Julie Wilhelmsen

Research Professor, Head of the Research group on Russia, Asia and International Trade

jw@nupi.no
(+47) 481 74 328
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Julie Wilhelmsen is a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. She holds a PhD in political science and conducts research in the fields of critical security studies, Russian foreign and security policies and the radicalization of Islam in Eurasia.

The two post-soviet Chechen wars have been a constant focus in her research and she is also heads projects related to conflict resolution in the North Caucasus. From 2012 to 2016 she was the editor of the Scandinavian-language journal Internasjonal Politikk, and has a wide outreach to the Norwegian public on issues related to Russia and Eurasia through frequent public talks and media comments. In 2019 – 2021 Wilhelmsen is an expert in the Cooperative Security Initiative (CSI), an initiative which is designed to generate ideas and shift momentum in favor of cooperative security and multilateralism through the OSCE in order to build a safer Europe.

EDUCATION:

2014 Ph.D in Political Science, University of Oslo. Areas of specialisation: Russian Politics, Critical Security Studies, Discourse Analysis

1999 Cand.Polit. (Political Science), University of Oslo

1996 Master of Science in Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science

1995 Mellomfag in Political Science, University of Oslo

1994 Mellomfag in Russian, University of Oslo

WORK EXPERIENCE:

2014 - Senior Researcher, NUPI

2003 - 2014 Researcher, Centre for Russian Studies, NUPI

2001 - 2003 Researcher and Project manager, Norwegian Defence Reseach Establishment

1999 - 2001 Higher executive officer, Norwegian Directorate of Immigration

Publications All publications

Liberal halvtime: En lang samtale med Julie Wilhelmsen om Russland
Publication : Podcast | 2022
- Julie Wilhelmsen
(This podcast episode is in Norwegian). In episode 343 of the think tank Civita's 'Liberal halvtime', Senior research Fellow Julie Wil1
Identification and physical disconnect in Russian foreign policy: Georgia as a Western proxy once again?
Publication : Academic article | 2022
- Julie Wilhelmsen
Evolving official Russian identifications of Georgia amount to a dangerous securitisation of this small neighbour – achieved through a focus not on G1
How War Becomes Acceptable: Russian re-phrasing of Chechnya
Publication : Academic monograph | 0
- Julie Wilhelmsen
This dissertation investigates how violence against a given territory or group of people becomes acceptable to leaders and their publics. Some wars a1
Russian Certainty of NATO Hostility: Repercussions in the Arctic
Publication : Academic article | 2022
- Julie Wilhelmsen
- Anni Roth Hjermann
How does a security dilemma dynamic between parties deemed not to hold hostile intentions toward each other emerge and escalate? This article investi1
Russian reframing: Norway as an outpost for NATO offensives
Publication | 2021
- Anni Roth Hjermann
- Julie Wilhelmsen
Moscow increasingly views the ‘Collective West’ as an offensive actor and the High North as terrain for NATO ‘expansion’. Norway figures as an active1

Projects All projects

Russian Repertoires of Power in the MENA region (RUSMENA)
Research project | 2021 - 2024 (Ongoing)
The main objective of the RUSMENA project is to examine Russian power practices in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region between 2011 and 2021....
Russia and Eurasia The Middle East and North Africa Security policy Conflict Energy Diplomacy Foreign policy
Norway as an in-between for Russia: Ambivalent space, hybrid measures
Research project | 2020 - 2023 (Ongoing)
This three-year project addresses the acutely relevant question of whether Norway is acquiring the precarious status of an ‘in-between’ state in the Kremlin’s eye after the watershed events of 2014 (A...
Russia and Eurasia The Nordic countries Foreign policy NATO Security policy
When every act is war: Post-Crimea conflict dynamics and Russian foreign policy (WARU)
Research project | 2020 - 2023 (Ongoing)
Tension between great powers in world politics is escalating rapidly. What are the driving forces behind deteriorating relations? Can we explain them solely by the ‘aggressiveness’ of the other (be th...
Russia and Eurasia Conflict Diplomacy Foreign policy Europe The Nordic countries NATO North America Security policy
Common Fear Factors in Foreign Policy (COMFEAR)
Research project | 2019 - 2020 (Completed)
COMFEAR aims to identify key issues of common concern and shared threats as perceived by publics and policymakers in Czechia and Norway....
Security policy Terrorism and extremism Defence Governance Diplomacy Foreign policy NATO Europe Regional integration Global governance Diplomacy and foreign policy Defence and security Theory and method
Competency through Cooperation: Advancing knowledge on Georgia's strategic path (GEOPATH)
Research project | 2018 - 2022 (Completed)
GEOPATH is a collaborative research project which aims to build competency in the Georgian research sector as well as producing new insights into the crucial question of Georgia's future strategi...
Governance Russia and Eurasia The EU

Events All events

Norwegian Foreign Policy Conference 2023: Response – Norwegian foreign policy for a new era
Event
Tue 21 Mar 2023
Time: 09:00 Europe/Oslo | Location: Marmorsalen på Sentralen, Oslo
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NUPI have the pleasure of inviting you to the Norwegian Foreign Policy Conference 2023, 21 March at Sentralen, Oslo.
Breakfast seminar: The war-time foreign policy debate in Russia and Europe
Event
Tue 28 Feb 2023
Time: 08:30 Europe/Oslo | Location: NUPI/Livestream to Facebook and Youtube
How has the Russian foreign policy debate changed, and how is it shaped by the European debate on Russia?
Georgia’s strategic choices after the elections
Event
Wed 14 Oct 2020
Time: 10:00 Europe/Oslo | Location: Webinar
Georgia wants closer integration in Western institutions and is also Russia's neighbour. How does this affect Georgia’s foreign policy?
Breakfast seminar: We Need To Talk About Putin
Event
Tue 21 Jan 2020
Time: 09:00 Europe/Oslo | Location: NUPI
What do we really know about one of the most powerful men in the world after two decades in power?
Theory Seminar: “Traditional” institutions and polity-building in Chechnya and Ingushetia
Event
Sun 10 Nov 2019
Time: 14:00 Europe/Oslo | Location: NUPI
Dr Ekaterina Sokirianskaia, will present her book project on the situation in North Caucasus.