Researcher
Claudia Emilie Aanonsen
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Summary
Claudia Emilie Aanonsen is a Senior Research Fellow at NUPI and part of the research group on security and defence. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Amsterdam and an MSc in International Politics from SOAS, University of London.
Her research explores cybersecurity, digital politics and governance, contemporary warfare, and technology within international politics as well as the European Union. She employs critical approaches within International Relations (IR) theory and Science and Technology Studies (STS) to examine how technologies shape security practices, political authority, and power dynamics in global and regional contexts.
Expertise
Education
2022-2025 PhD in Political Science, University of Amsterdam
2018-2019 Master of Science, International Politics. Department of Politics and International Studies, SOAS, University of London, England
2016 Visiting Student, Political Science. Department of Arts and Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
2014-2017 Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies. Department of Cross Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Work Experience
2025- Senior Research Fellow, NUPI
2022-2025: Doctoral Fellow, NUPI
2021-2022 Junior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
2020-2021 Project Manager, Cappelen Damm Undervisning
2018 Assistant Programme Manager, Turning Tables Jordan
2017 Trainee, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Arab States
2017 Trainee, The Royal Embassy of Denmark in Beirut
Aktivitet
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Breakfast seminar: Space diplomacy and Transatlantic Relations
Is the space domain increasingly characterised by militarisation – or are we witnessing the emergence of a new realm of transatlantic cooperation based on diplomacy?
Trump 2.0 og internasjonal politikk
I denne spesialrapporten har Senter for geopolitikk samlet en rekke bidrag fra forskere tilknyttet senteret, fra Fridtjof Nansen Institutt, Institutt for Forsvarsstudier, Universitetet i Oslo, UiT – Norges Arktiske Universitet og Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt. Bidragene setter søkelys på noen konkrete temaer som inntak til å forstå et USA i endring og hva det vil kunne bety for andre stater, og for utviklingen på konkrete politikkfelt. Rapporten har særlig fokus på hva disse endringene, hver for seg og samlet, betyr for Europa og Norge. En oppdatert versjon ble publisert 12.06.25, klokken 12.40.
Riskification and the production of threat: A comparison of risk assessments in cybersecurity and counter-terrorism
This article foregrounds the riskification of cybersecurity – the transition from pre-empting threat to governing risk – through a comparison of the U.S. government intrusion detection system EINSTEIN and parts of the UK counter-terrorism programme Prevent. Extensively theorised within both cybersecurity and counter-terrorism, calculating, profiling and governing risk has become the default mode of security governance, algorithmically producing subjects of insecurity. However, a closer, comparative read of the sociotechnical configurations that underpin specific modalities in risk assessment systems reveal important differences: Whereas Prevent more clearly presupposes normative subjects and standards of (in)security, EINSTEIN’s anomaly detection engenders threat not as a binary or normative distinction but as a separate category of risk. Highlighting these differences enables a deeper understanding of speculative security practices as such, and of how they may be theorised. In particular, the article shows how ‘meaning-making’ and ‘sense-making’ are processes that shape both security responses and timelines through which risk is conceptualised in different ways. Moreover, it reveals that rather than being fixed, risk and (in)security is perpetually co-produced with the tools used for assessment: The production of (in)security hence has little to do with real or imagined risk but rather emerges from a particular configuration of social, political and technological relations.
Stuxnet, revisited (again): Producing the strategic relevance of cyber operations
More than a decade after Stuxnet hit the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Iran, it is still discussed as the most vivid example of a cyber operation causing kinetic damage to infrastructure with implications for national security. This article shows that Stuxnet is due a revisit by arguing that the operation represents a paradigmatic shift in perceptions that continue to produce the meaning of ‘strategic relevance’ for cyber operations. The exceptional story of Operation Olympic Games and the Stuxnet malware has underpinned the way contemporary understandings of the (potential) role of cyber operations in international conflict prevail. Through a critical review of academic and policy discourse largely driven by orthodox perspectives on strategic security, the article demonstrates how these perspectives continue to influence American and Western policy objectives based on the imagined utility of cyber operations as an instrument of power. When exploring the strategic relevance of cyber operations as historically and politically produced, tied up in discursive and material interactions, it allows for scholars across the spectrum of security studies to critically consider the emergence of ‘new’ security threats and strategic capabilities.
Digital Borders, Global Ties: The EU’s Dual Quest for Cybersecurity and Digital Sovereignty
The EU's approach to ‘digital sovereignty’ and cybersecurity addresses concerns about geopolitical instability, data ownership, and control over critical digital infrastructure. This policy brief highlights the EU’s ambiguous claim to digital sovereignty, which is not only about controlling the internal digital space but also about navigating external dependencies. As the EU seeks to reduce reliance on external actors and increase autonomy in its digital space, it must navigate the risks of isolation from global markets. This creates a delicate balance between strengthening (cyber)security and fostering international cooperation. The forthcoming EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is illustrative of this tension; while the CRA aims to strengthen digital resilience and autonomy, it underscores the need for the EU to protect its digital borders whilst integrated in the global digital economy. This push for autonomy must account for international interdependencies, especially in cybersecurity, where external partnerships remain crucial. Ultimately, the EU must adopt a nuanced approach that aligns ambitions toward digital sovereignty with the realities of an interconnected world.
Stuxnet - et paradigmeskifte?
More than a decade after Stuxnet was made publicly known, it remains the most vigorous example of a cyber attack causing both serious kinetic damage and as means to assert political pressure. Based on an analysis of the operation and its aftermath, this chapter argues that Stuxnet represents a paradigm shift. In view of advancements made to develop offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, particularly in the US, Israel and Iran, the shift refers to how states understand and use cyber capabilities during times of conflict. We illustrate how cyber operations can in certain contexts function as a supplement between diplomacy and the use of military means, but also in some cases as a substitute for conventional military force. The article is in Norwegian.
Angst i Athen: En forskerspires frykt for å feile
Møt Claudia Aanonsen, doktorgradsstipendiat ved NUPI, som for første gang skal delta på en internasjonal forskerkonferanse. Hun gruer seg, og er e...
Hva er det vi egentlig løser ved å slette TikTok?
Hvilke apper må Nasjonal sikkerhetsmyndighet vurdere i neste runde?
Cyber security in Norway
As one of the world's most digitized countries, cyber attacks against Norway are something we should be well prepared for. But are we sufficiently secured? This edition of Hvor hender det? answers the questions: - What exactly is a cyber attack? - Does Norway have good cyber security? - What kind of Russian cyber attacks have we seen in Ukraine and Europe? - And why is it so important that Norway protects itself against cyber attacks now?
Verdens rikeste mann har geopolitiske ambisjoner. Derfor bekymrer Twitter-kjøpet.
Elon Musk's involvement in the Ukraine war and take-over of Twitter raise a number of questions and dilemmas (in Norwegian).