Skip to content
NUPI skole

Researcher

Charlotte Lysa

Senior Research Fellow
Lysa,  Charlotte_Cropped.jpg

Contactinfo and files

charlotte.lysa@nupi.no
+47 920 68 796
Original image

Summary

Charlotte Lysa is a Senior Research Fellow at NUPI and is part of the Research Group on Peace, Conflict and Development. She holds a PhD in Middle East Studies from the University of Oslo (2019). Her work primarily concerns state and society in the Gulf States, in particular Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Topics include refugee protection and policy, football and politics, and women and social change. Lysa has previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow and as a research fellow at the University of Oslo. She has been a visiting fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh and at Qatar University.

Expertise

  • Foreign policy
  • The Middle East and North Africa
  • Migration
  • Nation-building
  • Human rights
  • United Nations

Education

2019 PhD in Middle East Studies, University of Oslo.
2015 Master's Degree in Middle East Studies, University of Oslo.
2013 Bachelor's Degree, Culture and Society, University of Oslo.
2011 Bachelor's Degree, Development Studies, Oslo University College.

Work experience

2023 – 2025 Research fellow, Faculty of Humanities, University of Oslo.
2020 – 2023 Postdoctoral fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo.

Aktivitet

Publications
Publications

Making Rafha: explaining the establishment of Saudi Arabia’s first and only refugee camp

This article explores the establishment of the Rafha refugee camp in Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the Gulf War, hosting 33,000 Iraqi refugees. The study draws on primary sources from the UNHCR archives and oral history interviews to explain the process leading to the establishment of the camp. The study offers new insights on how the state, and certain interests of a state, are, while highly relevant, not the only factors determining the outcome. Other factors contribute to explaining how the government responded to the particular situation and thus contribute to understanding the variation in approaches to refugee situations, in particular in the case of the Iraqi population in the Rafha refugee camp, the only refugee camp in the history of the Saudi state.

refuge_39_1cover.jpeg
Fotball-VM og politikk
Podcast

Fotball-VM og politikk

Årets VM er blitt svært politisk. Men hvorfor?Fotball handler om mye mer enn det som skjer på banen: Det handler om makt, om internasjonalt omdømm...

Articles
News
Articles
News

What now for the Middle East? NUPI symposium and new podcast episode explore the region’s future

  • Security policy
  • Terrorism and extremism
  • Diplomacy
  • Foreign policy
  • The Middle East and North Africa
  • Humanitarian issues
  • Conflict
  • Insurgencies
  • Human rights
  • Governance
Event
12:15 - 13:15 Europe/Oslo
Scene HumSam, Georg Sverdrups hus, Universitetsbiblioteket, Blindern
Engelsk
Uten tittel (34).png
Event
12:15 - 13:15 Europe/Oslo
Scene HumSam, Georg Sverdrups hus, Universitetsbiblioteket, Blindern
Engelsk
28. Apr 2026
Event
12:15 - 13:15 Europe/Oslo
Scene HumSam, Georg Sverdrups hus, Universitetsbiblioteket, Blindern
Engelsk

Women, football and social change in Saudi Arabia: Pioneer players

CIMS and NUPI are pleased to announce a co-organized event featuring a book launch with author Dr. Charlotte Lysa and co-panelists: Dr Laila Makboul and Prof. Emeritus Bjørn Olav Utvik.

Articles
Articles

Research group for Peace, Conflict and Development

  • Foreign policy
  • Peace operations
  • Conflict
  • Nation-building
Fred konflikt og utvikling forsidebilde.jpg
Articles
Articles

Research group for Peace, Conflict and Development

  • Foreign policy
  • Peace operations
  • Conflict
  • Nation-building
Fred konflikt og utvikling forsidebilde.jpg