About

I am Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) in Oslo, Norway.

As of June 2023, I am also Editor in Chief for the academic journal Cooperation and Conflict (w/ Benjamin de Carvalho).

I have a PhD (2014) and an MA (2005) in political science from the University of Oslo, with undergraduate studies in British and American studies and European integration (University of Oslo/University of Cardiff, Wales/University of Agder).

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 Britain and the Nordic states.

My work has appeared in journals like European Journal of International Relations, Cooperation and Conflict, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, Journal of European Integration, Politics and Governance and Global Affairs. I have also published work in Norwegian academic outlets such as Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift and Internasjonal Politikk.

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 have managed several 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, which involved personell responsibility for twelve staff members and being a member of NUPI’s management.

My editorial experience includes being editor of the volumes Kinship in International Relations (2019, w/ Iver B. Neumann) and Det glemte partnerskapet: Norge og Storbritannia i et nytt århundre (2012, w/ Øivind Bratberg) and a special forum on small states in European security in Global Affairs (2017, w/Pernille Rieker). Between 2006 and 2018, I was Associate Editor for the quarterly journal British Politics Review. Between 2012 and 2016, I was Editor in Chief for the leading Scandinavian IR journal Internasjonal Politikk (w/ Julie Wilhelmsen). Since 2020, I am Series Editor for the book series Springer Frontiers in International Relations (w/ Maren Hofius, Elke Schwarz and Benjamin Tallis). As of June 2023, I am Editor in Chief for Cooperation and Conflict (w/ Benjamin de Carvalho). I serve on the Editorial Board of The Hague Journal of Diplomacy.