Rita Augestad Knudsen
Senior Research FellowRita Augestad Knudsen is a Senior Researcher at NUPI and part of the research Group for Security and Defence, and she works especially on counter-terrorism and anti-radicalisation. She is the managing director of the Consortium for Research on Terrorism and International Crime, and affiliated with C-REX (Center for Research on Extremism at the University of Oslo).
Rita Augestad Knudsen’s main competence is on terrorism-, extremism, and radicalisation-related risk assessment, the concept of ‘radicalisation’, UK counter-terrorism, as well as the history of self-determination in international politics and international law, besides the Balkans, especially Kosovo. Her publications include analyses of international security cooperation on sanctions and international statebuilding, and her PhD in international history/intellectual history from the London School of Economics and Political Science was on ‘self-determination’ and freedom in international discourse.
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Publication
: Academic anthology
The Fight Over Freedom in 20th- and 21st-Century International Discourse Moments of ‘self-determination’
This book shows how international discourse citing ‘self-determination’ over the last hundred years has functioned as a battleground between two ideas of freedom: a ‘radical’ idea of freedom, and a ‘liberal-conservative’ idea of freedom. The book offers new insights into the historical times in which... -
News
‘We need to reflect on what “freedom” means to us’
25.06.2020What does freedom mean? In her new book, NUPI Senior Research Fellow Rita Augestad Knudsen examines the use of this concept within international politics. -
Publication
: Academic article
Localising ‘radicalisation’: Risk assessment practices in Greece and the United Kingdom
This article juxtaposes anti-radicalisation policy in the United Kingdom, one of the pioneers in the field, with Greece, one of the latecomers. Drawing on localisation theory, our aim is to understand how ‘common knowledge’ of radicalisation and counter-radicalisation has materialised in the United Kingdom... -
Research project
Report on development and use of risk-assessment tools for violent extremism
2019 - 2020 (Ongoing)This project shall examine the development and use of risk-assessment tools related to violent extremism, and elucidate the evidential basis on which the tools are built.
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Publication
: Academic article
Between vulnerability and risk? Mental health in UK counter-terrorism
The relationship between terrorism and mental health has been a scholarly concern for decades. So far, the literature has concentrated on the relationship between terrorism and diagnosable disorders, and the prevalence of certain psychological traits among terrorist offenders. Meanwhile, the incorporation... -
Wed 28 Nov 2018Event
Theory Seminar: Lacanian psychoanalysis and the fascination with ISIS in Euro-US security discourse’
Time: 12:30 Location: NUPICharlotte Heath-Kelly will present her work on how Lacanian psychoanalysis can inform our understanding of the Western need for enmity, and its obsession with enemy entities such the Islamic State.
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Wed 12 Dec 2018Event
Preventing terrorism through risk assessments – a UK perspective
Time: 12:00 Location: NUPIHow does the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy play out in in real-life, and what's the (potential) role of risk assessments in the prevention of terrorism? Marek Hubert, former academic and a current Police Officer, visits NUPI to talk about these issues.
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Wed 28 Nov 2018Event
Critical approaches in terrorism research: Power, pre-emption and preventing violent extremism
Time: 10:00 Location: NUPIWhat is a critical methodology? How and when are critical methodologies useful in terrorism research?
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News
Measuring the risk of radicalization – is that really possible?
03.10.2018Are tools for gauging the risk of radicalization used correctly? -
Publication
: ARTIKKEL
Measuring radicalisation: risk assessment conceptualisations and practice in England and Wales
Individual ‘radicalisation’- extremism- and terrorism-related risk assessment tools have become increasingly central instruments of counter-terrorism. The scholarship on such tools, however, is still its infancy, and remains concentrated on methodological issues and on identifying the ‘best’ indicator... -
Fri 20 Apr 2018Event
Violent extremism and the role of mental disorder
Time: 09:30 Location: NUPITo what degree can mental illness explain terrorism, and is there a marked difference between the lone actor and the group-based extremist?
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Mon 19 Feb 2018Event
Understanding the foreign fighter phenomenon in the Balkans: insights from Kosovo and Bosnia
Time: 11:45 Location: NUPIThree researchers are visiting NUPI to talk about why the assumption we have about foreign fighters often is incorrect.
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News
What does the Islamic State's strategic communication look like?
18.12.2017VIDEO: Watch Charlie Winter's talk on how IS is using strategic communication. -
Thu 11 Jan 2018Event
CANCELLED: Lunch seminar: Hacking for the Homeland: Palestinian resistance in the digital era
Time: 11:30 Location: NUPIEvent cancelled due to unforeseen events.
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Fri 15 Dec 2017Event
Lunch Seminar: The Islamic State - Terrorism and Influence
Time: 11:30 Location: NUPIWhat does the current state of play regarding the IS strategic communication operations look like?
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Tue 22 Aug 2017Event
LUNCH SEMINAR: New Media, New World? Understanding the role of technology in the age of extremisms, propaganda and "Fake News"
Time: 11:30 Location: NUPIWhat role does new media and communication play for our politics and society?
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News
The risk of undifferentiated news
15.05.2017How are radicalization issues covered in international media? -
Publication
: NUPI Working Paper
Radicalization and foreign fighters in the Kosovo context: An analysis of international media coverage of the phenomena
This working paper takes a critical look at the written coverage of issues of jihadi radicalization and foreign fighters from Kosovo, identifying key themes, assumptions, and areas where the press seems to have missed certain points. The paper is based on an extensive survey of written English-language... -
Tue 13 Jun 2017Event
Lunch seminar: Al-Qaida in Afghanistan - an alternative perspective
Time: 11:30 Location: NUPIThe Consortium for research on terrorism and crime has the pleasure of welcoming Anne Stenersen to talk about her book that gives a new perspective on al-Qaida.