PRIO's Peace in a Pod

In the second of this two-parter, Jørgen Carling shares his tips for employing mixed methods in research. Related material Jørgen has made an overview of mixed methods examples in his own work , available on his personal website Mario Luis Small's overview on recent trends "How to Conduct a Mixed Methods Study: Recent Trends in a Rapidly Growing Literature" , published in Annual Review of Sociolog...

Research methods inform how knowledge is gained. The methods a researcher uses are often at the core of how they think about the world. Increasingly, some researchers have tried mixing methods. But this approach to research, though often beneficial, can also be challenging. PRIO research professor Jørgen Carling shares what he has learned about using mixed methods, and why it works so well for him...

In the last few weeks a familiar subject matter has dominated headlines again: is structural racism an issue in the UK, Norway, France, and many other countries? Is this term, which is often situated in an American context, relevant to Europe and other parts of the world? PRIO Research Director Marta Bivand Erdal goes beyond the debate on whether or not structural racism is a useful term to the he...

Justice after a conflict is often part of peacebuilding, and can be an important part of addressing victims’ experiences. These post-conflict processes are called “transitional justice” and are well-studied. During -conflict justice is less understood. When governments use trials, truth commissions, exiles and other tools to address crimes, even while violence is ongoing, what does it do to both t...

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the bombing of the Oslo government quarters and the massacre on Utøya by terrorist Anders Behring Breivik. On the 22nd of July 2011, 77 people died, many more were injured and traumatized, and the effects of that event are still being felt today. This week, Kristin Sandvik and Ingeborg Hjorth talk about the memorial at Utøya, and the controversy iterations of it...

Have humans evolved psychological adaptations to war? That's what Henrikas Bartusevičius will look at in his cutting-edge research project "Adapted to War" , funded by the European Research Council and hosted at PRIO. To answer this question, he’ll have to work across disciplines, conducting lab experiments and surveys. We discuss how he became interested in this topic, and what it could mean for...

On the 22nd of July, 2011, Norway experienced it’s deadliest attack since World War II. Ten years later, the country is still reckoning with what happened. Part of that reckoning is physical, embodied in the tearing down and rebuilding of the government quarter where the first attack took place. Much of the construction and planning has been controversial, and there is still extensive work to be d...

In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests around the world, many institutions looked inward at what they could do or change, PRIO included. Last year PRIO allocated internal funding to develop projects on ethnic, racial, cultural and religious discrimination. One of those projects is "Teaching African peace and conflict through European eyes (EuropAcademy)", led by Ilaria Carozza and Marie Sandne...

What makes people support terrorism or violent extremism? Is there any way to know what factors contribute? As terrorism has increasingly become a global concern, research has focused on who becomes a terrorist, and who supports terrorism, with many valuable conclusions coming out of that research. But until now no one has looked at whether these findings hold on a global scale. In a new report fo...

In late 1991, refugee camps were set up in Dadaab, Kenya. Today, the three camps located there make up the third-largest refugee complex in the world. For many, Dadaab is a long term home, and education is of course an important part of life both in the camp and once an individual leaves. But while the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 recognizes the need for everyone to have access to education,...

For the last 19 years, PRIO and the Uppsala university Department of peace and conflict have collaborated on the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. It’s the world’s main provider of data on organized violence, and is updated each year. In this episode Siri Aas Rustad shares the latest update and talks about changes and trends we’re seeing in armed conflict. Related material The underlying data and vis...

Every year, PRIO holds its Annual Peace Address, inviting distinguished guests to reflect on how to contribute to the creation of a world in which violence is the exception and peace is the norm. To bring these interesting, inspiring addresses to a wider audience we’ll be sharing some of them on the podcast as well. This week: Ilwad Elman, a Somali-Canadian activist who works at the Elman Peace an...

Many nurses working here in Norway have migrated from other parts of the world. Why do they move, and what do they experience when they begin working life in a new context? In the project Migration for welfare (WELLMIG), researchers looked specifically at nurse migration in Norway, from three countries – Sweden, Poland and the Philippines. The differences and similarities in their experiences are...

This week, for the second time in less than a year, Col Assimi Goïta seized power in Mali. To explain how and why, PRIO Marie Sandnes joins the podcast for this special extra episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justice after a conflict is often part of peacebuilding, and can be an important part of addressing victims’ experiences. These post-conflict processes are called “transitional justice” and are well-studied. But during-conflict justice is less understood. When governments use trials, truth commissions, exiles and other tools to address crimes, even while violence is ongoing, what does it do to bot...

The term “child soldiers” is very evocative. One might think of young children being drugged or forced into fighting, traumatized and exploited. In popular culture, films like Blood Diamond and Beasts of No Nation paint vivid images of child soldiers in Sierra Leone and Ghana. But minors in conflict can be found around the world, and their experiences are not always as clear-cut. Wenche Iren Hauge...

This month marked 100 years since Ireland was split in two, creating Northern Ireland, which is now part of the United Kingdom. Tensions and fighting in Northern Ireland have ebbed and flowed, and still persist today, often in the form of paramilitary groups. These groups – from both sides – are part of society and daily life. In the past few weeks they have also been in the news internationally f...

Five years after the European migration and refugee crisis, displacement remains a pressing issue worldwide. According to the UNHCR, the global number of forcibly displaced people passed 80 million during 2020 – the highest estimate ever recorded. Several factors have contributed to this increase, including a rise in political violence and instability, and extreme weather events. But when it...

April 12 kicked off the month of Ramadan, an important time of year for Muslims. It’s a time for contemplation, prayer and community. It's also a time when many donate "zakat", a kind of charity or almsgiving. Zakat generates billions of US dollars in donations per year, although exact numbers are near-impossible to pinpoint. PRIO's Kaja Borchgrevink talks about zakat and Muslim charity along...

Jihadism turns up not infrequently in the mainstream media. Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS – these are all jihadi groups. The word jihad simply which means struggle, and can be interpreted both as an internal struggle within oneself or as a more general struggle in the outside world. So what else do these groups actually have in common? On this episode you'll hear Mona Kanwal Sheikh and Dino Krause, t...

What do current trends in armed conflict and military technology mean for the future of urban warfare? What are the future prospects for International Humanitarian Law in settings of urban warfare?  What does this imply for the regulation of uses of explosive weapons in populated areas? These were the questions addressed in a recent virtual roundtable on the Protection of Civilians and the Fu...

In the last few weeks a familiar subject matter has dominated headlines again: is structural racism an issue in the UK, Norway, France, and many other countries? Is this term, which is often situated in an American context, relevant to Europe and other parts of the world? PRIO Research Director Marta Bivand Erdal goes beyond the debate on whether or not structural racism is a useful term to the he...

Every year, PRIO holds its Annual Peace Address, inviting distinguished guests to reflect on how to contribute to the creation of a world in which violence is the exception and peace is the norm. To bring these interesting, inspiring addresses to a wider audience we’ll be sharing some of them on the podcast as well. This week: activist Hajer Sharief, who works for peacebuilding in Libya, as well a...

Every year, PRIO holds its Annual Peace Address, inviting distinguished guests to reflect on how to contribute to the creation of a world in which violence is the exception and peace is the norm. To bring these interesting, inspiring addresses to a wider audience we’ll be sharing some of them on the podcast as well. On the occasion of PRIO's 60th anniversary, Steven Pinker held the PRIO Annual Pea...

The term "migrant smuggling" might call to mind boats of refugees in the Mediterranean or trucks driving over the US-Mexican border. But migrant smuggling is complicated, and can take many forms. PRIO Research Professor Jørgen Carling has recently looked at how migrant smuggling is experienced by the migrants themselves, and how politicians and nation states use migrant smuggling as an example whe...