Researcher
Morten Bøås
Contactinfo and files
Summary
Morten Bøås (PhD) is Research Professor and works predominantly on issues concerning peace and conflict in Africa, including issues such as land rights and citizenship conflicts, youths, ex-combatants and the new landscape of insurgencies and geopolitics.
Bøås has authored, co-authored and co-edited several books and published a number of articles for academic journals. He has conducted in-depth fieldwork in a number of African countries and travelled widely elsewhere on the continent.
Expertise
Education
2001 Dr.Polit. (Ph.D) in Political Science, University of Oslo
1995 The CRE/Copernicus Seminar on Environmental Law
1994 Cand.Polit., in Political Science, University of Oslo
Work Experience
2013- Research professor, NUPI
2010-2012 Head of Research, Fafo’s Institute for Applied International Studies
2002-2010 Research Fellow, Fafo
Aktivitet
Filter
Clear all filtersThe end of stability - how Burkina Faso fell apart
Not so long-ago Burkina Faso was considered an ‘island’ of stability in a conflict-prone part of Africa. This is not the case anymore as armed insurgencies have caused widespread insecurity. While spill-over effects from the conflict in Mali clearly play a role, we argue that the sudden demise of the rule and regime of Blaise Compaoré also is an important contributing factor. To decipher to what extent regime transition shaped the current state of affairs, we show that what kept Burkina Faso stable and out of the conflicts in the region was a ‘big man deep state’ of formal and informal networks of security provisions. When this ‘deep state’ vanished with the ousting of Compaoré and his allies, local security providers have sought new solutions, and this strengthened the role of self-defence militias but also led them to compete against each other, at times also violently. This provided fertile terrain for jihadi insurgents. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to provide a conceptual understanding of how weak rulers actually rule, how some succeed in preserving their rule for a lengthy period of time, and what can happen when they eventually fall.
Fragile states and taxation: Evidence from Afghanistan, Liberia, and the Sahel
Join us on the 30th of August for an illuminating look into the role taxation and state fragility play in modern state-building.
A New Narrative on Africa
Changing the narrative on Africa and looking beyond aid and potential dependency on it are essential aspects for future development. On 9 May we invite you to a panel debate on this topic.
Book talk: Roadblock politics – The origin of Violence in Central Africa
Join us for a journey into the heart of Africa as Peer Schouten paints a captivating picture of the importance of roadblocks in his new book.
The Sahel - fragile states and violent entrepreneurs
The Sahel has recently gotten attention from the international community because of the many challenges this realm faces. This webinar marks the end of a three-year long project that has taken a closer look at the Sahel.
Development Assistance and Root Causes of Migration: A Risky Road to Unsustainable Solutions
In the aftermath of the 2015 migration-management crisis, both the European Union and several European states declared that they would be using development aid more strategically to address root causes of migration. The final report from the MiDeShare project, a joint two-year research project managed and implemented by the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), addresses two key issues that such a declaration brings to the fore: First, can development assistance really tackle root causes of migration, and second, have the EU and European countries such as Norway and Poland changed the direction of their aid since 2015? By reviewing the research already published by our joint project, we will sum up both what we know and in what areas new research-based knowledge is needed.
Afghanistan, Taliban and migration
What will be the consequences of Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan with regards to migration?
WEBINAR: Increased Migration through the Eastern European Route – new dilemmas for the EU
On the border between Poland and Belarus we now see a new phenomenon: the use of migrants as a political tool in a state's foreign policy.
Research group for Peace, Conflict and Development
Research group for Peace, Conflict and Development