The Department of International Politics does research on international and global politics, governance, European politics and the implications of Norwegian foreign, security and defense policy.
Our core research topics and geographical areas include:
- Globalisation and global governance
- International security and trans-Atlantic relations
- European integration
- Peace and diplomacy
- Military power, piracy, disarmament / non-proliferation of nuclear weapons
- International terrorism and radicalisation
- Europe, USA, the Middle East
- IR-theory and methodology
The department seeks to combine basic research with applied research through long-term programmes (e.g. EUPERFORM, 2010-2014; Manning the State, 2011-2013 and Hegemony and World Order, 2002-2008) and more policy-relevant research projects. The research on global governance is organised in a Centre for Global Governance within the department.
The department has developed a comprehensive network of international and national partners that take part in current projects, i.a. through AGORA, Consortium for Research on International Crime and Terrorism and GR:EEN. Participation at international research conferences such as ISA and ECPR is highly prioritised by our researchers.
As a means to partake in the public debate about Norwegian foreign policy and give our research practical relevance, the department organises seminars based on projects and publications, among them a seminar series on EUPERFORM. Our research dissemination activities also include article publication in refereed journals, mainstream media and popular science publications.
Early Modern International Relations (EMIR)
This project examines the early modern roots of the international system, and how it evolved over time, asking how new are the "new" trends in global governance? More
Slums, states and citizens: Policing, welfare services and political participation among the urban poor in New Delhi, Nairobi and Durban
Manning the State: The Danish Empire, Its Norwegian Civil Servants and the Making of the 1814 Constitution
The project aims at studying the change from empire to suzerainty to open to social scientific research Norwegian 18th century history; the place of Norway in the Danish composite state and Norwegian foreign policy making in the 19th century. More
Towards NATO á la carte? NATOs Adaption to New Tasks and Changing Relations in a Multipolar World
This project examines whether NATO is about to become a security organization à la carte, engaging in security tasks on a case-by-case basis and alternately serving the interests of different member states, constellations and external partners. More
The Shifting Geopolitics of the Black Sea Region: Actors, Drivers and Challenges
The Black Sea Region stands out as a region where realpolitik once more has come to the fore. This project maps drivers that currently affect the shifting geopolitics of the Black Sea region. More
Global Trends
This project examines global trends and their implications for Norwegian foreign and development policy. More
- Leira, Halvard , Joakim Hertzberg Ulstein (2013). Globale sikkerhetstrusler. Oslo, NUPI. 53 pages. Denne rapporten tar for seg hva som ligger i begrepet globale sikkerhetstrusler og analyserer hvordan fem globale aktører - EU, USA, Russland, Kina og Brasil - forholder seg til slike trusler. Et hovedfunn er at «globale sikkerhetstrusler» og nærliggende begreper må forstås politisk, de benyttes i betydelig grad for å skape oppmerksomhet om fenomener som aktører med håp om definisjonsmakt opplever som viktige.
- Neumann, Iver B. (2013). Diplomatic Sites. New York, Columbia University Press. 176 pages. In this book Iver B. Neumann investigates diplomatic sites - from the dinner table to sites of conflict mediation and peace facilitation, via representations of diplomacy in popular culture.
- Sending, Ole Jacob, Andreas Stensland
(2013). Unpacking the “Culture of Protection”: A Political Economy Analysis of UN Protection of Civilians ,
in Benjamin de Carvalho and Ole Jacob Sending (eds.) The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping: Concept, Implementation and Practice.
.Baden-Baden,Nomos.p. 63-88.The chapter demonstrates how different institutional actors – such as OHCA, ICRC, and OHCHR – all advance different interpretations of “protection” in order to further their respective institutional interests. Because the term “protection” is a vehicle to advance different, even conflicting, institutional interests it is unlikely that there will be greater conceptual clarity in the foreseeable future. [url] - Haugevik, Kristin M.
(2013). Empire, specialness: Exploring the intersections between imperial and special relationships,
in Parker, Noel (ed.) Empire and International Order.
.London,Ashgate.p. 95-112.The chapter explores four possible intersections between empires and “special” inter-state relationships. Special relationships can be approached as imperial remnants or neo-imperial articulations. But empires and special relationships can also be seen as comparable analytical ideal-types of relational contracting or sets of interaction practices. [url] - de Carvalho, Benjamin , Ole Jacob Sending
(2013). Introduction: A Concern with Protection,
in Benjamin de Carvalho and Ole Jacob Sending (eds.) The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping: Concept, Implementation and Practice.
.Baden-Baden,Nomos.p. 17-23.The authors argue that we have witnessed the emergence of a new discourse on the protection of civilians over the past decade. Grounded in the practice of peacekeeping in UN missions, this discourse and evolving norms has sought to distance itself from the rather rigid understanding of protection of civilians as understood in International Humanitarian Law, focusing instead on practical challenges on the ground. [url] - Lie, Jon Harald Sande, Benjamin de Carvalho
(2013). Conceptual Unclarity and Competition: The Protection of Civilians and the Responsibility to Protect,
in Benjamin de Carvalho and Ole Jacob Sending (eds.) The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping: Concept, Implementation and Practice.
.Baden-Baden,Nomos.p. 47-62.The Protection of Civilians and the Responsibility to Protect are confused both in policy discourse and by more analytically minded scholars. Such a conflation, the authors argue, is misleading and may lead to a loss of legitimacy for PoC – which would, over time, be detrimental to UN missions’ ability to protect civilians in practice. [url] - Schia, Niels Nagelhus, Benjamin de Carvalho,
(2013). Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and the Rule of Law in Liberia,
in Benjamin de Carvalho and Ole Jacob Sending (eds.) The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping: Concept, Implementation and Practice.
.Baden-Baden,Nomos. [url] - de Carvalho, Benjamin , Ole Jacob Sending [ed.] (2013). The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping: Concept, Implementation and Practice. Baden-Baden, Nomos. 206 pages. This edited volume explores the Protection of Civilians (PoC) and offers comparisons and in-depth studies of protection mandates in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa. The book seeks to show that however PoC is defined at headquarters level, successful implementation must rest on an understanding of the limits and challenges encountered in mission, on the ground.
- Neumann, Iver B.
(2013). Den religiøse stemme som taler sannhet til makten,
i Oddbjørn Leirvik, Kjetil Fretheim og Beate Fagerli (red.) Sannhetens øyeblikk
.Oslo,Akademika Forlag.p. 189-199. [url] - Neumann, Iver B., Nicholas Kiersey [ed.] (2013). Battlestar Galactica and International Relations. London, Routledge. 226 pages. Looking at a television franchise like Battlestar Galactica (BSG) is no longer news within the discipline of International Relations. A growing number of scholars in and out of IR are studying the importance of cultural artifacts – popular or otherwise – for the phenomena that make up the core of our discipline.
