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NUPI skole

Researcher

Kari M. Osland

Director
Kari-1-1.jpg

Contactinfo and files

kari.osland@nupi.no
+(47) 415 19 543
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Summary

Kari Margrethe Osland (PhD) is the Director of NUPI.

Osland’s work has predominantly focused on conflict dynamics, insurgencies, peace operations and peace building. Osland wrote her PhD on the impact of international assistance to police reform in post-conflict countries, comparing Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and South Sudan. She wrote her MPhil on genocide, applying the securitization theory on the cases of Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She has done consultancy work for the UN, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for the Norwegian Police Directorate, in particular on international policing, rule of law and Security Sector Reform. She has field work experience from the Balkans (30+), Afghanistan (2) and a number of African countries (Niger, South Sudan, Sudan).

Expertise

  • Security policy
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • Peace operations
  • Human rights
  • United Nations
  • Comparative methods

Education

2014 PhD, Political Science, University of Oslo

2000 Cand. polit., (political science and social anthroplogy), University of Bergen

Work Experience

2023- Director, NUPI

2014-2023 Senior Research Fellow, NUPI

2014-2020 Head of the Research group for peace, conflict and development, NUPI

2008-2014 PhD candidate (incl. 33 months of maternity leave)

2004-2008 Research Fellow, UN Programme/Department of International Affairs, NUPI

2001-2002 Coordinator for the Nordic research group on Peace Support Operations

2000-2004 Researcher & head of UN Programme, Department of International Politics, NUPI

1998-2000 Coordinator and scientific assistant, UN Programme, NUPI

Aktivitet

Publications
Publications
Policy brief

When jihadists govern: Lessons across the Sahel cases

Fifteen years of international engagement have failed to halt the rise of jihadist insurgency in the Sahel. The Jihadist Governance in the Sahel (JIGOV-Sahel) research project shows that neither the absence of the state nor the insurgents’ ideological commitment alone is the cause. The state is present in ways that generate resistance, and jihadists govern because they fulfil functions the state does not. Norwegian and international strategies should move away from a military-first response and from the restoration of the same state, and towards assistance that strengthens state legitimacy, services, and rule of law in the daily lives of citizens.

  • Humanitarian issues
  • Conflict
  • Fragile states
  • Insurgencies
  • Governance
Screenshot 2026-05-05 at 07.25.25.png
  • Humanitarian issues
  • Conflict
  • Fragile states
  • Insurgencies
  • Governance
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
09:00 - 10:30 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk
Ukrainian voters in 2019 elections_croppds_with NTBlogo.png
Event
09:00 - 10:30 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk
6. May 2026
Event
09:00 - 10:30 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk

Breakfast seminar: Challenges with organizing post-war elections in Ukraine

This seminar will provide a space for informed discussion on the legal, operational, security and societal dimensions of post-war electoral preparedness in Ukraine.

Event
14:30 - 16:00 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk
Event
14:30 - 16:00 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk
23. Apr 2026
Event
14:30 - 16:00 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk

How to prevent a direct conflict between Russia and NATO?

How can a direct conflict between Russia and NATO be prevented? This seminar examines the pathways that could lead to war in Europe and the measures that might reduce the risk of escalation.

Articles
New research
Articles
New research

Exhibition: Lived realities on the frontlines of the Sahel

  • Terrorism and extremism
  • Africa
  • Peace operations
  • Humanitarian issues
  • Conflict
  • Fragile states
  • Migration
  • Insurgencies
  • Human rights
  • Governance
  • United Nations
  • AU
Krise og krig: Hva gjør Norge?
Podcast

Krise og krig: Hva gjør Norge?

Akkurat nå føles det som at utenrikspolitikk ikke lenger er noe som “skjer der ute”, men at det angår hver og en av oss. Valgene som tas nå, er he...

  • Defence
  • Security policy
  • NATO
  • International economics
  • Trade
  • Regional integration
  • Foreign policy
  • Europe
  • Russia and Eurasia
  • North America
  • The Nordic countries
  • Humanitarian issues
  • Conflict
  • Human rights
  • The EU
  • Defence
  • Security policy
  • NATO
  • International economics
  • Trade
  • Regional integration
  • Foreign policy
  • Europe
  • Russia and Eurasia
  • North America
  • The Nordic countries
  • Humanitarian issues
  • Conflict
  • Human rights
  • The EU
Articles
Analysis
Articles
Analysis

Krise og krig: Hva gjør Norge?

  • Defence
  • Security policy
  • NATO
  • International economics
  • Trade
  • Regional integration
  • Diplomacy
  • Foreign policy
  • Europe
  • Russia and Eurasia
  • North America
  • The Nordic countries
  • Conflict
  • Human rights
  • The EU
Event
15:00 - 17:00 Europe/Oslo
Digital
Engelsk
iStock-1357524756_Dmytro Varavin.jpg
Event
15:00 - 17:00 Europe/Oslo
Digital
Engelsk
16. Mar 2026
Event
15:00 - 17:00 Europe/Oslo
Digital
Engelsk

A Norwegian Reflection on Human Security in a Changing Geopolitical Landscape

What insights can we gain from the Human Security tradition to guide how we adapt our understanding and approaches to domestic and global security to a changing geopolitical landscape?

Event
12:00 - 13:30 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk
Event
12:00 - 13:30 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk
18. Mar 2026
Event
12:00 - 13:30 Europe/Oslo
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Engelsk

Resilience, Peacebuilding, and Preventing Violent Extremism: A Complex Systems Perspective on Sustaining Peace

How can resilience and peacebuilding help address the root causes of violent extremism? This seminar marks the Norwegian book launch of a new volume exploring this challenge.

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