About the group
Contemporary history has traditionally been studying the period after the First World War and up to the present day. Recent history – and especially of the most recent decades – holds some challenges and opportunities that shape the way it is being studied. This applies for example to access to archives, the enormous scope of source material, and ethical obligations towards living people. Moreover, it may involve studying developments which are open ended and still ongoing.
Affiliated researchers work with different regions of the world, international organizations and transnational phenomena. Many have a particular eye for how global, regional and transnational conditions have shaped social, political and economic life in Norway and the country’s multifaceted roles in the world.
Geographically, the research group currently covers contemporary historical topics in the Nordic countries and Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.
The research group is an arena for developing research ideas and manuscripts in progress. Currently, research is taking place within the following topics:
- Security and geopolitics
- Nuclear weapons
- Great power politics in the Middle East and South Asia
- Norway's economic development and how increasing wealth has changed the country's international ambitions, roles and relationships
- Peace mediation in different parts of the world, with particular emphasis on Norway's roles
- Climate and energy history
- Strategic mass communication and information warfare
- Non-state actors' access to and participation in international arenas
- Global health cooperation, with emphasis on transnational knowledge circulation and institution building
- The importance of human rights and international law for international relations and -cooperation
