Email: kristian@prio.org
Work phone: +47 22 54 77 78
Mobile phone: +47 920 61 861
Twitter: @harpviken
Transnational mobilization and civil war
War-related migration and social networks
Regional (in-)security
Peacebuilding and peacemaking
Methodology in contexts of crisis and conflict
Geographical focus on Afghanistan and its neighborhood
Norwegian, English; basic French and German
2017– | Research Professor, PRIO |
2009–17 | Director, PRIO |
2008 | Guest Researcher, Institute for International Migration (ISIM), Georgetown University |
2007– | Associate Fellow, Post-War Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU), University of York |
2005–09 | Deputy Director, PRIO |
2004–05 | Programme Leader, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding (CRPB) programme, PRIO |
1999– | Senior Researcher, PRIO |
1999–06 | Project Leader, 'Assistance to Mine-Affected Communities (AMAC)' |
1998 | Guest researcher (Fulbright Scholar), Department of Sociolocy, University of Chicago |
1997–03 | Research Fellow, Department of Sociology and Human geography, University of Oslo. Project: 'Flight and Social Decision-Making: Forced Migration in Afghanistan' |
1995–97 | Research Fellow, PRIO. Project: 'Common Security in Southern Africa' (17 months) |
1990–92 | Director and Agricultural Coordinator, Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC), Peshawar, Pakistan |
1989 | Conscientious Objector, Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC), Oslo |
1983–88 | Farmer, Harpviken Farm, Brumunddal |
1982 | Military Service |
1981–93 | Farm work, Nedre Berg Farm, Brøttum |
2017– | Member of the Board of Directors, Global Resource Network on Conflict (GRNC), Washington DC |
2017– | External Board member, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, Faculty of Humanities, University of Oslo |
2016– | Member of the Advisory Committee of the joint United Nations and World Bank Policy Study on the role of Development in the Prevention of Violent Conflict. |
---|---|
2016– | Board member, Research Council of Norway’s Board committee for international issues [Styreutvalg for internasjonale saker] |
2015– | Board member, Division for Society and Health, Research Council of Norway |
2015–16 | Member of Norwegian Commission of Inquiry on Norway’s civilian and military involvement in Afghanistan during the period 2001–2014 |
2014– | Governing Board member, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), New Delhi |
2014– | International Board member, Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC) |
2013– | Advisory Board member, Norwegian Polytechnic Society |
2012– | Board of Trustees member, the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights |
2012– | Advisory Board member, Business for Peace Foundation |
2012–16 | Editorial Board member, Politics and Governance (Open Access journal) |
2011– | Scientific Advisory Council member, Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) |
2010–14 | Programme Council member for the MA programme in Peace and Conflict Studies (PECOS), University of Oslo |
2007– | Editorial Board member, Comparative Social Research (yearbook published by Emerald) |
2006–09 | Member of the National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (Norway) |
2017 | Senior Executive Course (Sjefskurset), Norwegian Defence University College, Oslo |
2006 | PhD in Sociology, University of Oslo [Dissertation] |
1993–95 | Cand. Polit (M.Phil.) in Sociology, University of Oslo [Dissertation] |
1991–93 | Development Studies, University of Uppsala |
1987–89 | Cand. Mag, University of Oslo |
1984–86 | Management studies, Norwegian School of Management, Gjøvik |
1982–83 | Agriculturalist, Staup School of Gardening, Levanger |
Journal Article in Internasjonal Politikk
Book Chapter in Lives in Peace Research: the Oslo Stories
Book Chapter in Lives in Peace Research: the Oslo Stories
Popular Article in PRIO blogs
Book Review
Book Chapter in Det norske samfunn, 8. utgave
PRIO Policy Brief
PRIO Policy Brief
MidEast Policy Brief
Popular Article in PRIO Blog
Call for Papers for an international symposium & workshop, 9-10 November 2023. PRIO is co-hosting this event.
The PRIO Research School on Peace and Conflict, in
collaboration with the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, hosted doctoral
candidates at the PhD-level course.
The new open access
book Lives
in Peace Research: The Oslo Stories explains how PRIO, the world's
oldest independent peace research institute, was founded and how it survived
through crises.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has been met with global condemnation drawing NATO and the EU closer together in coordinating collective responses.
In contrast to this coordinated front among US, French and German responses, it is worth drawing attention to the mixed regional responses among states in the Middle East for whom the war can have long-lasting destabilising effects.
What is the current status of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)? What are its main challenges? What types of scenarios can we envision for UNRWA's future?
These were some of the questions discussed today when the PRIO Middle East Centre and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a roundtable with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
In the MidEast Policy Brief 'Irresolvable Dilemmas? The Prospects for Repatriation for Syrian Refugees', Research Professor Kristian Berg Harpviken and Research Assistant Bjørn Schirmer-Nilsen address the challenges for Syrian refugees in major host countries, the refugees' eroding opportunities for onward migration, and their prospects for repatriation.
On 9-10 September 2021, around 20 researchers met for a hybrid online-offline workshop to share their research on specific cases of ethical issues in peace negotiations and mediation. The workshop was part of the PRIO project 'On Fair Terms: The Ethics of Peace Negotiations and Mediation' (FAIR) and included both PRIO researchers and researchers from across the world.
In a new policy brief on the importance of a neighborly concert for Afghan peace, Kristian Berg Harpviken examines the present state of affairs in each of the main regions surrounding Afghanistan: Central Asia, South Asia and the Gulf. Qatar, having hosted the intra-Afghan peace talks, currently stands out as the winner, not only because it hosted a high-profile peace process, but also because it has been able to use its relevance to the US in managing the diplomatic offensive of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries over the past several years.
In their first-ever report to examine conflict trends in the Middle East, PRIO researchers take a closer look at the hard data on the number of conflicts – between states, within states, as well as one sided violence – and at ceasefires as well as peace agreements.
On the occasion of the Royal visit – by His Majesty King Harald V and Queen Sonja – to Jordan 2-4 March, PRIO co-hosted the seminar 'Preserving Spaces for Dialogue in the Middle East' in collaboration with the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan. The seminar took place over two days and aimed at providing a space for academia and key stakeholders to meet. Attendees and participants from Norway included the King of Norway, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide, and Minister of Trade and Industry Iselin Nybø.