Education

2018-2023 –  PhD, Department of Political Science

University of Copenhagen. 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. Written in parallell with leading a policy research project on far right’s internationalism (2018-2022), and various other now completed research projects in 2018-2020. Submitted November 2022, defended September 2023 after maternity leave. Committee: Rebecca Adler-Nissen, Beate Jahn and Michael C. Willams.

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 (all A’s). Fulbright scholar. University scholarship award for outstanding academic achievements. 

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 to IR theory in understanding ideology, and on states’ increasing resistance to liberal democracy and liberal internationalism, introducing the concept of the ‘script’ of good statehood.

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, focusing on Russian language, history, politics and literature respectively (with two BA theses: thesis in area studies on Russian and Chinese led security cooperation through SCO; and a second/third thesis written in Russian literary theory on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of laughter and Vladimir Sorokin’s work).

01/2012 – 06-2012  Semester Abroad, American University in Cairo 

Arabic (intensive daily language class), International Law, Comparative Democratization, History of American Foreign Policy in the Middle East (research class).


Main work experience

2023 - Senior Research Fellow, NUPI

2020- Columnist

Monthly column on international politics for Norwegian daily Klassekampen.

2017 - 2020 – Columnist

Monthly column on international politics for Norwegian daily Dagsavisen

2018 - 2022 PhD Fellow

Research Group on International Security, Danish Institute of International Studies (DIIS). Co-funds PhD at the University of Copenhagen.

3/2017 – 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, conceptual history and early modern sovereignty. Current: PhD, and Ministry of Defence Project Leader on “The New Right and Global Order”.

11/2015 – 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, and article projects currently in review on UN and protection of civilians (co-authored), and UNDP and the market for development (co-authored). Policy input for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence White Paper on security politics ("Veivalg"). 2 peer-reviewed articles published on Russian uses of history in Ukraine, and the liberal value community in defence, security and foreign policy between US and Norway.

09/2014 – 12/2015 Junior Research Fellow (part-time during studies, full-time summers)

Russia, Eurasia and Arctic Research Group, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)

Research on Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, journal editor, annual conference organization, project administration in Central Asia, Russia and more.

08/2012 – 08/2014 Research Assistant(part-time 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

Editor, Internasjonal Politikk – Skandinavisk tidsskrift for internasjonale studier, January 2017 – present (Scandinavian peer-reviewed IR journal) 

Associate Editor, New Perspectives, August 202+ - present

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 journal2012 - 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/

External examiner (MA thesis) for MA Russia Studies, University of Oslo, 2018

           External examiner (MA thesis) for MA Political Science, University of Oslo, 2018

External examiner (MA thesis) for MA Russia studies, University of Oslo, 2016 


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

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) 

  • Deputy leader, The Norwegian Association of Researchers (Forskerforbundet) 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

  • Main organizer, “Today’s Russia – and where to next?”, NUPI’s annual international Russia conference in Oslo with scholars from Norway, Russia, UK, US, November 2015

  • Main organizer, “Russia and global (dis)order”, NUPI’s annual Russia conference in Oslo December 2014, with scholars from Russia, US, Finland, Norway & UK

  • Main organizer, “Radio in and from border zones”, December 2012 international conference on independent and critical radio in Oslo, with funding from Fritt Ord 

  • 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