Prof Haaland reflects on war in Europe in Lit Fest talk

By Sophie MacDonald

Professor Dame Janne Haaland discussed her book ‘NATO and the Russian War in Ukraine: Strategic Integration and Military Interoperability’ in conversation with journalist James Neish at the Gibraltar Literary Festival.

A political scientist and former State Secretary in Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1997-2000), as well as acclaimed academic author, Prof Haaland is uniquely placed to shed light on the current realities of NATO and the war in Ukraine.

She also offered her reflections on the ramifications of US President Donald Trump’s unpredictability, why Europe should be preparing for war and, in a lighter moment, joked about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s small stature despite Russia’s “dark and looming” reputation.

Prof Haaland opened by acknowledging her observations of “spots where you have been fighting in Gibraltar”, believing Gibraltarians to be “no foreigners to fighting”.

From this, she segued to talking about the intrinsic similarities of the “natures” of war, noting how, through time, they “change character” with the progression of technology and tactics.

Prof Haaland zoomed in on the Russian war in Ukraine and debated what is “new” about it - what are its implications for NATO, and what does it mean for Europe?

She said there seems to be “no end to the war, and has become Europe’s problem totally”.

She noted how Europe must keep watch of the prevailing tactics of the illegal war: drone warfare has become more prominent than ever and is being used to target civilians.

Prof Haaland said that the “West needs to prepare for war”; to create a “strategic culture of readiness” and “pose deterrence” to Russia.

NATO and the Russian War in Ukraine was written before Trump was elected for a second term, meaning this was not factored into its arguments as strongly as it would be now.

She described how Trump seems to see this war as a “negotiation” for which he can get something in return.

However, Putin’s desire to “restore the influence of the Society Union to be on parr with the US, and expand its sphere of influence” should, Prof Haaland believes, encourage Europe to forfeit its historic reliance on the US and begin to exert the type of “hard power” to which Putin appears to react.

Prof Haaland also commented on Russia’s disregard for the idea of “sovereignty”.

“Russia does not think that small territories are important… Norway is a small state, and Gibraltar is even smaller,” she said.

She added that “principles of international politics” are at stake, warning that there is a “meat grinder policy going on” with regards to Russian military recruitment, from which Europe will feel the effects of for “decades of hostility and volatility”.

When asked whether her responses would be different if she were still a politician, Prof Haaland simply answered no.

She urged for Putin to be “contained”, quoting when her daughter she used to exclaim “give me an ice cream or I will start to scream” as an illustration of how he must be handled.

Despite this, Prof Haaland remains hopeful, stating that “as long as we have a state policy, we will have conflict” - she hopes Europe will react accordingly.