Verden brenner. Hordan formidles det til barna våre?
Op-ed in the Norwegian media outlet Aftenposten.
Stat, nasjon, utenrikspolitikk. Nyheter for barn i hverdag og krise
This article examines how two Norwegian news media outlets targeted at children present the world and Norwegian foreign policy to their audiences, in ordinary times and during crises. Our theoretical starting point is that self-images and worldviews are constructed and reconstructed on a daily basis, and that national identity formation begins at a young age. Existing scholarship highlights that news media are important arenas for such identity-building, including in shaping perceptions of the role one’s own state can and does play in the world. However, few studies have explored how children’s news media present and make sense of the world and foreign policy actions. Based on our Norwegian case study, we observe that children’s news media aim to make today’s (and tomorrow’s) world more comprehensible and less alien, soothe anxieties, and educate future political subjects. Meanwhile, critical perspectives on Norwegian foreign policy are less prominent. Instead, we find that children’s news media tend to reinforce what we may call dominant representations of Norway’s role in the world.
European Security and Defence: Challenges and Opportunities
How has Russia’s war on Ukraine reshaped Europe’s security landscape? What are the key challenges and opportunities facing European defence cooperation today?
The IDP situation in Borno State, Nigeria – returning to uncertainty?
Nigeria is faced with a protracted displacement crisis caused by jihadist insurgencies, banditry and natural disasters. This crisis is particularly manifest in the north-east, where for more than 12 years over 2 million people have been forced to move in to, out of and between internally displaced person (IDP) camps and informal settlements. Some have tried to return home or resettle to another community, only to have to move again. All suffer from limited access to essential services such as healthcare and education, and deficiencies in food security and adequate shelter. Moreover, the young age of the IDP population means many camp residents have few, if any, memories of their lives prior to leaving their homes of origin. The state of Borno is one of the most affected in Nigeria. Here, about 900,000 people continue to live in about 65 formal and 158 informal camps. In 2021, Borno State Governor Prof Babagana Umara Zulum began the process of closing the camps and returning IDPs to their homes of origin. While more than 100,000 people have already moved out of the camps, uncertain remains as to what the majority of IDPs will do once the camps are closed. This report aims to fill this knowledge gap by presenting a foresight study that, coupled with analysis of previous studies, draws on ethnographic data and field observations collected among IDP populations around Maiduguri in October 2024. The foresight analysis framework used relies on three inter-related factors: 1) the weight of history; 2) the contradictions of the present; and 3) the pull of the future. While this method cannot offer statistical representativity, it does allow for indicative scenarios encompassing known (albeit uncertain) risks and probable futures. These scenarios are not only valuable for policy planning, but constitute important pilot data for larger, more systematic studies going forward.
Managing Climate, Peace and Security Risks from the Borderlands of the Lake Chad (CPS-Lake Chad)
How can local efforts in the Lake Chad Region teach us how to manage the effects of climate change on peace and security? ...
Ole Mathias Rustad
Ole worked as a master student at NUPI. In his MA thesis, Ole wrote about the Russian oppositional diaspora in Georgia and Norway, analysing how t...
Vilde Friis Ruud
Vilde was a master's student at NUPI in 2025, where she was affiliated with the research group for Russia, Asia, and international trade. She wrot...
Caroline Saastad
Caroline Saastad was a master's student in the research group on peace, conflict and development in 2025. For her master's thesis, she examined th...
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?