Researcher
Niels Nagelhus Schia
Contactinfo and files
Summary
Niels Nagelhus Schia is a research professor specializing in the intersection of new technology and international relations. He leads the Research group on security and defense at NUPI, and co-manages the institute’s Research Centre for New Technology. With a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Oslo and a fellowship from the New School for Social Research (NSSR), Schia combines deep academic insight with practical experience in global policymaking.
Schia has chaired prominent initiatives such as the Norwegian government's expert group on AI, democracy, and elections (2024–2025), he served as co-coordinator for the reference group on Norway's role in the UN Security Council (2021–2022), and he has been the project leader of several larger research projects. A former Fulbright scholar and board member of the Fulbright Association in Norway, he is also a longstanding contributor to international conferences, United Nations discussions, and working groups.
Beyond his research, Schia is deeply engaged in shaping the global academic and policy landscape. He was co-editor of Internasjonal Politikk, the leading Scandinavian journal on international relations, for nearly a decade (2017–2025). He serves as a member of the Holberg Debate working group, the advisory council of the United Nations Association of Norway, and other forums dedicated to advancing knowledge and dialogue in his field.
Expertise
Education
2015 PhD, Social Antropology, University of Oslo
2004 Cand.polit., Social anthropology, University of Oslo
Work Experience
2022- Head of NUPI's Research group on security and defence
2017- Co-editor of the leading Scandinavian-language International Relations-journal Internasjonal Politikk
2015- Head, NUPI's Cyber Security Centre. 2010 Advisor, Civil Affairs, Policy Best Practices Services (PBPS), UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, New York HQ
2009 Visiting scholar at The New School for Social Research, New York, Leiv Eiriksson mobility programme (The Research Council of Norway) and Fulbright Scholar
2003- Research Assistant / Research Fellow / Senior Research Fellow/Research Professor, NUPI
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2012-2016 Board member Fulbright Alumni Association of Norway
2013-2016 Head of Scientific Committee for Fulbright annual research award
Aktivitet
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Global governance of cyberspace - opportunities and challenges
What are the biggest global challenges to the stability of cyberspace today? To what extent can norms and policy development guide responsible state and non-state behavior in cyberspace? And what are the best arenas for producing such norms and guidance?
Estonia's president on security in the Baltic Sea region
Estonia plays an important role in Europe’s relationship to Russia. The president of Estonia visits NUPI to give some insight in the security challenges in the area.
China's Cyber Sovereignty
This policy brief analyses China’s ambitions for imposing and strengthening the concept of cyber sovereignty in international negotiations on topics related to cybersecurity and Internet governance (IG). The presentation proceeds through four interconnected steps: 1. brief introduction and background to the Chinese ‘cyber sovereignty’ concept. 2. China’s role in defining, developing, and promoting this concept in international politics. 3. international responses to the Chinese use of the concept of cyber sovereignty, and how this should be seen in conjunction with current trends in Chinese foreign-policy strategies. 4. the use of cyber sovereignty in diplomacy, and how China uses this concept to counter Western dominance in cyberspace. Thus, the policy brief offers a brief examination of how the Chinese idea of state sovereignty in cyberspace influences how China positions itself in international negotiations with regard to issues such as security, economy and trade, and soft power (diplomacy/governance).
Theory seminar: Attribution and international society in cyber security
In this theory seminar Dr Madeline Carr will present her paper on attribution and international society in cyber security as understood by Hedley Bull where she uses cyber space as a case study.
Upholding the NATO cyber pledge: What does cyber deterrence and cyber resilience mean for NATO and Norway?
The aim of this project is to explore how and to what extent deterrence works in cyberspace or whether a focus on resilience as the new strategic logic is the way forward. ...
Horseshoe and Catwalk: Power, Complexity and Consensus-making in the United Nations Security Council
This volume assembles in one place the work of scholars who are making key contributions to a new approach to the United Nations, and to global organizations and international politics more generally. Anthropology has in recent years taken on global organizations as a legitimate source of its subject matter. The research that is being done in this field gives a human face to these world-reforming institutions. Palaces of Hope demonstrates that these institutions are not monolithic or uniform, even though loosely connected by a common organizational network. They vary above all in their powers and forms of public engagement. Yet there are common threads that run through the studies included here: the actions of global institutions in practice, everyday forms of hope and their frustration, and the will to improve confronted with the realities of nationalism, neoliberalism, and the structures of international power.
Det frie internettet er under angrep
Kronikk: Kina og Russland prøver allerede å ta kontroll over «sitt» internett. Vil Vesten nå, etter USA-hackingen og foran vårens valg i Europa, følge etter? This op-ed is published in Norwegian only.
Theory seminar: Applying Old Rules to New Cases: International Law in the Cyber Domain
NUPI has the pleasure of inviting you to a seminar with Mark Raymond, Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma.
Trusselen fra cyberspace
(Op-ed in Norwegian only): Cyberangrep øker i omfang verden over. Norge er et av verdens mest digitaliserte land og dermed spesielt utsatt, men dette blir i stor grad oversett av politikere og næringslivsledere.
The Cyber Frontier
The cyber frontier perspective serves to explicate that the Global South’s participation in digitalization is not simply a matter of joining cyberspace. On the contrary, it is a matter of selective forms of global connection in combination with disconnection and exclusion. I contextualize security concerns by describing the trajectory of digitalization in the Global South. I proceed by exploring how “technological leapfrogging” can create new and unique societal vulnerabilities. By linking digitalization with security and economic growth, cybersecurity is seen in connection with development assistance and the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, I hold that this triple knot (digitalization, security and economic growht) represents an opportunity for donors such as the EU to foster new types of development assistance building on a continued engagement in the Global South.