? The prestige of war depends on the type of “status order” that it is interpreted in. Status orders condition and enable the pursuit and reco...

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Great guardrails. Some people, a lot of people have said the biggest guardrails. Thank you Halvard!

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

So, muddying polarity with soft power, recognition or status and normatively connecting it to multilateralism (!), justice, democracy, and fairness renders it analytically useless - and makes it only useful to those (populistist) entrepreneurs seeking to use it for own gains.

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

But it becomes problematic if you dillute that definition whilst still insisting that the results are as applicable as before you redefined.

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

I think you can say a bunch of useful things about the world with a stringent definition of polarity as long as you're aware of the (many) limitations. And I think you can say a bunch (in my view:a bigger bunch) of useful things about the political productiveness of polarity. A division of labour.

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Re usefulness of multipolarity: I think it can be both. I like to wear my realism hat every now and then. But I also like my critical hat. And I think that’s fine. But I think the motivation for writing this article was a weariness of some wearing multiple hats at the same time in the same analysis

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Thank you Dan! Oh, I'm embarassed to say that I wasn't aware of your piece in FP - If I had known I would've incorporated it bc I think it explains the current administration's tilt towards the world as multipolar (and a bunch of other things)

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Russia's gas station economy is the size of Italy's. It has lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Yet more leaders than ever call it a great power. How? I explain the link between multipolarity and status-seeking in a new @ejir.bsky.social article Link: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

journals.sagepub.com

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

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Dan Nexon @dhnexon.net · 09/01/2026

Everyone is talking about the Donroe Doctrine or whatever. Trump cannot recreate informal empire in the hemisphere if Latin American trade ties with 🇨🇳 and 🇪🇺 continue to increase in density. Sure, it can "win" some battles.

batimes.com.ar

Milei halts Chinese radio-telescope project in Argentina’s west

US-leaning administration of President Javier Milei ends a decade-long scientific cooperation project; Cancellation of the China-Argentina Radio Telescope in San Juan seen as part of foreign policy sh...

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Jeg skriver i Dagens Næringsliv om noe som har gått litt under radaren i utkastet til fredsavtalen mellom Russland og Ukraina: G7/8 medlemskap til Russland. Og om symbolikken bak det: www.dn.no/innlegg/ukra...

dn.no

For Putin er dette full pott

G7 skal igjen bli til G8. Med Russland som nygammelt medlem. Vesten er i ferd med å bøye av.

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Department of Political Science, University of Oslo @statsvitenskap.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

📣CfA for 1-2 Postdoctoral Fellow Positions in political science (3-4 years) as part of the ERC project “Governing elites since the dawn of modern democracy” (GETGOV) - PI Jacob Nyrup. The application deadline is November 17, 2025. www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

jobbnorge.no

Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science (3-4 years) (288628) | University of Oslo

Job title: Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science (3-4 years) (288628), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Monday, November 17, 2025

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Jeg har en kronikk i @aftenposten.no i dag om at Kina ikke er supermakten du tror den er. Tidligere har jeg skrevet mye om at Kina ikke matcher USA militært. Ny forskning viser at USA også er økonomisk overlegen. Les mer her: www.aftenposten.no/meninger/deb...

aftenposten.no

Kinas vekst er betydelig overdrevet.

Kina fremstilles som en supermakt på linje med USA. Denne ideen faller sammen så fort du ser på tallene som faktisk betyr noe.

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Kronikken er delvis basert på en nyutgitt forskningsartikkel som viser hvordan høystatusland kan bruke anerkjennelse som er redskap for å få stater til å gjøre ting de vanligvis kanskje ikke ville gjort. Les mer her: bsky.app/profile/palr...

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Uten prestisje er det bare makt som står igjen. Det kan koste USA dyrere enn de tror. Les kronikken 👉https://www.dagsavisen.no/debatt/2025/06/02/hvem-vil-blo-for-usa/

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

📄 Jeg har en kronikk ute i @dagsavisen.bsky.social i dag. På papir og på nett. USA har blitt en kødd. Men det er ikke bare vi allierte som taper på det. USA risikerer å miste ett viktig utenrikspolitisk verktøy: prestisje

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Hilde Eliassen Restad @herestad.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

I dag har jeg en lang kronikk på trykk i Aftenposten, som er basert på mitt introduksjonsessay for den nyeste utgaven av Tidsskriftet Internasjonal Politikk. Jeg skriver om at USA nå er inne i en brytningstid, og at vi kan vinke den forrige æraen - www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kro...

aftenposten.no

Den gamle verden er tapt. Nå må vi forberede oss på å bekjempe monstre.

Les kronikken.

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

I dagens @aftenposten.no skriver jeg og @miroslavnemcok.bsky.social om hvorfor Slovakia has blitt EUs hodepine. Statsminister Fico reiser til Moskva og lar seg bruke i russisk propaganda. Det setter både EUs troverdighet og enigheten om Ukraina-støtte på spill www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kro...

aftenposten.no

Kronikk: «Slovakia er nå det svakeste leddet i EUs utenrikspolitikk»

Glem Ungarn, skriver kronikkforfatterne.

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Miroslav Nemčok @miroslavnemcok.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Slovak PM Fico is about to land in Moscow to stand by Putin, legitimizing Russia’s narrative and defying EU foreign policy. As @palroren.bsky.social and I argue, Fico’s domestic pressure is now a warning sign for EU unity. www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kro...

aftenposten.no

Kronikk: «Slovakia er nå det svakeste leddet i EUs utenrikspolitikk»

Glem Ungarn, skriver kronikkforfatterne.

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International Affairs @iajournal.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Our May issue is OUT NOW! ➡️ Special section on boundary work & the (un)making of global cooperation 🏳️‍🌈 7 articles on LGBTQ+ rights, the conversative global order and more 📊 3 policy papers on peace in Yemen, the WTO in crisis and more 📚25 book reviews Read now: academic.oup.com/ia/issue/101/3

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

The article develops this argument theoretically and through two cases: focusing on the Nordics' wars of visibility and Russia’s frustrated quest for recognition from the US. It shows both the power and limits of recognition in world politics (6/6)

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

I propose a "Gestalt switch" for how we think about status: Recognition is not just a reward for effort; it is the mechanism that turns status into real political influence. High-status states wield recognition like any other power resource (5/6)

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Denmark and Norway joined US-led wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Why? Not to win wars. Not to gain resources. Not to become more secure. Instead, it was to earn recognition from Washington (4/6)

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

I argue that recognition is not just a means to achieve status; it is in itself a form of power. The desire for recognition means that high-status states can influence what lower-status states want, how they act, and who they align with (3/6)

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

In IR, we often assume that social status has instrumental value in the form of voluntary deference (to a higher-status actor's wishes). But to date, that hasn't been demonstrated (2/6)

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Denmark and Norway killed for status. Status and recognition, not security or wealth, drove them to war. New article out — full thread below🧵

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

This looks great - looking forward to reading!

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Department of Political Science, University of Oslo @statsvitenskap.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

📢 New article 🌟 👥 Paul David Hagen Beamont and Pål Kriachko Røren @palroren.bsky.social (ISV) 🔎 Status symbols in world politics. 📗 Open access in Cooperation and Conflict doi.org/10.1177/0010...

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Carl Henrik Knutsen @chknutsen.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Our data paper on the Regime Support and Opposition Groups data was just published in @bjpols.bsky.social ! Co-authored with @sirianned.bsky.social , @magnusrasmussen.bsky.social and @torewig.bsky.social Here comes a relatively long thread (as is appropriate for a long-term project)

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

"In Britain and across Europe I fear free speech is in retreat" -JD Vance

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Bill Wohlforth @wwohlforth.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Life, and research on status in IR, goes on. So, you IR scholars who study role of status, check this out!

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

25/ Putting this issue together has been an incredible journey. Huge thanks to all our contributors, the reviewers, to @europeanisa.bsky.social, and to @coco-journal.bsky.social for making it happen! 📖 Read the full issue (open access!): 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/toc/caca/60/1 🚀 Hope you enjoy it!

journals.sagepub.com

Cooperation and Conflict - Volume 60, Number 1, Mar 01, 2025

Table of contents for Cooperation and Conflict, 60, 1, Mar 01, 2025

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

24/ Wohlforth builds a typology of status symbols which he uses to challenge the idea that status competition is inherently irrational, showing how small-s status-seeking can be cost-effective & strategically beneficial

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

23/ 📄 Rethinking status-seeking in IR In the concluding article, @wwohlforth.bsky.social critically examines the contributions and agenda of the special issue. He distinguishes “small-s” status (everyday symbols) from “big-S” great power status 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

22/ Using Brazil hosting of mega events, the UK’s nuclear policy & Norway’s military interventions, they identify three critiques of SS: 📌 Opportunity costs—Money could be better spent 📌 Vested interests—Elites benefit disproportionately 📌 Subservience—Symbols can signal submission, not prestige

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

21/ 📄 When status symbols backfire @pauldavidbeaumont.bsky.social, @lucasdopaes.bsky.social & @crismaglia.bsky.social explore how high-cost status symbols can become liabilities. 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

20/ Multivocality was extreme: Once self-referential, Ottoman symbols were later reframed by the West as signs of decline, forcing the empire to adapt.

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

19/📄 The Ottoman Empire’s shifting status symbols Fulya Hisarlıoğlu & Lerna K. Yanık analyze how Ottoman status symbols transformed as the empire integrated into Western-led international politics 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

18/ But manipulability has limits. Climate status symbols are shaped by broader hierarchies & global stratification: not all states can easily leverage them

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

17/ Unlike military or economic symbols, climate leadership is accessible to smaller states, allowing them to reposition themselves as moral leaders

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

16/📄 Climate leadership as a status symbol @ksailormoon.bsky.social & Thomas Müller show how climate rankings & COP presidencies and performance rankings became new markers of global prestige 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

15/ But they are also manipulable. Naylor shows that hosts orchestrate every detail to maximize prestige. Yet, a single failure can undermine status instead of enhancing it

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

14/ Functionality is central. Summits reinforce both the host’s status & the exclusivity of summitry itself, dividing states into insiders & outsiders

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Pål Røren @palroren.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

13/ 📄 Summits as platforms for status performance @tristennaylor.bsky.social ethnographically explores global summits (G7) as carefully choreographed status performances 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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