Currently working on identity, representation, sovereignty, governance and digital politics.
Åshild Kolås
Research Professor
Interests and experience
Åshild Kolås is a social anthropologist and Research Professor at PRIO. She has carried out fieldwork in multi-ethnic communities in India and China, and has written on Tibet, Nepal, Inner Mongolia and Northeast India with a focus on governance and governmentality, identity politics, discourse and representation. Among her latest books are Women, Peace and Security in Myanmar: Between Feminism and Ethnopolitics (Routledge, 2019) and Sovereignty Revisited: The Basque Case (Routledge, 2017, co-edited with Pedro Ibarra Güell). She is also the author of Tourism and Tibetan Culture in Transition. A Place Called Shangrila (Routledge, 2008) and On the Margins of Tibet: Cultural Survival on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier (University of Washington Press, 2005; 2015, with Monika P. Thowsen). She was the head of PRIOs Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding Program from 2005 to 2011. From 2006 to 2018, she coordinated an institutional cooperation between PRIO and the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi. She currently leads the project e-Topia: China, India and Biometric Borders, funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN). She serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of International Development and Vice President of the Interdisciplinary Studies Section of the International Studies Association (ISA), and is also a member of the editorial board of the European Bulletin of Himalayan Research (EBHR) and Alternatives: Global, Local, Political.
Projects
All projects
Oct 2022 – Sep 2025
Digital Emergency Communication (DIGeMERGE)
Digital Emergency Communication (DIGeMERGE)
Apr 2021 – Dec 2025
Stateless in the Bengali borderlands : New technologies and challenges for identity and identification
Stateless in the Bengali borderlands : New technologies and challenges for identity and identification
Jan 2020 – Dec 2025
e-Topia: China, India and Biometric Borders
e-Topia: China, India and Biometric Borders
PRIO Fieldwork Network (FIWON)
Jan 2022
Technology and Law in India's National Register of Citizens
Technology and Law in India's National Register of Citizens
Oct 2020 – Jun 2021
Critical Perspectives on Digital Peacebuilding
Critical Perspectives on Digital Peacebuilding
Feb 2016 – Dec 2018
WOMENsPEACE: Gender Equality, Peace and Security in Nepal and Myanmar
WOMENsPEACE: Gender Equality, Peace and Security in Nepal and Myanmar
Sep 2015 – Dec 2017
India in the World: Emerging Perspectives on Global Challenges (INDWORLD)
India in the World: Emerging Perspectives on Global Challenges (INDWORLD)
Dec 2013 – Dec 2017
Negotiating the Nation: Implications of Ethnic and Religious Diversity for National Identity (NATION)
Negotiating the Nation: Implications of Ethnic and Religious Diversity for National Identity (NATION)
Dec 2013 – Dec 2015
Peacebuilding, Diversity and Human Security
Peacebuilding, Diversity and Human Security
Latest publications
All publications
Åshild Kolås (2025)
Rohingya identity, nationhood and the census
Rohingya identity, nationhood and the census
Journal article in Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture
Nidhi Upadhyay (2024)
Cyber-activism on violence against women in India
Cyber-activism on violence against women in India
Book chapter in Women’s Empowerment in India: From Rights to Agency
Åshild Kolås (2024)
Norway’s Aid to Ukraine: Building Peace or Fueling Crime?
Norway’s Aid to Ukraine: Building Peace or Fueling Crime?
Journal article in Journal of Illicit Economies and Development
Åshild Kolås & Fuzel Shaik (2024)
Disinformation and Emergency Communication
Disinformation and Emergency Communication
PRIO Policy Brief
Åshild Kolås & Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya (2024)
Introduction: Women's Empowerment in India
Introduction: Women's Empowerment in India
Book chapter in Women's Empowerment in India: From Rights to Agency
Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya, Åshild Kolås & Eileen Connolly, eds, (2024)
Women’s Empowerment in India: From Rights to Agency
Women’s Empowerment in India: From Rights to Agency
Edited volume
Åshild Kolås & Tashi Nyima (2023)
Virtual Tibet: Representation, Legitimacy, and Struggles for Democracy
Virtual Tibet: Representation, Legitimacy, and Struggles for Democracy
Book chapter in Frustrated Nationalism. Nationalism and National Identity in the Twenty-First Century
Åshild Kolås (2023)
This World and the “Other”: Muslim Identity and Politics on the Indo-Bangladesh Border
This World and the “Other”: Muslim Identity and Politics on the Indo-Bangladesh Border
Journal article in Alternatives: Global, Local, Political
Andreas Hirblinger et al. (2023)
Digital Peacebuilding: A Framework for Critical–Reflexive Engagement
Digital Peacebuilding: A Framework for Critical–Reflexive Engagement
Journal article in International Studies Perspectives
Åshild Kolås (2023)
Crisis informatics, disinformation and emergency politics
Crisis informatics, disinformation and emergency politics
Conference paper
Latest news
All news
Friday, 16 Aug 2024
Forum on Digitalising Emergency Communication
Forum on Digitalising Emergency Communication
On 15 August 2024, the DIGeMERGE project and the Center for Digital Welfare hosted an open forum on "Digitalising Emergency Communication" inviting participants to discuss the use of new emergency communication technologies in the Nordic countries.
Tuesday, 21 May 2024
DIGeMERGE Poster on Digital Emergency Communication in the Nordic Countries
DIGeMERGE Poster on Digital Emergency Communication in the Nordic Countries
The CHANSE project Digital Emergency Communication (DIGeMERGE) is presenting a poster at the 2024 conference organized by ISCRAM (Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management) in Münster, Germany, 25-29 May 2024.
Wednesday, 24 Apr 2024
Panel discussion on "Sovereignty in the 21st century: New perceptions and challenges"
Panel discussion on "Sovereignty in the 21st century: New perceptions and challenges"
The Center for Studies of the Course of International Relations (CECRI) at the University of Minho (Braga, Portugal) organized its 45th International Relations Colloquia on 22-24 April 2024.
Sunday, 11 Feb 2024
Conference on Digital Designs – from Unique ID to CBDC
Conference on Digital Designs – from Unique ID to CBDC
'Digital Designs - from Unique ID to CBDC' was co-organized by PRIO and the Maharashtra Institute of Technology-World Peace University (MIT-WPU) at MIT-WPU's campus in Pune, India, 9-10 February 2024.
Thursday, 2 Jun 2022
CHANSE Funding in Place for Project on Digital Emergency Communication
CHANSE Funding in Place for Project on Digital Emergency Communication
The project will examine the use of smartphone apps, mass notifications via SMS and messaging on social media platforms, in efforts to alert the public and respond to emergencies.
Sunday, 8 May 2022
The History of PRIO and Peace Research: New Open Access Book
The History of PRIO and Peace Research: New Open Access Book
The new open accessbook Livesin Peace Research: The Oslo Stories explains how PRIO, the world'soldest independent peace research institute, was founded and how it survivedthrough crises.
Thursday, 17 Dec 2020
Stateless in the Bengali borderlands — Funding in Place for New Project
Stateless in the Bengali borderlands — Funding in Place for New Project
The project will investigate the current crisis of statelessness affecting millions of people in the Bengali borderlands, including the Rohingya population of Myanmar and Bengali Muslims in the Northeast Indian state of Assam.
Saturday, 16 May 2020
Åshild Kolås Appointed Vice President of IDSS
Åshild Kolås Appointed Vice President of IDSS
PRIO Research Professor Åshild Kolås has been appointed Vice President of the ISA Interdisciplinary Studies Section (IDSS).
Tuesday, 31 Mar 2020
Open Position: Doctoral Researcher With the e-Topia Project
Open Position: Doctoral Researcher With the e-Topia Project
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) invites applications for a three-year, full-time research position as a Doctoral Researcher.
Wednesday, 18 Dec 2019
Project Funded: e-Topia: China, India and Biometric Borders
Project Funded: e-Topia: China, India and Biometric Borders
How is e-governance and the Internet of Things (IoT) changing the everyday lives of the people of India and China, and how are these multifaceted changes affecting international relations?Congratulations to Åshild Kolås, who will lead the project e-Topia: China, India and Biometric Borders, which has now received 4-year funding from the Foreign Policy programme of the Research Council of Norway.
Latest events
All events
Monday, 11 Nov 2024 10:00–11:30 UTC+01
Governing the Grasslands of China and Mongolia: Sociotechnical solutions
Governing the Grasslands of China and Mongolia: Sociotechnical solutions
9–10 Feb 2024
Conference on Digital Designs – from Unique ID to CBDC
Conference on Digital Designs – from Unique ID to CBDC
Friday, 14 Oct 2022 13:00–15:00 UTC+02
India's E-topia: Biometric ID and E-governance
India's E-topia: Biometric ID and E-governance
Monday, 26 Sep 2022 13:00–15:00 UTC+02
Biometric Borders, Body Politics and Digital Governance
Biometric Borders, Body Politics and Digital Governance
28–29 Nov 2019
Technology and Security
Technology and Security
Tuesday, 18 December 2018
Workshop on Humanitarianism and Political Space
Workshop on Humanitarianism and Political Space
Wednesday, 20 Jun 2018 08:30–11:30 UTC+02
Norge etter 22. juli: Verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn
Norge etter 22. juli: Verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn
Monday, 5 March 2018
WOMENsPEACE Conference on Women, Peace and Security in Myanmar
WOMENsPEACE Conference on Women, Peace and Security in Myanmar
Tuesday, 21 Nov 2017 08:15–10:00 UTC+01
Nationalism, Populism and the Everyday Nation in Europe Today
Nationalism, Populism and the Everyday Nation in Europe Today
Monday, 20 Nov 2017 09:00–15:30 UTC+01
Negotiating the Nation: Implications of Ethnic and Religious Diversity for National Identity
Negotiating the Nation: Implications of Ethnic and Religious Diversity for National Identity
Latest blog posts
All blog posts
Friday, 17 Jan 2025
Greenland Is Not for Sale
Greenland Is Not for Sale
Friday, 10 Jan 2025
This Is What Norwegians Think About Emergency Alerts on Mobile Phones
This Is What Norwegians Think About Emergency Alerts on Mobile Phones
Monday, 7 Aug 2023
Manipur Tragedy
Manipur Tragedy
Thursday, 30 Jun 2022
Japanese Perspectives on the Ukraine War
Japanese Perspectives on the Ukraine War
Friday, 4 Mar 2022
India on Russia-Ukraine: History, Pragmatism and the Dilemmas Therein
India on Russia-Ukraine: History, Pragmatism and the Dilemmas Therein
Thursday, 30 Sep 2021
Corona Apps – Going Global
Corona Apps – Going Global
Wednesday, 18 Nov 2020
On the Road to Peace: Wenche Iren Hauge Interviewed by Åshild Kolås
On the Road to Peace: Wenche Iren Hauge Interviewed by Åshild Kolås
Monday, 28 Sep 2020
COVID-19 puts India’s e-governance infrastructure and innovation to the test
COVID-19 puts India’s e-governance infrastructure and innovation to the test
Wednesday, 1 Nov 2017
What to Expect from India at COP23?
What to Expect from India at COP23?
Tuesday, 18 Jul 2017
Sovereignty™
Sovereignty™
In the media
January 2025
A feature article on the edited volume Women's Empowerment in India: From Rights to Agency, co-edited by Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya and Åshild Kolås, was published by the Indian magazine Mid-Day.
February 2023
PRIO Researcher Åshild Kolås’ PRIO Paper “Where are the women in Myanmar’s peace process?” was mentioned in an article on the news site EIN Newsdesk.
PRIO started listing media appearances on profiles in 2023. Earlier media appearances may not be listed.
