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– Oil is rarely the cause of war
It is a misconception to talk about “oil wars” and about great powers going to war to secure energy. Oil is rarely the cause of war – but often one of the most important instruments once a conflict has started, according to an energy researcher.
All warning lights are flashing red – but democracy researcher believes the US can turn things around
The US is turning 250 years as a democracy, but is no longer classified as a liberal democracy. – All warning lights are flashing red, says democracy researcher Tore Wig. Still, he is more optimistic now than he was half a year ago.
The monarchy's days not yet numbered
– In principle I think that the head of state in a democracy ought to be elected by the people. At the same time, the kind of monarchy that we have in Norway has functioned quite well, in practice, says political scientist and democracy researcher Carl Henrik Knutsen
Norwegian politics: Our system is not well suited to tackle long term challenges
– There is reason to ask whether our political system with the increasingly fragmented political landscape is set up to solve difficult challenges such as climate change, shifting demographics and the need for economic prioritization, says Kristoffer Kolltveit.

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A cross-disciplinary center for the study of right-wing extremism, hate crime and political violence.

Conference on Gender, Peace and Security: Resistance and Resilience Dec. 11, 2025
Looking at questions like "How do we understand Agency and Reform in promoting Women’s empowerment in peacebuilding?" and "What are the challenges of women’s participation in local peace processes?" the ERC-project ResilienceBuilding, brought together scholars and practitioners for a 3-day conference with an interactive discussion format.
Large EU-grant to Tore Wig to study the state of science in autocracies Dec. 9, 2025
Will scientific progress slow down if more countries in the world become autocratic? That is one of the questions political science professor Tore Wig will seek to answer with two million euros from the EU’s prestigious Consolidator Grant.
Jacob Nyrup awarded EU funds to research political elites Sep. 4, 2025
Jacob Nyrup from the Department of Political Science has been granted a substantial 18 million Norwegian kroner by the EU's research council to examine political elites in countries before and after democratisation.
Explained the reasons behind Russia's war against Ukraine Aug. 26, 2025
Eugene Finkel outlined why Russia attacked Ukraine during this year's Peace and Conflict lecture. He traced the lines back 200 years, when Russians were the ruling people.