About

I am Research Professor and Research Director at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) in Oslo, Norway and one of two Editors in Chief for the journal Cooperation and Conflict.

I have a PhD (2014) and an MA (2005) in political science from the University of Oslo.

An International Relations scholar, my research revolves around international diplomacy and everyday practices of cooperation and friendship in the foreign, security, and defence domain. I have conducted research on, inter alia, relational dynamics in the EU, NATO and the UNSC, and the foreign and security policies of Norway, Britain and the other Nordic states.

My work has appeared in European Journal of International Relations, International Affairs, Cooperation and Conflict, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, Journal of European Integration, Politics and Governance, Global Affairs and National Identities. I regularly publish in Norwegian academic journals, including Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift, Internasjonal Politikk and Norsk medietidsskrift.

My first monograph, Special Relationships in World Politics: Inter-state Friendship and Diplomacy after the Second World War, was published in Routledge’s New International Relations series in 2018 (Paperback: 2020). The book discussed ‘special relationship’ as an analytical and practical category, detailing how US-UK and UK-Norway friendship ties after 1945 were constructed through diplomatic practices of recognition and trust. I am also co-editor of the volumes Kinship in International Relations (Routledge, 2018); Det glemte partnerskapet: Norge og Storbritannia i et nytt århundre (Fagbokforlaget, 2012) and Dilemmaer i norsk utenrikspolitikk (Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 2025).

I have managed multiple research projects, including with financing from the Research Council of Norway, the EEA-Norway Grants, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between January 2018 and December 2021, I was Head of the NUPI’s Research Group Global Order and Diplomacy. Since May 2024, I have been one of NUPI’s two Research Directors.

Ongoing research projects:

2024-2027: POPSARC – Power Politics and Security in the Arctic.
Funding: Research Council of Norway | Project manager: Kristin Haugevik, NUPI.

2024-2027: A Robust Norden? Studies of Cross-Border Crisis Management.
Funding: Svenska Vetenskapsrådet/Swedish Research Council | Project manager: Ulrika Möller, University of Gothenburg.