Mathias Hatleskog Tjønn

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2025). Norms and Policy in Times of ‘Crisis’: the Evolution of Norwegian Migration Legislation Since the Late 1960s. Journal of Migration History. ISSN 2351-9916. 11(3), p. 350–378. doi: 10.1163/23519924-11030005. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article examines how the past half-century’s three most important events in Norway’s modern immigration history – all interpreted by contemporaries as ‘problems’ or ‘crises’ – have shaped norms and policy in the field of Norwegian migration legislation. These events – namely, the arrival of the first labour migrants from the Global South to Norway in the late 1960s and early 1970s; the influx of refugees from the conflict in Bosnia in the first half of the 1990s; and refugee arrivals during the 2015–2016 European migrant crisis – all brought shifts towards increased restrictiveness, particularly in relation to migrant returns. Taking up the call to examine how policy norms are socially constructed on the basis of specific historical conditions, this cross-disciplinary article employs a critical and constructivist stance and draws on sociological theory and terminology to show how the ‘problem’ and ‘crisis’ labels informed the outcomes at each juncture.

• Jumbert, Maria Gabrielsen; Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora & Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2023). If ‘it all breaks down’: The Norwegian refugee crisis as a geography of chaos. Environment & Planning. D, Society and Space. ISSN 0263-7758. 41(5), p. 1–19. doi: 10.1177/02637758231203822. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How did the arrival of growing numbers of refugees and migrants in a non-violent setting and high-income country like Norway become framed as a ‘humanitarian crisis’ and with what consequences? In this article, we examine the framing and responses to the influx of refugees and other migrants to Norway in 2015–16, in and around Oslo and in the Arctic region of Storskog, along the Russian border. Our analysis draws on two theoretical contributions: work on ‘crisis and chaos’ and the idea of ‘chaotic geographies’, and work on the ‘humanitarian arena’ . Taking a tripartite approach, we study how time, space and different levels of response (citizen volunteers, established humanitarian actors and the state) contributed to the framing of the situation as a humanitarian crisis, and the consequences of this. We show that Norway is a political and geographical outlier, and that the state’s response to this ‘humanitarian crisis’ and potentially chaotic situation was seen as both appropriate and legitimate. We argue this helped ‘de-escalate’ the chaotic geography.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog & Jumbert, Maria Gabrielsen (2023). Migration Across the Mediterranean: Shaping Italy-Libya Relations Over Time. In Zapata-Barrero, Ricardo & Awad, Ibrahim (Ed.), Migrations in the Mediterranean. Springer Nature. ISSN 9783031422638. p. 53–69. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-42264-5_4. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Libya has been a central focus of European migration management across the Mediterranean for the past two-three decades, becoming particularly salient in 2015–2016. Italy has been involved in a gradual accumulation of agreements with Libya and in recent years also involving the EU. Italy’s prior and contested colonial history in Libya has shaped the close economic ties between the two countries following Libyan independence. Both the colonial history and economic collaboration in turn play an important part in the agreements on migration, something that has hitherto been under-researched and inadequately understood. This chapter presents the history of these agreements, in order to better understand what it means for the EU’s present involvement in them. We also show how European and Italian migration management together with Libya operate in a landscape of treaties and agreements that run the risk of obstructing and obfuscating the rule of law and humanitarian treatment, ideals the EU purports to uphold also in their treatment of would-be migrants crossing the Mediterranean. By taking a historical approach and describing these developments over time, we contribute to better enlighten today’s relationship between the EU and Italy on the one hand and Libya on the other.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog & Lemberg-Pedersen, Martin (2022). The Long-term Influence of a Short-lived Colony: Postcoloniality and Geopolitics of Energy and Migration Control in Libya. In Lemberg-Pedersen, Martin; Fett, Sharla M.; Mayblin, Lucy; Sahraoui, Nina & Stambøl, Eva Magdalena (Ed.), Postcoloniality and Forced Migration: Mobility, Control, Agency. Bristol University Press. ISSN 9781529218190. p. 125–143. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter applies a postcolonial gaze on a very specific architecture of energy, trade and displacement politics, namely the evolution of successive and entangled layers of imperial and postcolonial actors and geopolitics on forced migration in Libya. Recognizing how colonial infrastructures and matrices of power did not end when Libya gained independence, and that such matrices can be identified also in current forced migration dynamics, the chapter details the complex entanglements of colonial powers and empires in Libyan politics, such as Italy, the Ottoman Empire/Turkey, and the EU. Spanning from the 1911 Italo-Turkish war that gave rise to the Italian colony of Libya, through the Gaddafi regime, and to the present, the chapter details linkages between water exploration, settler colonialism and mass displacement, between Big Oil and natural gas pipelines and anti-colonial discourses, and recently, between the EU’s externalized migration control in Libya and Turkish visions of energy corridors through a Blue Homeland. The chapter demonstrates the intricate and strategic uses of postcoloniality, and the enduring effect of an otherwise epistemologically erased era of brutal colonial suppression in Libya.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2020). Å gjøre vann til olje. Kolonitidens betydning for den italiensk-libyske oljeindustrien. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier. ISSN 1503-5727. 17(2), p. 32–44. doi: 10.5617/ba.7767. Full text in Research Archive
• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2018). The ‘Europeanization’ of the Italian Migration Regime: Historicizing its Prerequisites, Development, and Transfer, from the ‘Oil Shock’ to the Mediterranean ‘Migration Crisis’. Global Histories: a Student Journal. ISSN 2366-780X. 4(2), p. 144–162. doi: 10.17169/GHSJ.2018.246. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  After the 2015 ‘Migration Crisis’ a focus on securitizing Schengen area borders and externalizing migration control has dominated deliberations between the countries of the European Union, as well as EU dealings with bordering nation states. Italy sits at the geographical and political crossroads of this situation, and its migration regime has gradually come to shape the EU’s handling of Mediterranean migration. Paradoxically, this regime entails a willingness to flout rule of law and human rights precedents upheld by European institutions themselves. This article brings together scholarly work from a variety of disciplines to historicize the prerequisites, development, and transfer of Italian migration management methods from national to supranational levels. The article traces increasing European integration and a hardening of external borders towards a Global South, through the aftermath of the 1973 ‘Oil Crisis’, the formation of the Schengen Area based on French and West German demands for a stricter migration policy, domestic Italian political developments in the 1990s, and an externalizing of border control in the 2000s. The study argues that these developments are a result of complex and sometimes circular situations of pressure and coercion but also surprising outcomes based on circumstances of immigration to Europe that no party had foreseen.

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• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2026). Er ukrainske flyktninger inne i sitt siste år med beskyttelse? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Den kollektive beskyttelsen av ukrainere i Norge utløper i 2027. Hva som vil skje da, er fortsatt et åpent spørsmål, skriver Mathias Hatleskog Tjønn.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2025). Midlertidig eller permanent? Et historisk tilbakeblikk på flyktningers mottak i Norge. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Norge har tatt imot et rekordhøyt antall ukrainske flyktninger siden 2022 og har gitt dem midlertidig beskyttelse, på samme måte som man gjorde da bosniske flyktninger ankom i første halvdel av 1990-tallet. Her melder spørsmål om integrering og hjemsendelse seg, ettersom nesten halvparten av disse ukrainerne nå uttrykker et ønske om å bli, uavhengig av den norske regjeringens uttalte ønske om å returnere dem så snart det er trygt å gjøre det. I 1996 ble Norges samtidige fokus på integrering og hjemsendelse til slutt endret, da bosnierne ble permanent bosatt etter fire år med midlertidig beskyttelse. Med de fortsatt manglende utsiktene til en slutt på krigen i Ukraina, vil det som på 1990-tallet ble kalt det «tosporede løpet» sannsynligvis bli utfordret igjen. Dette foredraget vil begynne med å trekke de lengre linjene i norsk flyktningpolitisk historie, før vi fokuserer på forskjeller og likheter mellom håndteringen av bosniernes og ukrainernes ankomst i Norge.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2024). Får ukrainske flyktninger bli i Norge? 205(26), p. 29–29. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I dag, som på 1990-tallet, uttrykker regjeringen en dobbelthet når den snakker om midlertidig kollektiv beskyttelse av flyktninger.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog; Erdal, Marta Bivand & İçduygu, Ahmet (2024). Migration Management, Development and Integration Policies: How Poorly Recognized Policy Links Challenge the Navigation of Dilemmas and Limit the Realization of Opportunities. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Migration management, development processes in countries of origin, and integration in societies of settlement are intertwined components of social change, and thus also require recognition through policy linkages. Taking empirical links between the phenomena of migration management, development and integration, and their disconnects, as a point of departure, this paper discusses how the separation of policy fields exacerbates disconnects. The paper draws on research conducted within the MIGNEX research project, where we explored the links between migration management, development and integration empirically, and as these are articulated within different policy fields, finding as many links, as disconnects. The analysis drew on select policy instruments and programs primarily but not limited to within the EU. We develop a model which systematizes and can provide a conceptual and analytical tool for use in approaching the possible goals, considerations or prospective links (or disconnects) in concrete policy and empirical contexts of interest, considering the triangle of policies on migration management, development and integration. Systematizing the interface of migration management, development and integration underscores the existence of contradictions and disconnects, but arguably also points to links that may be fostered and actively capitalized on.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2024). Om floskler og fortiden. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Hvordan påvirker fortiden vår forståelse av nåtiden og fremtiden? Migrasjonshistoriker Mathias Hatleskog Tjønn reflekterer over historiens rolle og samarbeidet mellom historie og samfunnsvitenskap.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog & Lemberg-Pedersen, Martin (2023). Postcoloniality of Energy and Displacement in Libya. Border Criminologies Blog. Full text in Research Archive
• Slangsvold, Einar Lie; Paszkiewicz, Zofia; Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog & Sæther, Steinar Andreas (2023). Studio 2 - Drømmen om Europa: Historien om migrasjon. [Radio]. NRK P2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Migrasjon har blitt en viktig del av den politiske agendaen, men når begynte vi å snakke om migrasjon i politikken, og hvem var det første migrantene. I siste del av studio 2 sin serie om migrasjon snakker vi om migrasjonshistorie.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog & Akal, Ayse Bala (2022). Rerouting Europe-bound refugees to the Global South ignores their human rights. Peace News. Full text in Research Archive
• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2020). The Persistence of Colonialism. PRIO Blogs. Full text in Research Archive
• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2019). The Long-Term Influence of a Short-Lived Colony – A Century of Italo-Libyan Relationships and Their Influence on the Current European Migration Regime in the Mediterranean. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper shows how the EU, contrary to the common view of it being a “counter-institution” to the previous colonial projects of some of its member states, allowed colonial history to inform present migration policies in the Mediterranean. The return of migrants intercepted and rescued at sea to a network of EU-financed migrant detention centers in countries like Turkey and Libya has become the desired norm from a European perspective. This paper explores Italo-Libyan colonial history going back to the Italian conquest of Libya from the Ottoman Empire, forcibly drawing the area into Italy’s political and social orbit and setting the stage for an imbalanced relationship. It shows how the two economies of Italy and Libya were tied to each other through joint oil extraction in the post-war era and how a more restrictive Italian migration regime came about in the 1980s and 1990s, both due to domestic political changes and the demands to strengthen border security in order to join the Schengen system. The paper develops the argument that the series of treaties signed between Libya and Italy (supported by the EU) in the 1990s and 2000s connected the colonial past with promises of increased economic collaboration and political acknowledgement, in return for Libya taking on the role as Europe’s gatekeeper.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2025). Refugee return: Voluntary or forced? Historical parallels between Bosnian and Ukrainian refugee reception in Norway. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. ISSN 9788277638638. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Norway has received a record number of Ukrainian refugees since 2022 and has granted them temporary protection, similar to when the Bosnians arrived in the first half of the 1990s. This raises questions about integration and repatriation, as almost half of these Ukrainians are now expressing a desire to stay, regardless of the Norwegian government’s commitment to return them once it is safe to do so. In 1996, Norway's approach to simultaneous integration and return was eventually overturned when the Bosnians were permanently settled after four years of temporary protection. With the present war still ongoing, the two-track approach will likely be challenged once again.

• Godin, Marie; Jumbert, Maria Gabrielsen; Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog; Ike, Niels; Lebon-McGregor, Elaine & Schweers, Julia (2024). Is policy coherence a smokescreen for a more restrictive migration agenda? Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). ISSN 9788234305917. Full text in Research Archive
• Jumbert, Maria Gabrielsen; Godin, Marie; Ike, Niels; Lebon-McGregor, Elaine; Schweers, Julia & Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2024). Does informality lead to better or worse migration partnerships, and for whom? Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). ISSN 9788234305931. Full text in Research Archive
• Lebon-McGregor, Elaine; Godin, Marie; Jumbert, Maria Gabrielsen; Schweers, Julia; Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog & Ike, Niels (2022). Comparative experiences of third-country cooperation. PRIO - Institutt for fredsforskning. ISSN 9788234303814. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper identifies and categorises the different types of tools for third-country collaboration in the management of migration towards Europe and examine how they are connected with development cooperation or other forms of compensation.

• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2022). Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya? Peace Research Institute Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  ​A decade on since the Gaddafi-regime was deposed in 2011, the situation in Libya is still volatile and appears to be deteriorating. The instability in Libya poses significant challenges to its neighboring countries, including EU member states across the Mediterranean. At the same time, Libya remains a focal point of European interest, both in terms of its energy resources and through its central role in European efforts to externalize the management of migration, limiting cross-Mediterranean migrant crossings. This policy brief suggests how the EU could contribute more fruitfully towards a lasting peace in Libya through adopting a single, unified stance and engaging with the fractious Libyan actors through a concerted diplomatic push.

• Godin, Marie; Jumbert, Maria Gabrielsen; Lebon-McGregor, Elaine; Schweers, Julia & Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2021). Internal (in)coherence in European migration policies. PRIO - Institutt for fredsforskning. ISSN 9788234302275. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper examines policy documents and policy communication from the EU and Member States in the broad field of migration in order to identify internal incoherence. Drafted a decade apart, the 2011 Global Approach to Migration and Mobility and the 2020 New Pact on Migration and Asylum demonstrate a clear shift in European migration policy. How has the concept of policy (in)coherence played a part in this, and have its meaning and aims changed over time?

• Erdal, Marta Bivand; Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog & İçduygu, Ahmet (2021). Links between migration management, development and integration. PRIO - Institutt for fredsforskning. ISSN 9788234302237. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Migration management, development processes in countries of origin, and integration in societies of settlement are intertwined components of social change. To understand the links between them, a holistic approach to migration as integral to social change across nation-state borders is needed. But what does such an approach mean, and what is lost without it?

• Erdal, Marta Bivand; Carling, Jørgen; Horst, Cindy & Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2020). Integration and Development: Need for Dialogue. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). ISSN 9788234301445. Full text in Research Archive
• Martins, Bruno Oliveira & Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2020). Israel and COVID-19: The politics of health, security, and government formation. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). ISSN 9788234301346. Full text in Research Archive
• Erdal, Marta Bivand; Carling, Jørgen; Horst, Cindy & Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2020). Diaspora, Development and Integration: A Review of Policies and Practice. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). ISSN 9788234301421. Full text in Research Archive
• Erdal, Marta Bivand; Bertelli, Davide; Kruse, Mathias; Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Brochmann, Grete [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2019). Citizenship, Participation and Belonging in Scandinavia: Results from a survey among young adults of diverse origins in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). ISSN 9788234300486. Full text in Research Archive
• Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog (2019). The Persistence of Colonialism. A Century of Italo-Libyan Relationships and Their Influence on the Current European Migration Regime in the Mediterranean (1911–2017). Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Today, we increasingly see the European Union attempting to move border controls and migration management beyond the Mediterranean and into countries along the coast of North Africa and Asia Minor. The return of migrants intercepted and rescued at sea to a network of EU-financed migrant detention centers in countries like Turkey and Libya, is quickly becoming the desired norm from a European perspective. This thesis focuses on the latter case of Libya, were Italy is spearheading these policies. The thesis explores Italo-Libyan colonial history going back to the Italian conquest of Libya from the Ottoman Empire, forcibly drawing the area into Italy’s political and social orbit and setting the stage for a later imbalanced relationship. In subsequent chapters we see how the two economies of Italy and Libya were tied to each other through joint oil extraction in the post-war era. The thesis goes on to investigate how a more restrictive Italian migration regime came about in the 1980s and 1990s, both as a result of domestic political changes and the demands to strengthen border security in order to join the Schengen system. The final chapter brings these strands together, focusing on the late 1990s and 2000s and a series of treaties between Libya on the one side and Italy on the other (supported by the EU). These agreements connected the colonial past with promises of increased economic collaboration and political acknowledgement, in return for Libya taking on the role as Europe’s gatekeeper. The continued presence and importance of the Italo-Libyan colonial history runs through all the phases of this thesis. This continuity can be broken down into a continuity of interests, colonial infrastructure, continuity in terms of the companies and personnel involved, as well as continuity in how certain aspects of colonial attitudes and management were retained. Findings are based on both primary archive material, a close reading of the treaty texts, interviews with professional who have long experience in Libya (otherwise a “black box” due to the security situation) and a wide array of secondary literature from across academic disciplines, critically examined and put into historical context. Ultimately this thesis shows how the EU, contrary to the common view of it being a “counter-institution” to the previous colonial projects of some of its member states, allowed colonial history to inform its present migration policies in the Mediterranean.

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