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NUPI skole

Researcher

Morten Bøås

Research Professor
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Contactinfo and files

mbo@nupi.no
+(47) 920 97 958
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Summary

Morten Bøås (PhD) is Research Professor and works predominantly on issues concerning peace and conflict in Africa, including issues such as land rights and citizenship conflicts, youths, ex-combatants and the new landscape of insurgencies and geopolitics.

Bøås has authored, co-authored and co-edited several books and published a number of articles for academic journals. He has conducted in-depth fieldwork in a number of African countries and travelled widely elsewhere on the continent.

Expertise

  • Terrorism and extremism
  • Development policy
  • Africa
  • Peace operations
  • Conflict
  • Fragile states
  • Migration
  • Insurgencies
  • International organizations

Education

2001 Dr.Polit. (Ph.D) in Political Science, University of Oslo

1995 The CRE/Copernicus Seminar on Environmental Law

1994 Cand.Polit., in Political Science, University of Oslo

Work Experience

2013- Research professor, NUPI

2010-2012 Head of Research, Fafo’s Institute for Applied International Studies

2002-2010 Research Fellow, Fafo

Aktivitet

Rethinking radicalisation and resilience in Mali and the Sahel
Podcast

Rethinking radicalisation and resilience in Mali and the Sahel

What does resilience against radicalisation and violent extremism look like in Mali and the Sahel? And which drivers are present for the spread of...

  • Defence
  • Terrorism and extremism
  • Africa
  • Defence
  • Terrorism and extremism
  • Africa
NUPIpodden#3: Afrikas opprørere - hvem er de?
Podcast

NUPIpodden#3: Afrikas opprørere - hvem er de?

NUPI-forsker Morten Bøås snakker om sin nye bok "Africa's Insurgents: Navigating an Evolving Landscape. Hvem er disse opprørerne? Og hva kjenneteg...

  • Africa
  • Fragile states
  • Insurgencies
  • Africa
  • Fragile states
  • Insurgencies
Understanding the roots of Kurdish resilience to violent extremism in Iraq
Podcast

Understanding the roots of Kurdish resilience to violent extremism in Iraq

What are the reasons behind the limited impact of violent extremism and the Islamic State in the Kurdistan region of Iraq? In this episode of the...

  • Terrorism and extremism
  • Foreign policy
  • Humanitarian issues
  • Conflict
  • Fragile states
  • Insurgencies
  • Terrorism and extremism
  • Foreign policy
  • Humanitarian issues
  • Conflict
  • Fragile states
  • Insurgencies
Publications
Publications
Research paper

Africa in a time of global crisis: Some trends

Africa is facing major challenges. Poverty is increasing again after many years of decline, and many countries are experiencing an economic crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including rising inflation. Several countries are indirectly affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has led to high energy prices and reduced access to grain and fertiliser. Several countries and regions are also marked by terrorism and violent conflicts, and climate change is creating increased risks of floods, droughts and heatwaves. Parallel to this, the role of the great powers in Africa is changing rapidly. After a period of strong European and American dominance, other great powers, such as China and Russia, have stepped up their activities in Africa. China has invested heavily in infrastructure, trade and development aid, while Russia has gained an important role in a number of countries, particularly through military aid and arms supply. Other countries, such as India, Turkey and Qatar, have also invested heavily in Africa. These developments are taking place simultaneously as Africa’s global significance is set to increase. First, the region has important natural resources, such as oil and gas, as well as rare minerals and earth metals that are in high demand in the context of the green transition. Second, Africa is severely affected by climate change, which can lead to social unrest, violent conflicts and extensive migration. In a time of increasing geopolitical rivalries and instability, this means that developments in Africa will have considerable global ramifications. Although other countries have increased their interest in and become more important partners for African countries, the EU and Europe are still Africa’s largest trading partners and providers of development aid. The influence of the EU and Europe in Africa is not challenged in this respect, but rather in areas such as governance, infrastructure and energy, and specifically from the Russian side within what we can call a niche of security markets. Russia has been able to operate here by offering arms sales, military training and services from the Wagner Group (a private military company) to regimes that Europe and the United States are not willing to provide that type of support for. The struggle for political and economic influence in Africa is stronger and more intense than since the Cold War, and there is reason to believe this will continue. This also gives African countries more choice and autonomy vis-à-vis external actors. African states are not just objects to be acted upon by the international community, whether through development aid, investment or in international forums; they are also active agents who, with increased self-awareness, will seek to navigate the new landscape of global power rivalries and fragmentation. This is a development that must be taken seriously. Neither Norway nor Europe can afford to take Africa and African support for our positions in international politics for granted. This report provides a brief overview of the key trends in Africa, which form the basis for Norway’s development of a new strategy for Africa.

  • Development policy
  • Foreign policy
  • Africa
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  • Development policy
  • Foreign policy
  • Africa
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Research project
2024 - 2026 (Ongoing)

Re-Engaging with Neighbours in a State of War and Geopolitical Tensions (RE-ENGAGE)

RE-ENGAGE’s overarching ambition is to assist the EU in refining its foreign policy toolbox, including its enlargement and neighbourhood policies. This will enhance the Union’s geopolitical leverage a...

  • Security policy
  • Regional integration
  • Foreign policy
  • Europe
  • Nation-building
  • Governance
  • International organizations
  • The EU
  • Comparative methods
  • Security policy
  • Regional integration
  • Foreign policy
  • Europe
  • Nation-building
  • Governance
  • International organizations
  • The EU
  • Comparative methods
Publications
Publications
Working paper

Working paper on EU’s policies and instruments for PVE

This working paper maps and analyses the toolbox of the EU and a handful of European countries by providing a comprehensive overview of existing measures aimed at preventing violent extremism (PVE) within and outside the EU. It lists the institutional set-up, the decisionmaking processes and coordinating practices at both the EU and state levels. In addition to an analysis of counter-terrorism and PVE strategies at the level of EU institutions, the toolbox of four EU member states (Germany, France, Ireland, Spain) and one former member state (UK) is analysed because of their particular experiences with and competences in the area of prevention of violent extremism.

  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The EU
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  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The EU
Publications
Publications
Working paper

Working paper on the implementation of the EU’s policies

This working paper builds on earlier research in which we mapped and analysed the toolbox of the European Union (EU) and a handful of European countries by providing a comprehensive overview of existing measures aimed at counter-terrorism (CT) and preventing violent extremism (PVE) within and outside the EU. It listed the institutional setup, the decision-making processes, and co-ordinating practices at both the EU and state levels. In addition to an analysis of CT and PVE strategies at the level of EU institutions, the toolbox of four EU member states (Germany, France, Ireland, Spain) and one former member state (UK) was unpacked because of their particular experiences with and competences in the area of prevention of violent extremism. Overall, our research found that the PVE agenda is quite a recent phenomenon in most member states and principally aims at preventing violent Islamist extremism through community engagement. The UK has been a pioneer in developing a ‘prevent’ pillar as part of its 2003 CT strategy and has since then actively contributed to the development of an EUlevel PVE framework. This EU framework has in turn pushed other member states, such as Ireland and Spain, to develop their own national PVE strategies in recent years. While Germany has also over the past decade made significant strides in preventing involvement in extremism and has brought its national practices to the EU level, France has generally favoured a more securitized than preventive approach. The present working paper takes the research one step further by looking more closely at the implementation of adopted PVE measures and practices in the EU and the abovementioned key states, both domestically as well as vis-à-vis the Western Balkans and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. As such, we present a more evaluative overview geared towards identifying best practices and lessons learned in this field. The paper not only focuses on how policy is implemented and followed up, but also assesses the EU’s experiences in co-operating with member states and vice versa. In doing so, the research tries to take on board key recent developments, in particular in France and at the EU level, in response to a new series of terrorist attacks that took place in Paris, Nice, and Vienna between the end of October and mid-November 2020. The research builds on a set of in-depth interviews with PVE officials and practitioners within the EU and national administrations.

  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The EU
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  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The EU
Publications
Publications
Policy brief

Policy brief on the implementation of the EU’s policies

Violent extremism is not a new phenomenon and terrorism has a long history in Europe, often linked to separatist movements, anarchism, and far-right and far-left extremism. The trends, means, and patterns of radicalization have evolved rapidly since the Arab uprisings flared exactly a decade ago. Counter-terrorism (CT) and preventing violent extremism (PVE) strategies have developed alongside these trends at the national and supranational level. In the wake of a series of Jihad-inspired terror attacks in Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, the UK, and elsewhere, European Union (EU) member states ramped up their military campaigns against the Islamic State (ISIS, aka Daesh) and al-Qaeda in Syria and Iraq. But since the fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), governments’ interest in fighting terrorism in the Middle East has decreased. Nevertheless, some European countries remain on the front foot in their securitized PVE approach. Although there is no apparent connection between the anti-jihad war waged by the French army in Mali and the radicalization in France, the government is calling for more support from European countries to fight against jihadi movements in the Sahel. But the appetite for costly expeditionary campaigns is decreasing. By and large, the phenomenon of violent extremism is perceived as homegrown. And whereas large differences remain in individual countries’ approaches to tackling the challenges posed by violent extremism, it has nevertheless become increasingly clear that today’s security challenges – whether it is terrorism, organized crime, cyberattacks, disinformation, or other evolving cyber-enabled threats – are shared threats that require a transnational approach. Indeed, Europe as a whole faces new security issues and specific challenges for preventive work that (lone) actors and (returning) foreign terrorist fighters raise, while the internet and social media give extremist and terrorist groups and their sympathisers new opportunities for spreading their propaganda, mobilization, and communication. It is against this changed backdrop that this policy brief asks what lessons the EU can learn from best practices identified at the national level, and in the co0ordination efforts with the supranational institutions.

  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The EU
D43P.PNG
  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The EU
Publications
Publications
Working paper

Working Paper on enabling environments, drivers, and occurrence/nonoccurrence of violent extremism

Why does violent extremism not occur in enabling environments? Based on recent field work in the Sahel and the Maghreb region this is the main question we seek to understand in this working paper. To understand non-occurrence and thereby the foundations of social and individual resilience, we also need to understand the drivers of violent extremism and why they gain traction among some populations while others show much higher degrees of resilience. To achieve this, we will zoom in on cases in Mali, Niger, Tunisia and Morocco, showcasing different trajectories of occurrence and non-occurrence.

  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The Middle East and North Africa
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  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The Middle East and North Africa
Publications
Publications
Policy brief

Policy brief summarizing lessons learnt on the EU’s measures to prevent violent extremism in the region

How do EU initiatives that are geared to help prevent and counter violent extremism in North Africa and the Sahel match the underlying drivers of radicalisation? This PREVEX Policy Brief offers a reading of EU strategies in the backlight of our findings, which stem from fieldwork that was conducted in cases of both occurrence and non-occurrence of violent extremist escalation across North Africa and the Sahel. As scholarly literature lays emphasis on how phenomena such as violent extremism are highly context-dependent, it is crucial to understand regional and local dynamics of social change and intermediation. This brief therefore provides an overall assessment of EU P/CVE policies and projects in North Africa and the Sahel, focusing on key contextual policy issues: democratic governance, rule of law, education, gender, reintegration. It argues that EU’s emphasis on rule of law is particularly appropriate, while there is room for greater engagement in the fields of education and reintegration – provided that conflict-sensitive lenses are carefully applied. In the fields of democratic governance and gender, instead, a mismatch between general strategies and on-the-ground implementation can be observed. Targeted research in these critical areas of intervention and assistance is highly needed. Overall, our analysis invites to consider radicalisation processes not as social pathology but as ongoing social phenomena that take place in a space where several actors rival for material and ideational resources, and therefore require careful assessment and multi-scalar prioritisation, including at the regional and transnational level.

  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The Middle East and North Africa
  • Governance
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  • Terrorism and extremism
  • The Middle East and North Africa
  • Governance
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