Education
2018-2023 – PhD, Department of Political Science
University of Copenhagen. Monograph, 146 000 words. Title: Towards a Social Theory of International Ideology, Ideological Scripts, and Counter-Ideology. Rethinking ‘Liberal International Order’ and the Far Right’s Critique. PhD supervisor Professor Ole Wæver, from 2019 also Ole Jacob Sending as secondary supervisor. In parallel published ten peer-reviewed articles and book chapters (both ‘minor’ and more major), policy reports, and some forty op-eds based on my research. Thesis submitted November 2022, defended September 2023 after maternity leave. Committee: Rebecca Adler-Nissen, Beate Jahn and Michael C. Williams.
01/2015 – 01/2016 Master of International Studies (International Security Studies)
Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University
Courses in international security politics, international economy and history. GPA 4.0. Fulbright scholar. University scholarship award for outstanding academic achievements. Double masters program in cooperation with LSE.
10/2013 – 10/2014 Master of Science in International Relations (Theory)
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Distinctions in all/ GPA 4.0. Thesis titled ‘Rethinking unit, structure and the “1989 End of History”: Towards a real and more radical social theory in IR’, on limits of existing international relations theory in understanding ideology, and on states’ increasing resistance to liberal democracy and liberal internationalism, introducing the concept of the ‘script’ of good statehood. Supervisor Tarak Barkawi.
08/2008 – 06/2013 BA Political Science, BA Russian and Eurasian studies
Two parallel BA’s: in political science, specialization in comparative politics and international politics (BA thesis on questioning the conceptualisation of the democratization process in Myanmar: ‘Is Myanmar democratising?’) and in Russian and Eurasian studies(with two BA theses: thesis in area studies on Russian and Chinese led security cooperation through the SCO; and a second/third thesis written in Russian literary theory on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of laughter and Vladimir Sorokin’s work). Leave of absence 2010-2011 for traineeship with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
01/2012 – 07/2012 Semester Abroad, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Arabic (intensive daily language class), International Law, Comparative Democratization, History of American Foreign Policy in the Middle East (graduate research class).
09/2005 – 07/2007 United World Colleges of the Atlantic, Wales
Full scholarship, tuition and board, International Baccalaureate.
Main work experience
2023 - Senior Research Fellow, NUPI
Permanent position in research group on ‘Global Order and Diplomacy’ following September 2023 PhD defense and maternity leave. Worked reduced hours due to care work until November 2024. From fall 2024/early 2025 working on two research projects funded by the Norwegian Research Council, on the Conceptual History of International Relations, and anger in global politics.
2020 - Newspaper columnist
Monthly Saturday column on global politics, sometimes feminism, for Norwegian daily Klassekampen, second-most read print newspaper.
2018 - 2024 Editor in Chief, Internasjonal Politikk
Editor of Chief of the Scandinavian-language peer-reviewed journal on international politics, together with Pernille Rieker and Niels Nagelhus Schia.
2018 - 2022 PhD Fellow
Danish Institute of International Studies (DIIS), Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and University of Copenhagen. DIIS co-funded a PhD at the University of Copenhagen through a Velux research grant led by Vibeke Schou Tjalve. Commuted between Oslo and Copenhagen to keep working at NUPI in parallel, where I led a research project partly related to the PhD project. Also participated in a number of other research projects, publishing on topics such as misrecognition and international law, sovereignty and conceptual history, liberal self-images and liberal exceptionalism in relation to security and warfare, communitarian principles of diaspora protection, and more. Submitted in November 2022.
2017 - 2020 Newspaper columnist
Monthly column on global politics for Norwegian daily Dagsavisen.
3/2017 – 9/2018 Research fellow
Research Group on Global order and Diplomacy, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
Past research projects/article projects: Russian and Turkish perspectives on European security, recognition and ideas of statehood, liberal self-images and warfare, conceptual history and early modern sovereignty.
1/2016 – 3/2017 Junior Research Fellow (full-time)
Research Group on Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
Research projects/article projects: Same as above. Policy input for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence White Paper on security politics ("Veivalg"). 2 peer-reviewed articles published on Russian (mis)uses of history in Ukraine, and the liberal value community between US and Norway.
09/2014 – 1/2016 Junior Research Fellow (part-time remotely during studies, full-time summers)
Russia, Eurasia and Arctic Research Group, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
Research on Russia/China, Ukraine, Central Asia, journal editor, annual conference organization, project administration in Central Asia, and more.
08/2012 – 08/2014 Research Assistant (part-time and remotely during studies, full-time summers)
Russia, Eurasia and Arctic Research Group, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
06/2012 – 08/2012 Research Intern
Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Dushanbe.
Research on national implementation of regional (SCO/CSTO) counter-terrorism doctrines.
07/2010 – 02/2011 Trainee, political affairs
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan (with monthly travels to Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan)
Political and economic reporting from Central Asia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meetings, regional bi-monthly travels with the Ambassador.
07/2009 – 10/2011 Journalist
Radio Nova
Weekly art program “NEU” in Oslo, plus work in Kiev (covering Ukrainian presidential elections in 2010) and freelance work in Moscow (2010) for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and Dagens Næringsliv (DN).
Languages
Norwegian, native speaker
English, fluent
Russian, strong command
Beginner Arabic, Egyptian dialect at AUC in Cairo, 2012, Modern Standard Arabic at Folkeuniversitet in Oslo, 2016.
Editorial experience & other (selection)
Editor, Internasjonal Politikk – Skandinavisk tidsskrift for internasjonale studier, 2018 – 2024 (Scandinavian peer-reviewed IR journal)
Book review editor for the Internasjonal Politikk, 2015 - 2019
Member of the editorial board for Millennium Journal of International Studies 2013- 2014
Book review editor and peer-reviewer for Nordisk Østforum, Nordic Post-Soviet area studies journal, 2012 - 2015
Research assistance for Neumann, Pouliot and Sending (eds.) Diplomacy: The Making of World Politics (2015), and for Iver Neumann, Russia and the idea of Europe (2016).
Co-editor of Central Asia Data Gathering Analysis Team (CADGAT) reports, http://www.osce-academy.net/en/research/cadgat/
Scholarships, grants
Nordic researcher exchange programme, awarded three times 2018 - 2019
Norwegian Ministry of Defence, 3-year research funding (2018-2022), New right and World order (project leader)
Velux Foundation, “World of the Right”, PhD funding (full, but taken with me to Norway as partial funding)
Fellowship for outstanding academic achievements, George Washington University (not used)
U.S.-Norway Fulbright Foundation, full scholarship, 2014 – 2015
Norwegian Media Authority full work and travel grant for radio project on political art in Russia 2010
United World College of the Atlantic, full scholarship tuition and board, 2005-2007
Conferences (not updated)
Invited to present on papers dealing with misrecognition, political realism, social theory, global governance, UNDP, terrorism/securitization and political dialogue and Russian Foreign Policy respectively at theMidwestern Political Science Association(MPSA) in Chicago, April 2015, International Studies Association (ISA)in Atlanta, March 2016 (co-authored with Kristin Fjæstad), European International Studies Association(EISA), September 2016 (2 papers, conference cancelled), ISA NortheastBaltimore November 2016 (co-authored with Ole Jacob Sending), ISAin Baltimore, February 2017 (3 papers and one roundtable), EISAin Bacelona in September 2017 (1 paper), BISAin Bath in June 2018 (1 paper co-authored with Ole Jacob Sending).
Organizational experience (selected)
Work climate representative (hovedverneombud) for NUPI employees, January 2024 - present
Deputy leader, The Norwegian Association of Researchers (Forskerforbundet, largest trade union) at NUPI, October 2019 - 2021
Board member, European International Studies Association (EISA) Early Career Development Group, 2018 - 2021
Board member, Human Rights House Foundation, February 2018 – present
Board member, Fulbright Alumni Association Norway, June 2015 – June 2019
Leader, Amnesty International’s Russia and Eurasia group, University of Oslo, 2009-2012
Leader, Amnesty International’s Middle East group, University of Oslo, 2009-2010
Leader, Amnesty international, UWC Atlantic, 2005-2007