Øystein H. Rolandsen – Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)

Øystein H. Rolandsen

Øystein H. Rolandsen

Research Professor

Email: oystein@prio.org

Work phone: +47 22 54 77 65

Interests and experience

Follow me on Twitter: @oysteinhr

Organised violence, African rebels and government counter-insurgency strategies
African militaries and security force assistance (SFA)
Humanitarian policy and practices
History and current affairs of the two Sudans
Critical approaches to peace negotiations and post-war interventions

A historian and area specialist with experience from research, strategy development, information analysis, planning and administration of projects. Substantial professional experience from the non-government sector within the fields of policy advice, humanitarian aid and long-term development co-operation.

Editorial Board member of the Centre for Peace and Development (CPDS) Journal, University of Juba, South Sudan.

Editor in chief for the blog Monitoring South Sudan @PRIOSouthSudan.

Topic
Conflict Trends

Topic
Peacebuilding

Personal profiles on other sites
Google Scholar Citations
Academia & Research Gate
LinkedIn

Language Skills
Proficient: Norwegian, English
Basic skills: German, Italian

Work Experience2020 - Research Professor
2017 - Co-director PRIO Centre for Culture and Violent Conflict

2010-2020: Senior Researcher, PRIO
2005-2010: Researcher, Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO
2003-2005: Advisor, Norwegian People’s Aid
2002: Senior Executive Officer, Norwegian Centre for Human rights

Academic Visitorships2014: African Studies Centre, Oxford University
2012-2013: Global Security Institute/Dep. of History, Durham University
2007: Programme of African Studies, Northwestern University

Education2010: Ph.D. History, University of Oslo
2003: Cand. philol. History, University of Oslo
2000: MA African History, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
1999: Cand. mag. History and Political Science, University of Oslo

Projects

All projects

Feb 2023 – Dec 2024
Inclusivity and Secrecy: Governing Information Flows When Negotiating Peace in Complex Conflict Contexts

Apr 2021 – Mar 2025
Pop Culture, Art, and Indigenous Ideas of Legitimacy in Struggles over Democratization and Peace (POPAGANDA)

Jul 2020 – Jun 2024
Working Through Violence; SMEs and the SDGs in Fragile Urban Spaces

Jul 2013 –
Conflict Trends

PRIO Fieldwork Network (FIWON)

PRIO Centre on Culture and Violent Conflict

Sep 2020 – Dec 2021
Building peace along the Belt and Road? Chinese security assistance to Myanmar and The Philippines

Feb 2020 – Dec 2022
Security force capacity and professionalism in the Sahel

Sep 2018 – Dec 2019
US Security Force Assistance in the Horn of Africa

Jan 2018 – Dec 2023
The Impact of Security Force Assistance on State Fragility (SFAssist)

Latest publications

All publications

Øystein H. Rolandsen & Niagalé Bagayoko (2023)
A Hidden Conundrum: Security Assistance and Informality in the Sahel

PRIO Policy Brief

Øystein H. Rolandsen, Maggie Dwyer & William Reno (2021)
Security Force Assistance to Fragile States: A Framework of Analysis

Journal article in Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding

Nicholas Marsh & Øystein H. Rolandsen (2021)
Fragmented We Fall: Security Sector Cohesion and the Impact of Foreign Security Force Assistance in Mali

Journal article in Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding

Julio Amador III et al. (2021)
An Appraisal of Philippines-China Security Relations under the Duterte Administration (2016–2020)

PRIO Paper

Jason Miklian et al. (2021)
What Covid-19 Taught Us About Doing Business During a Crisis

Journal article in Harvard Business Review

Marte Nilsen et al. (2021)
China in Myanmar: Complex Engagements, Complicated Relations

PRIO Policy Brief

Nicholas Marsh et al. (2020)
Compounding Fragmentation: Security Force Assistance to Fragile States in the Sahel and Horn of Africa

PRIO Paper

Øystein H. Rolandsen & Marie Sandnes (2019)
South-South Cooperation at the Advent of Great Power Competition: The Capacity of IGAD and ECOWAS to Deal with Threat Proliferation in Africa

PRIO Paper

Øystein H. Rolandsen, Ilaria Carrozza & Nicholas Marsh (2019)
Small States’ Security Force Assistance in the Sahel: Lessons Learned and Future Challenges

PRIO Policy Brief

Nicki Kindersley & Øystein H. Rolandsen (2019)
Who are the civilians in the wars of South Sudan?

Journal article in Security Dialogue

Latest news

All news

Friday, 2 Sep 2022
Minister Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol Visits PRIO

Minister Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol from South Sudan visited PRIO today.

Thursday, 9 Dec 2021
Security Force Assistance to Fragile States

Security Force Assistance (SFA) – the training and equipping of a foreign security force – represent a common form of intervention into fragile states.

Friday, 19 Nov 2021
Doing Business During a Crisis - PRIO Research in Harvard Business Review

PRIO researchers have contributed to a survey of seven cities around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Monday, 28 Jun 2021
PRIO Researchers Review the Norwegian Strategy on the Sahel

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign has asked PRIO to carry out an external review of its Strategy for Norway's efforts in the Sahel region 2018–2020 in Africa.

Wednesday, 13 Jan 2021
POPAGANDA – Funding in Place for Project

How do political opposition groups in Myanmar and Thailand use popular culture and art to generate legitimacy for their political causes and propagate their messages?

Friday, 18 Dec 2020
New Research Professor at PRIO: Øystein H. Rolandsen

Following an external academic evaluation, the PRIO Board has awarded Research Professor competence to Øystein H.

Friday, 4 Dec 2020
PRIO's Youth & Peacebuilding Research

Read up before the PRIO Annual Peace Address 2020

Friday, 7 Feb 2020
MoD Funding for Project on Security Forces in the Sahel

The Sahel region is increasingly affected by transnational security threats which spill across national borders, such as insurgency, terror attacks, uncontrolled migration and illicit trafficking in commodities.

Thursday, 25 Apr 2019
NORGLOBAL2 Kickoff Features Presentations of Three New PRIO Projects

The Norwegian Research Council’s program NORGLOBAL2 held its kick-off meeting for newly funded research projects at NORAD, on 25 April 2019, with participants from the MFA, NORAD, RCN, and researchers involved in the projects.

Thursday, 21 Feb 2019
Special Issue of Conflict, Security & Development Features Business for Peace Project

The latest special issue of Conflict Security and Development is co-edited by PRIO Senior Researcher Jason Miklian, and showcases the capstone publication for the PRIO project "Conflict of Interest? 'Business For Peace' as Development Aid in Volatile Environments" funded by the Research Council of Norway.

Latest events

All events

Monday, 12 Feb 2024 13:00–14:30 UTC+01
Exhibition: "The Lost Tapes of A Peoples’ Tribunal, 1982"

30–31 Mar 2023
The Rise of Security Assistance: Evolution, Effects and Order(ing) in and of a Global Practice

Thursday, 5 Nov 2020 17:30–20:00 UTC+01
POSTPONED How can comics tell truth to power and give voice to the oppressed

Friday, 11 Sep 2020 11:00–12:30 UTC+02
The Legal and Ethical Responsibilities of Providing Security Force Assistance

Tuesday, 14 Jan 2020 08:45–16:00 UTC+01
What Role for Norwegian Soldiers in Fragile States?

Thursday, 28 Nov 2019 14:00–17:30 UTC+01
European Security Force Assistance and the rise of Great Power Competition

Wednesday, 27 Nov 2019 12:30–14:00 UTC+01
The Dilemmas of Western Engagement in the Syrian Civil War: How to avoid responsibility while governing the outcome?

Tuesday, 28 May 2019 12:30–14:00 UTC+02
Africa and Security Force Assistance

Thursday, 6 Dec 2018 13:00–15:00 UTC+01
Small States and Security Force Assistance: Practitioners’ Perspectives

Wednesday, 5 Dec 2018 09:30–11:30 UTC+01
Military Capacity Building as a “One Size Fits All” Solution to Norway and NATO’s Security Challenges in Fragile States

Research groups

Humanitarianism
How the humanitarian system changes with new tools, donors, and perceptions of local dynamics

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