Researcher
Morten Bøås
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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
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Shaping a New Africa-Europe Relationship for a post-Covid-19 global order
This collaborative project between NUPI, ACCORD and ECFR aims to stimulate and enrich the dialogue in Africa and Europe on the underlying geopolitical, Covid-19, peace and security and other key devel...
A Comprehensive Strategy EU Strategy for Africa Political Dialogue: Governance, Security and Migration
Much has changed since the creation of the Joint Africa-European Union (EU) Strategy in 2007. The developing world has been changing fast. Development policy and practices are also transforming, albeit at a slower pace. The divide between emerging economies and ‘fragile states’ is increasing. This is also the case in Africa. As not only Africa, but also the EU-Africa relationship is changing and evolving into new dimensions, there is clearly a need to develop a new European strategy, constructed on the basis of an emerging continent. Africa is home to the youngest population in the world and some of the world’s most fragile states. However, it is also a continent with emerging markets and more effective governments. This brief aims to clarify how well the new Strategy must manage to mainstream a European approach to Africa that considers both the inter-continental dialogue and the diversity of development on this emerging continent within the fields of governance, security and migration. As the COVID-19 has turned into a pandemic, the brief also suggests that the new European strategy must reflect this development and the European Parliament should closely monitor the situation as it discusses the Strategy.
Doing fieldwork in areas of Interntional intervention: a guide to research in violent and closed contexts
Using detailed insights from those with first-hand experience of conducting research in areas of international intervention and conflict, this antology provides essensial practical guidance for researchers and students embarking on fieldwork in violent, repressive and closed contexts. Coverning issues of control and confusion, security and risk, distance and closeness, and sex and sensitivity, the chapters discuss how to negotiate complex grey areas and raise important questions that researchers need to consider before, during and after their time on the ground.
EU migration management in the Sahel: unintended consequneces on the ground in Niger?
The policies implemented in the Sahel by the EU and individual member states have reduced the number of migrants transiting through the region towards Europe. However, the sustainability of this approach should be questioned as it may also increase domestic tensions in politically fragile and administratively weak states, leading to increased pressure on political and social systems that already are struggling to stay afloat. Thus, whereas making a country like Niger an integral partof European migration management may seem successful, the approach of the EU may also have several unintended consequences. This paper will critically examine the EU’s crisis response towards the Sahel with a particular focus on Niger and the city of Agadez, arguing that while EU’s approach may have reduced the number of migrants passing through Agadez, it could also come to undermine a number of local compromises that so far have helped Niger display higher resilience towards the crises that are quickly destabilising neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali.
The External Dimension of EU Migration Management: The Role of Aid
Aid is seen as a key EU instrument in addressing the root causes of migration, but it has not been decisive for the drastic reduction of irregular arrivals in Europe in recent years. Nevertheless, development assistance has become crucial leverage for the EU in persuading major transit countries to improve their border control. Although this “externalisation” of EU border management seems like a successful approach for now, it is not sustainable in the long term. The Union still needs to find better synergy between migration management and development policy that is not designed to stop migration but to manage and regulate it in a more mutually beneficial way.
Jihadist Governance in the Sahel (JIGOV-Sahel)
This project is about jihadist insurgent governance in West Africa's Sahel region....
Lessons from the Ebola Crisis in West Africa: Community engagement, crisis communication and countering rumours
What lessons can we draw from the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone? While both the outbreak itself and the context is different, there are enough similarities between the Ebola crisis and COVID-19 to extract useful lessons and best practices. In this research note, the focus is on three key lessons from the Ebola experience: community engagement, crisis communication and countering the rumour mill. In the world’s most fragile states, an uncontrolled outbreak of COVID-19 would have devastating consequences for the population. In a scenario where the spread of the coronavirus is under control in large parts of the world, the survival of COVID-19 in fragile states would also most certainly be a source for new waves of infections to the rest of the world. Not only do fragile states lack capacity to react adequately on their own, but their ability to utilise external support and assistance is limited due to low absorption capacity.
Can Aid Solve the Root Causes of Migration? A Framework for Future Research on the Development-Migration Nexus
An important dimension of the European Union’s response to the 2015 refugee and migration management crisis has been to address the root causes of irregular migration. A major tool the EU has to mitigate push factors of migration is development assistance. Yet, the literature shows that the casual relationship between aid and migration is complex and far from obvious. This article summarises the ongoing debates and major findings concerning the development-migration nexus in order to better inform policymakers about the potential risks and shortcomings of using aid in migration management. It suggests a framework for future research on what kind of assistance might work, for whom, and where.
Attentatet i Bagdad: Farlig og feilkalkulert
Den 3. januar kom nyheten om at generalmajor Qasem Soleimani ble drept i et amerikansk droneangrep i Bagdad. Ifølge president Trump handlet USA «for å stoppe en krig, ikke for å starte en krig», men angrepet bør heller ses i forlengelse av Trump-administrasjonens maximum pressure-strategi, som har økt konflikten mellom Iran og USA.
How does the Norwegian Oil Fund affect the companies it has an ownership stake in?
Knut Christian Myhre will talk about expectations, communication, and ownership in Norway’s Oil Fund.