Researcher
Kristin Fjæstad
Contactinfo and files
Summary
Kristin Fjæstad is a Senior Research Fellow in the Research group for Russia,for Eastern Europe and Asia. She is one of the editors of the journal Internasjonal Politikk.
From August 2020, Fjæstad had a post doc position in the LORAX project. In this project, she worked on questions about how and by whom the Caspian Sea is defined as a regional ecosystem.
Fjæstad holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews (2020). The PhD traces and examines Kazakhstan’s transition from a recipient to a donor of official development assistance and discusses this process through the prism of identity-building.
Fjæstad works predominantly on global development, development and foreign policy, as well as questions of identity, foreign policy and state formation in the former Soviet Union, in particular Central Asia.
Utdanning
2020 PhD, International Relations, University of St Andrews
2010 Mastergrad i utviklingsstudier, School of Oriental and African Studies, London
2008 Bachelor i økonomi, Universitetet i Oslo
Arbeidserfaring
2020- Senior Research Fellow, NUPI
2020-2025 Group leader, EAST
2013-2020 Researcher/PhD, NUPI
2011-2013 Research assistent, NUPI
2011 Teacher and Researcher, OSCE Academy, Bishkek
2010-2011 Internship/Media Consultant, International Media Support (IMS), Denmark
2008 Intern, Norwegian Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan
Aktivitet
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Clear all filtersThe World Bank in Ukraine – lessons and challenges after 2022
The World Bank holds a central role in the international civilian support structure and has mobilised over $90 billion for Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The pace and volume of the the fund mobilisation is unprecedented, requiring new mechanisms and structures, and raises technical and political challenges as the bank manages its apolitical mandate amid war between two of its shareholders. This brief explores the bank’s role in Ukraine and the trade-offs this entails, highlighting lessons and concerns identified by the actors themselves, including sustainability questions tied to scope of support, trust fund organisation, and ownership and legitimacy of the World Bank programmes. The analysis draws on grey literature and interviews with staff and Norwegian aid stakeholders, including the Nansen programme.
Lunch seminar: A New Philosophy of Aid? How the War in Ukraine Is Rewriting the Rules of International Donorship
Drawing on more than a decade of research and field projects on Ukraine, Dr Veronika Vakulenko examines what the shift means for the organisation and coordination of reconstruction assistance, for governance and accountability in a country at war, and for how recipient states and their partners build resilience under sustained uncertainty.
As open as possible? Comparing Scandinavian approaches to research security
Intensifying geopolitical rivalries have triggered a series of national and international policy initiatives designed to safeguard research security and reduce risks associated with international scientific collaboration. This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, examining the structures, processes, and policy frames that shape their respective approaches to research security and responsible internationalization. Although the Scandinavian countries share cultural, linguistic, and political similarities, as well as advanced research capabilities, their institutionalized strategies for managing the tension between openness and security diverge in significant ways. By examining the policy frames and the interplay between structural and processual factors, the study reveals how these variations produce distinct governance outcomes. Through this analysis, the paper contributes to conceptualizing a typology of national approaches, offering insights into how small, open knowledge economies navigate the dual imperatives of international engagement and strategic protection in an era of geopolitical uncertainty.
National network for competence on Russia (RUSSNETT 2026)
The national network for competence on Russia aims to preserve and further develop Norwegian knowledge of Russia across sectors in Norway. ...
National network for competence on Russia (RUSSNETT 2025)
The national network for competence on Russia aims to preserve and further develop Norwegian knowledge of Russia across sectors in Norway. ...
Breakfast seminar: When expertise becomes power politics – US perspectives on Russia and China
What can we learn from US engagement towards China and Russia after the Cold War? And what role should experts play in the shaping of foreign policy?
From possible conflict to wartime cooperation: Laying the foundations of regional cooperation in the Caspian Sea (2002–2018)
This research paper uses snapshots of media coverage in the Caspian states to explore the stateled region-building efforts around the Caspian Sea from 2002–2018. Counter to the dominant conflict thesis in the literature, the findings suggest that the five states have moved towards more comprehensive political and economic cooperation. Relations have gradually been anchored in an understanding of the Caspian Sea as a shared space with multiple interlinkages and dependencies, even describing it as a “sea of peace and friendship”. This depiction is maintained by the Caspian states, also after the Sea became an arena and lifeline for Russia’s war against Ukraine after February 2022. This paper provides background and analysis of the developing regional cooperation and explores in the conclusion how this cooperation has gained new salience in Russia’s response to the sanction regime.