Louise Olsson is Research Director of the Global Norms, Politics and Society Department and leads PRIO’s Gender Research Group. Her research focuses on the gendered dynamics of war, effects of conflict resolution on women’s rights, and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in Nordic national security and defense policies and implementation. She is the author of articles appearing in International Negotiations, Global Governance, Social Science Research, Journal of Global Security Studies, and International Peacekeeping.

Olsson is engaged in promoting the effective use of research results and approaches in decision-making and policy formulation. For example, she has been part of arranging a series of Dialog Forums to support the Ministry for Foreign Affairs during Norway’s term in the UN Security Council 2021-2022. Olsson also regularly contributes to course at the Nordic Center for Gender in Military Operations and to the Swedish Armed Forces’ senior leadership training program on gender equality. For example, she has acted as a coach to the Supreme Commander and to the Chief of Joint Operations. Prior to coming to PRIO, she worked in the Swedish government agency, the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), as a Senior Advisor to the leadership on gender mainstreaming and WPS.

As part of her work at FBA, she organized an international research group (2009-2018) with the aim to promote systematic empirical research of relevance for the implementation of WPS. Olsson has also served as Chair of the International Studies Association's (ISA) Professional Development Committee (April 2022- April 2024) and as a member of the ISA's Research and Workshop Committee (2016-2018).

Olsson got her PhD from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in 2007 but began her career in 1999 by contributing to the UN-led project Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Operations which produced the Windhoek Declaration and held its final workshop in Windhoek in May 2000.

Current and former projects:

Olsson's expertise in gender and WPS in national security and defense and the dynamics of war and its resolution has been developed since 1999. A number of projects have allowed for going more in-depth into specific sub-areas, for example:

WPS and Nordic national security and defense.

• A multi-level analysis of societal security and preparedness in Sweden and Norway (2025-2027) led by Roxanna Sjöstedt, Lund University. The project proposes a multi-layered approach that examines how three different levels – the political elite, government agencies, and the general public in Sweden and Norway – frame and act to handle the rising threat. Olsson's contribution focuses on gender equality and the integration of Women, Peace and Security in total defense processes.
• Should I stay or Should I go? (2020-2025) with co-project leader Chiara Ruffa, Erik Melander, and Sara Lindberg-Bromley, Uppsala University. The project asked: What determines if women choose to leave or to stay employed in a the Swedish Armed Forces? Addressing that question is key for being able to establish a more gender-equal workplace. Olsson studied the role of senior military leaders for gender integration and WPS in military organizations. The project was funded by the Swedish Research Council on Health, Working Life and Welfare.
• Women, peace, and security in the defense of Sweden (2019-2021) located at Uppsala University. With the return to a focus on national defense, this project studied issues regarding the protection and resilience of the population and the role of gender equality and the norm on Women, Peace and Security in a national defense and security context. The project was funded by the Swedish Armed Forces.
• Reducing Barriers for Women in the Norwegian Armed Forces' Peacekeeping Contributions (2020-2021) with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and Sabrina Karim at Cornell University. The aim of the project was to assess the relative importance of barriers for Norwegian women and men's deployment to UN and NATO military missions. Funded by DCAF.

Gendered dynamics of war

• The Waging of War (2025-2029), ERC led by Scott Gates, University of Oslo. The project aims to fill a critical gap in our understanding of warfare – not its origins or endings, but how wars are actually fought. Olsson contributes gender expertise into the analysis of organization, recruitment and behavior of military organizations.
• The Inclusion of Women in Ceasefire Processes (2023). This project, led by Siri Rustad, aims to examine both under which circumstances women are included in ceasefire processes and how their inclusion affected the dynamics of the negotiations, including the potential adoption of gender provisions in the agreement. Funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Inequality and insurgency in India: a disaggregated analysis of the link between gender inequality and armed conflict (2015-2018 with Erika Forsberg, Uppsala University). By combining fieldwork with statistical analysis of new micro-level data on India’s 640 districts, this project sought to improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind gender inequality and violent conflict. Funded by the Swedish Research Council.
• Disciplining Fighters: Understanding Armed Political Actors’ Control of Sexual Violence (2016-2019). with project leader Angela Muvumba-Sällström, Uppsala University. The project studied why and how diverse types of armed groups, with their varied agendas, motivations, institutions and gradations of sociality during wartime, create preventive cultures and pathways. Funded by the Swedish Research Council

Conflict resolution and women’s rights

• Women's empowerment in Peace Processes (EMPOW) with Uppsala University (2025-2027). The EMPOW project will contribute to the understanding of women's agency and the role of gender reforms by creating two interoperable datasets: EMPOW Agency and EMPOW Reform. Furthermore, by ensuring compatibility with leading crisis data, such as the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), PAX and VDEM, we can generate and harmonize data on women’s empowerment across all phases of the peace process– from pre-negotiations to post-war peacebuilding. Funded by CRAFd.
• The Peace Dividends and Post-conflict Reconstruction project (2024-2028), ERC led by Ismene Gizelis, Essex University. This project takes an ambitious, encompassing approach to post-conflict reconstruction. This involves formulating a Peace Dividend Matrix to systematically measure progress. This matrix maps positive outcomes from peacekeeping along three dimensions: 1) human development; 2) political inclusion and gender equality; and 3) state capacity as measured by taxation and public finances.
• Tracking and analyzing WPS in the Security Council in real time. This project examined whether the UN Security Council is moving from rhetorical commitment to substantive action on Women, Peace and Security. Chang and Olsson conducted real‑time analysis of WPS language in resolutions adopted in 2021 and systematically back‑codes resolutions from 2015 onward—when both the Global Study and UN Security Council resolution 2242 called for deeper scrutiny of the Council’s own implementation. Funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the project identified trends, gaps, and the degree to which WPS is embedded in the Council’s routine decision-making.
• Shattering glass: African Elected Members of the UN Security Council and the Fight for Women, Peace and Security (2021-2025) Led by Angela Muvumba Sellström at the Nordic Africa Institute, this qualitative study redirects attention from the Security Council as a monolithic actor to the agency of elected African member states. It analyzes how these states strategize, negotiate, and advance WPS priorities in the Council. Olsson and Jormanainen contributed to model how states articulate their WPS positions and how these choices shape practical implementation. Funded by the Swedish Research Council.