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This Is the Way... Vikings Are Coming, Again!by Robin WebberLong ago in Europe, one of the great cries of desperation spoken in many languages was "the Vikings are coming, the Vikings are coming!" As these bands of raiders sailed along the waterways of Europe, their impact over time changed entire political norms of their day. The cumulative effect of these Scandinavian adventurers from 800 to 1066 A.D. was felt in the courts and ports of Kiev, Palermo, Paris, Dublin, York, London and Constantinople. Seemingly, the Vikings were everywhere! These were not simply hit-and-miss pirates with long ships and horned helmets, but as historians have come to recognize, an ingenious collection of people who were highly organized in their desire to expand their peoples' impact on kingdoms near and far. It's amazing how things change and don't change over a thousand years. The descendants of the Vikings seemingly are everywhere still, but now their "landings" on foreign soil are of a gentler nature. The anguished screams of terror of long ago have been transformed into the deliberate hush of quiet diplomacy. This is borne out in Peter Ford's article that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor of May 31, 2000, titled, "Norway Helps Itself by Helping Others Make Peace." Mr. Ford states, "You will find Norwegians in the most unlikely places. In Sri Lanka, for example, a Norwegian deputy foreign minister is leading efforts to bring the government and Tamil rebels to the negotiating table. In Colombia, a Norwegian United Nations official is seeking to cement peace between the army and the Marxist guerrillas. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, Norwegian church workers are fostering talks between religious leaders on both sides of the war." He quotes Geir Lundestad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, as proudly stating, "everywhere there is a crisis, there seems to be a Norwegian." What an amazing difference a millennium makes, as "the People of the North" have turned from the industry of war to the "business of peace." When did this latest peaceful assault on other nations begin? Ford takes us back to when Norway helped broker the Oslo peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993. Since then, according to Ford, "the Norwegian government has been inundated with requests to help solve conflicts from Kashmir to Kurdistan, from Cyprus to Guatemala. Wherever it gets involved, Oslo has practiced its unique brand of diplomacy, blending official overtures with freelance initiatives by ambitious private citizens in a way no other country has dared." Being daring for peace Being daring and being successful are not always synonymous! The best of intentions can quickly be sucked up in the quicksand of international diplomacy. Solomon, who was no stranger to the complexities of international diplomacy, offered sage advice spotlighted in Proverbs 15:22. "Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established." Imagine the frustration of the citizenry of some of the previously-mentioned countries in conflict. They cannot emotionally afford to see peace negotiations go awry. With this verse in mind, it's fascinating how the Norwegians are practicing some very real biblical power points in regards to negotiating human relationships. How are the Norwegians manufacturing this "planned-daring"? Reporter Ford begins to lay out a picture for us to understand. Jan Egeland, the Norwegian diplomat who invented the model, and who supervised the "back-channel" through which the Oslo accord was negotiated, is quoted as saying "the purest form of the Norwegian model is the foreign ministry working in symbiosis with one or more academic or nongovernmental humanitarian organizations." Ford continues to outline the strength of the Norwegian peace offensive by adding Bishop of Oslo Gunnar Staalsett's comments. "It is a particularity of Norway's civil society that no one has a monopoly over bureaucracy or diplomacy. Rather, the government cooperates closely with organizations like churches and trade unions." It's an interesting commentary on Norwegian society that no one has a monopoly or "corner on the market" on being involved in problem-solving. Ford states that the Israeli-PLO accord remains the classic, but by no means the only, success of this new peace offensive. It is interesting to understand how this model example came about. It began with contacts that Terje Roed-Larsen, a Norwegian academic following his diplomat wife to her posting in Cairo, made with Palestinians and Israeli officials as he planned a study of living conditions in Gaza for FAFO, his labor union-funded think tank in Oslo. Those contacts led to secret talks in Norway over the course of a year that gradually involved even more senior officials, until the world was stunned to learn that the PLO and Israel had made peace even though public negotiations in Washington had gone nowhere. "The risk profile is lower if you start with contact at the nongovernmental level, and slowly progress to the official level," said Mona Juul, the wife of Roed-Larsen. Becoming moral entrepreneurs Egeland, who established the model that Roed-Larsen operated from, recognizes the strengths and limitations of Norway's ability to influence the international scene. He recognizes that such a small country has a limited number of governmental personnel, and therefore is limited in expertise in various parts of the world. So, many players must be brought to the table. Norway has the expertise and the money, but the contacts must come from elsewhere-be it the business world or academia. Egeland's vision, which began with a graduate thesis in the 1980s, has ultimately propelled him to responsibility as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy in the diplomatic hotspot of Colombia. His initial thesis offered the notion that a country like Norway might sometimes be better placed than more imposing nations to broker peace deals. The thesis that ultimately became a book titled Impotent Superpower, Potent Small State, clearly outlined that Norway had an unfulfilled potential for facilitating, bridge building and being a "moral entrepreneur." A quote from the Nobel Institute's Lundestad, a professor, interested me. In commenting on Egeland's initial work he said, "as an academic work, it was no good, but more important was that Egeland believed it, and he used it as a basis for his activism." His vision was a collaborative effort of private citizens, academia, businesses and movement agencies that Egeland describes as "venture capital for peace." Significantly, in all of this, Norway is not a threatening country. Since the days of the Vikings, it hasn't threatened its neighbors. There are no strategic interests, colonial connections or political stakes. But, Norway is not neutral! It does belong to NATO. Being a peacemaker doesn't mean that you don't have values and commitments, but that you have a capacity to reach out and seek solutions through understanding, rather than ready-made conclusions. Stein Villumstad, assistant general secretary of Norwegian Church Aid, makes a powerful point when stating, "money and reputation are not enough" to solve thorny problems. He goes on to state that, "NCA workers funded by the foreign ministry brokered a peace deal ending a civil war in 1996 by having a presence, a history, legitimacy on the ground, and entry into both sides fighting the war." Interestingly, Villumstad at this moment occasionally chairs negotiations between Ethiopia and Eritrea on their border war. Expanding on this principle, Bishop Staalsett believes the guerrillas of Guatemala asked him to intervene because "they had confidence in my profile as a genuine person involved in the struggle for human rights." Mr. Ford shares a keen insight: the "peace business" doesn't always happen overnight. He emphasizes that Norway has shown a willingness to stick with the problems however long they take to solve. A case in point is its seven years in dealing with Guatemala. Ford concludes his article with a meaningful quote by Egeland. "The United States has big sticks and carrots it can use to mediate, but we are activist facilitators. We can try to beg, convince, propose, suggest, prod, and to help-but we never say here is a draft agreement. We can help those who are willing and able to make peace or those who are willing, but unable. But we have no sticks and a very small carrot, so we cannot help those who are unwilling. And anyway, we haven't made peace anywhere. The parties have. We have just helped." Meaningful and realistic expectations The Norwegians have come to understand the strengths and limitations of their role. They also have meaningful expectations regarding the personal responsibilities of the parties involved. Real change comes from the inside-out, not outside-in. But, it is at times necessary to shepherd people towards that awareness. Really what the Norwegian community is emulating is "Christianity 101." They recognize it is not the size of their country, but the size of their mission that is of prime importance! They recognize that to be peacemakers is simply that-making peace-and it is a truly creative effort that entails every fabric of your being and every fabric of society. No one is discounted, and everyone is needed. Peacemaking is contrary to human nature so it demands new thinking, new ways and, at times, new people to achieve the goal. Foundationally important is the track record that the Norwegians are committed to peace-no matter how long it takes. It's been said, "There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results" (Arthur Turlock). Long ago Christ spoke about people who were not committed. In the book of John, He called such people "hirelings." He provided a comparison test between true leadership and simply "wannabes." He stated in John 10:11-13, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep." Oftentimes, the difference between a leader and a "hireling" is expecting immediate results and immediate turnabout. Often in life, what has taken time to build up to a point of contention also takes time to bring down, and it takes time to find a worthy replacement to fill the void. The Norwegians have seemingly locked into the understanding of James 1:3-4 that reminds us that patience is not only a virtue, but also a strength. "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." The vision in your mind's eye and in your heart must be stronger and louder than the tick of a clock or the picture of frustration that lies before you. Laying hold of lasting answers, now Biblical prophecy tells that people will form a stream of humanity flowing towards Jerusalem saying, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths" (Isaiah 2:3). This time of peace is further illustrated by a graphic depiction found in Zechariah 8:23. "Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'" There is a time in the future when the saints of God are going to be a "hot commodity," because they, in turn, have applied living principles that offer hope to the hopeless. Right now people are looking towards Oslo and studying their approach to peace. And yes, Norwegians are everywhere in demand, just like the Jew of Zechariah 8:23, to tackle the thorny issues of peace. It's amazing to consider the transformation in nature that these Norsemen have undergone over the past millennium. Perhaps this offers us a slight foretaste of how much the entire world will change under Jesus Christ's millennial rule. Yes, for now the "Vikings are coming," again! But this time they have exchanged the instruments of war for the patience required to bring about peace. We too, as Christians, have been called to be moral entrepreneurs. We are in a state of training to be kings and priests (Revelation 5:10) who will assist in the diplomatic efforts of the world tomorrow. Our challenges today are not necessarily solving the conflicts of Guatemala, Colombia or Jerusalem-but our personal challenges may seem just as big and just as frustrating. These, too, demand a new creativity! You may wish to reread this article and try to practice some of the biblical power points the Norwegians are using in some of the personal struggles you are facing with family, job, church and school. Like the people of Norway, we must learn to move beyond simple recipes for peace and incorporate visionary activism that motivates people in our sphere of influence to give peace a chance. Like the Norwegians, we too must come to realize that we have everything to win and nothing to lose. Wouldn't it be nice to say that "everywhere there is a crisis, there is a Christian"? Yes, the Vikings are coming, again-but this time they echo the millennial refrain of "this is the way, walk you in it" as, step-by-step, they give peace at chance. How about you? WNP |
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Other Articles by Robin Webber
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Keywords: Norway Norwegian diplomacy
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