Siri Aas Rustad
Research Director
Additional positions:
Research Professor
Research Interests
I have a wide range of research interests, which can be divided in to three main categories.
The first category is related to conflict data and trends. In particular I'm interested in seeking to find what hidden stories the data tell us. Further, I have also worked extensively on ceasefires and non-state conflicts.
The second category is human consequences of conflicts. This entails research on inequalities, aid efficiency, maternal and child health, education, sexual violence and in particular children in conflict.
Finally, a large share of my research is devoted to natural resources and environment. I have looked at the resource curse, natural resource management in post-conflict, EITI, climate change, and conflicts related to new energy projects and climate mitigation projects such as REDD+
Languages spoken:
English, Norwegian
Selected work experience:
Research Director, Conditions for Violence and Peace, PRIO Feb-July 2021
Research Professor, Conditions for Violence and Peace, PRIO 2020-present
Senior Researcher, Conditions for Violence and Peace, PRIO 2012-2020
Researcher/PhD candidate at PRIO (2008-2012)
Research Assistant at PRIO for Nils Petter Gleditsch and Scott Gates (November 2005- December 2007)
Coordinator for PRIO’s Peace Research Course at the International Summer School at Blindern (Summer 2006)
Project Coordinator for North Caucasus, Building Peaces
Teaching statistical method and software (MA-level) – Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Science (2012-2018)
Education:
2008-2012: PhD (Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
2002-2005: Cand.polit. (Political Science from NTNU, Reading University, and PRIO)
1998-2001: Cand.mag. (Political Science, History and Macro Economics, from NTNU and Charles University, Praha)
Selected fellowships and awards:
‘Conflict Trends’, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Project leader (NOK 3 million yearly) (2016-2023)
‘Green Curses’, Research Council of Norway, Norglobal, Project leder (NOK 6 million) (2020-2023)
‘Development Aid, Effectiveness, and Inequalities in Conflict-Affected Societies’, Research Council of Norway, FRIPRO, Project deputy (NOK 9 million) (2017-2019)
‘From a Curse to a Blessing? Transparency and Accountability in Managing High-Value Natural Resource Revenues’, Research Council of Norway, collaborator FRIPRO (NOK 7 million) (2014-2017)
Latest publications
All publications
Conflict Trends in Africa, 1989–2021
PRIO Paper
Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 1990–2021
Conflict Trends
Children at Risk of Being Recruited by Armed Groups, 1990–2020
Journal Article in Children & Society
Protest and Insecurity: Trends in the Global South since the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Conflict Trends
Conflict Trends: A Global Overview, 1946–2021
PRIO Paper
The First Steps in the PRIO-Uppsala Connection: Peter Wallensteen
Book Chapter in Lives in Peace Research: the Oslo Stories
The Role of Women in Ceasefires: A Literature Review
GPS Policy Brief
Women, Peace and Security Index 2021/22
GPS Policy Brief
Conflict Trends in Asia, 1989–2021
PRIO Paper
Conflict Trends in the Middle East, 1989–2021
PRIO Paper
Latest news
All news
PRIO Data Reveals One in Six Children Live in a Conflict Zone
This week Save the Children launched its new report Stop the War on Children: The Forgotten Ones. The report is based on PRIO's annual mapping of children in armed conflict.
The Women, Peace and Security Index Goes Viral on Social Media
Yesterday, a video featuring the Global Women, Peace and Security Index went viral on TikTok, garnering over 700,000 likes so far.
PhD Course on Gender, Peace and Conflict
Doctoral candidates from all over the world attended PRIO's PhD-level course on Gender, Peace and Conflict.
The History of PRIO and Peace Research: New Open Access Book
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.
Peace Science Infrastructure: PRIO to Head Large New Collaboration
Friday, we got to know that a large project has been funded by the Research Council of Norway's INFRASTRUKTUR initiative, that aims to build up relevant, up-to-date infrastructure that is accessible to the research community, to various private and public sector user groups, and to the general public.
Syria and Yemen Top Statistic on Number of Children at Risk of Recruitment by Armed Actors
Save the Children's report Stop the War on Children: A crisis of recruitment shows that, in 2020, almost all children in Syria and Yemen were at risk of recruitment by armed actors.
Record Number of Children at Risk of Being Recruited by Armed Actors
Today, Save the Children launched its new report Stop the War on Children: A crisis of recruitment. The report is based on a new mapping of children at risk of being recruited or used in armed conflict conducted at PRIO, as well an update of the yearly estimation of children living in conflict zones. The findings are alarming. In 2020, approximately 337 million children, or more than 1 in 8 children, were living in a conflict zone in which one or more actors recruited children. This is the highest recorded number of children at risk of being recruited by armed actors.
The 2021/22 Global Women, Peace and Security Index Is Out
The third edition of the global Women, Peace and Security Index (WPS Index) draws on recognized data sources to measure women’s inclusion, justice, and security in 170 countries. Trends in the WPS Index show that the global advancement of women’s status has slowed and disparities have widened across countries. The WPS Index is published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security, with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
CHS and PRIO to Launch Report on Conflict Trends in the Arab World
The Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS), in collaboration with the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) , will jointly release a major report analysing conflict trends in the Arab world from 1946 to 2019. A joint online conference will be held by both partners on 25 August 2021 (4:00 PM Doha time) to launch the report, which will be simultaneously made available on their websites.
PRIO Data Travel the World
The journalist Joshua Goodman of the Associated Press yesterday released the article “Global COVID deaths hit 4 million amid rush to vaccinate». He refers to the PRIO battledeaths data and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program to illustrate the deadliness of the virus.
This news story has since it’s publication been shared by more than 1,300 news outlets worldwide, and the number keeps growing by the hour. One example is this piece from the Huffington Post.
Latest events
All events
Global Conflict Trends: In the Shadow of Ukraine
Launch of the 2021/22 Global Women, Peace and Security Index
Report Launch: Conflict Trends in the Arab World
Conflict Trends Update: 1946-2020
The Past and Future of Energy Developments in East Africa
COVID-19 and challenges to multilateralism, peace, and democracy
Global Peace and COVID-19
Olive Branch or Fig Leaf? The Risks and Opportunities of the Global Ceasefire Call in the Time of Corona
Where is it Worst or Best to be a Woman?
Forgotten Conflicts - Hidden Trends
Current projects
All projects
TRUST: Attitudinal Impacts of Refugees on Host Communities in the Global South
Education and Displacement: An Impact Evaluation of an Accelerated Education Programme in Uganda
Ceasefires
Children in Conflict: Basic Mapping
Conflict Trends
Latest blog posts
Fewer Children Affected by Conflict, but Conflict Intensity Is on the Rise
1 in 8 Children Are at Risk of Being Recruited by Armed Actors
Do Cease-Fires in Syria Work? We Checked the Data.
72 Million Children Are at Risk for Sexual Violence in Conflict. What Can Be Done?
The First Steps in the PRIO-Uppsala Connection: Peter Wallensteen Interviewed by Siri Aas Rustad
Fewer Lives Being Lost in Conflicts
New Mapping of Children Affected by Armed Conflict
Education and Systematic Group Inequalities in Nigeria
