Peace Research Institute Oslo Development Website

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Monday, 19 Oct 2026

The procession during King Harald V's funeral in 2026. Photo: PRIO / Robert Jagiello

Survey evidence from King Harald V’s funeral: those Norwegians who felt their grief was shared grew closer to the nation

We share findings from our survey of Norwegians, conducted before and after King Harald V’s funeral.

Comment series
Ukraine War

Research-based comments and analysis on the Ukraine War

Comment

Thursday, 15 Oct 2026

Putin visits Turkmenistan for the CIS summit. Photo: Contributor/Getty Images

Putin’s early October diplomacy fails to deliver

Putin may believe that he has caught fresh wind in the sails of his rotting gunboat, but his war course still goes through a sea of deep troubles.

Sunday, 13 Sept 2026
Putin’s Eastern voyage highlights Russia’s setbacks

Tuesday, 21 Jul 2026
Ukraine ramps up drone strikes in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea

Wednesday, 8 Jul 2026
Putin intensifies missile attacks against Kyiv ahead of NATO summit

Thursday, 2 Jul 2026
Ukraine’s expanding strike campaign undercuts Putin’s claims of steady progress

Comment series
Nobel Peace Prize

Comment

Tuesday, 13 Oct 2026

Navi Pillay in her capacity of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2013. Photo: Murat Unlu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Nobel Peace Prize: Gaza is a genocide

There is a genocide in Gaza. This, indirectly, is the verdict of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Friday, 9 Oct 2026
Trump has zero chance of winning the Nobel Peace Prize

Tuesday, 3 Feb 2026
Venezuela: Bombs and sanctions – the humanitarian consequences

Friday, 7 Nov 2025
An unpalatable Peace Prize

Wednesday, 15 Oct 2025
Russia ignores global peace developments to focus on Putin’s war

Comment archive

Explore and dig into past commentary in our comment archive

Comment

Friday, 21 Aug 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Is US patience with Israel running out?

Israel’s military campaigns in the Middle East depend on support from the United States. But how long will that support last?

Comment

Friday, 14 Aug 2026

Borders, Migration and Shared Humanity Collage. Photo: PRIO

Echoes of Partition: Migration, borders and shared humanity

Mid-August marks the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, but also the mass migration and violence that followed in the wake of Partition.

Comment

Wednesday, 5 Aug 2026

Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney . Illustration: Cindy Ord/Getty Images

How to make sense of the new world disorder

With two ongoing regional wars, a crumbling humanitarian architecture and a number of smaller, often ignored, crises, it is tempting to pronounce an end to the liberal international order as we have known it since the end of the Cold War. But is this really the case? And what, if anything, might be replacing it?

Comment

Monday, 3 Aug 2026

A wet evening in Red Square. Photo: Jon Hicks/Getty Images

Only Moscow lacks new ideas for ending war against Ukraine

The July 23 meeting in Manila between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lasted only 35 minutes and produced no new momentum, according to the Kremlin (The Moscow Times, July 23).

Comment

Monday, 3 Aug 2026

A Satellite View of The Kerch Strait. Illustration: USGS/NASA Landsat/Orbital/Getty images

The Ukraine War takes new turns in the Black Sea theatre

Wars of attrition are supposed to be static and predictable, but the Ukraine War definitely departs from this pattern. Its transformation is constant, and during this summer, new surprises have come, delivered primarily by Ukraine, which puts priority on neutralization of Russian capacity to generate mass of manpower by technological innovations.

Comment

Monday, 3 Aug 2026

Political crisis in Gambia. Illustration: Getty Images/Anadolu

When the deadline looms: political crises, displacement and the clock

In January 2017, the streets of Banjul, the tiny capital of The Gambia, fell silent. Shops shuttered. Families packed bags. Tens of thousands of people streamed across the border into Senegal – not because war had broken out, but because a deadline was approaching.

Comment

Wednesday, 22 Jul 2026

Book cover of Lohne et al (2026) Etter 22. juli - Overgangsrettferdighet og terror. Cappelen Damm

Seeing 22 July through transitional justice: what have we learned?

The new book After 22 July: Transitional Justice and Terror focuses on forms of accountability, reconciliation, and remembrance that have emerged in the years since the 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway. Bringing together perspectives from multiple disciplines, the edited volume examines criminal trials, inquiry commissions, policing reforms, victim recognition, and memorialization after 22 July as interconnected processes of transitional justice.

Comment

Friday, 19 Jun 2026

Gaza in June 2026. Photo: Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu via Getty Images

Does ‘ceasefire’ still have any real meaning?

We're seeing an incredibly dangerous development where ceasefires are changing character, as conflict parties accept high levels of violence within the label ‘ceasefire’.

Comment

Thursday, 18 Jun 2026

G7 summit in Evian, France in June 2026. Photo: Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images

How the G7 can reset global finance

When G7 leaders arrive in Evian-les-Bains this month, France will host more than another summit. It will host a test of whether rich-country coordination can still solve problems that no country can manage alone.

Comment

Wednesday, 17 Jun 2026

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, in 2024. Photo: Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Norwegian peace diplomacy - is it facilitation or mediation? And why this matters.

It is a tradition in Norwegian peace diplomacy to say they are “only facilitators”, and theories on mediation are seen as of little relevance.

Comment

Wednesday, 17 Jun 2026

Surveillance cameras in China. Photo: Getty images/Anadolu

AI is neither the autocrat’s silver bullet nor democracy’s death sentence

AI does not map neatly onto a spectrum running from democratic vulnerability to authoritarian advantage.

Comment

Tuesday, 16 Jun 2026

Military ship in a fjord in Drøbak, Norway. . Photo: Getty images/Dmitry_Chulov

Do we need peace research when Norway is threatened by war?

War once again threatens Norway’s security. One might ask what we need peace research for at this moment.

Comment

Thursday, 28 May 2026

Indian paramilitary soldier during a mock drill training to respond in case of an attack during a civil defense exercise in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir in May 2025. . Photo: Firdous Nazir/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The war in the shadow of Iran

While global attention is focused on the Iran conflict, the war between Pakistan and Afghanistan continues.

Comment

Tuesday, 19 May 2026

Xi and Putin in Bejing in May 2026. Photo: Getty Images

Putin’s Beijing visit promises few rewards

Putin’s one-day working visit is set to be a much plainer affair than Trump’s summit.

Comment

Wednesday, 13 May 2026

Press in Gaza in 2025. Photo: Abdallah F.s. Alattar/Anadolu via Getty Images

The Gaza effect

Following the war in Gaza, killings of journalists and UN staff have become part of Israel's modus operandi. If we allow these actions to continue, we risk them becoming a model for others.

Comment

Wednesday, 29 Apr 2026

The flags of Cyprus and the EU on top of the Presidential Palace in Nicosia in January 2026 for the opening ceremony of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026. Photo: Kostas Pikoulas/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A challenging Presidency of a Union strained by a war-challenged member state

In January 2026, the Republic of Cyprus assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council. This marked Cyprus’ second presidency, and expectations were high, given the particularly ambitious presidency goals set by a small member state located at Europe’s geographical periphery.

Comment

Tuesday, 28 Apr 2026

Billboard on the fence of a military recruitment office in Lubertsy, inviting to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense and go to war with Ukraine. April 2026. . Photo: Getty Images

Russians appeal to Putin that he is misinformed about reality

After 50 months of the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine, Russia is facing accumulating military, economic, and social problems.

Comment

Monday, 20 Apr 2026

Strait of Hormuz in March 2026. Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The ceasefire with Iran expires on 22 April. What happens then?

The crucial question remains unanswered: What has actually been achieved politically?

Comment

Friday, 17 Apr 2026

Peter Magyar, lead candidate of the Tisza party, after polling stations closed during Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12, 2026 in Budapest. Photo: Janos Kummer/Getty Images

As Hungary rejoices, Moscow keeps counting down its comrades and clients

The crushing defeat of Viktor Orban’s seemingly entrenched and deeply corrupt political regime in Hungary signifies a massive setback for Russia’s foreign policy.

Comment

Friday, 17 Apr 2026

Wall painting from a museum in Kitgum, Northern Uganda. Photo: PRIO

Attacks on education cause lifelong harm

The recent bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, killing at least 165 schoolgirls, is a stark reminder of how brutally war affects children.

Comment

Thursday, 9 Apr 2026

Florida State lawmakers approved the name change of a portion of Southern Boulevard to “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard' in January 2026. Photo: Getty Images

Political realism in the era of Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s behaviour lies far outside the bounds of traditional political realism, making it challenging both to conduct and to interpret international politics and diplomacy in the era of Trump.

Comment

Wednesday, 8 Apr 2026

Jubilee Library, Brighton, United Kingdom. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images

It’s time for academics to take community action on AI

The situation is critical – Academic publishing urgently needs life support.

Comment

Tuesday, 31 Mar 2026

Russian soldiers mobilized for the war against Ukraine. Moscow, 2022. Photo: Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Putin’s war calculus keeps oscillating as spring offensive stumbles

The effect of the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf on Russia’s war against Ukraine grows more complex as the parties of both conflicts experience attrition of various kinds

Comment

Monday, 23 Mar 2026

Lebanese families displaced after Israeli military warnings forcing residents to leave their homes and spend time on the streets. Beirut, Lebanon on March 14, 2026. Photo: Murat Sengul/Anadolu via Getty Images

Lebanon in the crossfire: Ten key points about the impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran

Lebanese resilience is being tested in a population worn down by conflict, once again caught in the crossfire of regional rivalries.

Comment

Wednesday, 18 Mar 2026

Board of Peace. Photo: Getty images/Chip Somodevilla

Peace with an entry fee: Trump’s Board of Peace as a blueprint for ending wars

Talk of peace and war has been prevalent of late. In the last few weeks, President Trump’s Board of Peace met for the first time, tasked with securing peace amidst ongoing violence in Gaza.

Comment

Monday, 16 Mar 2026

Care situation. Photo: zeljkosantrac/Getty images

Rights and duties in the Norwegian welfare state

How do we think about the balance of duties and rights in the welfare state: and specifically in the Norwegian welfare state?

Comment

Friday, 13 Mar 2026

Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026. Photo: U.S. Navy via Getty Images

The US may become trapped in its own escalation

In just over one week, the US, together with Israel, has struck over 3,000 targets in Iran and dropped thousands of bombs.

Comment

Wednesday, 11 Mar 2026

Vladimir Putin during the 7th summit in Astana format in Tehran, Iran on July 19, 2022. Photo: Ali Balikci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Russia expects Iran to endure U.S.–Israeli strikes

The shock in Moscow from the February 28 launch of ongoing U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran has eased, and extensive Russian commentary has shifted to asserting that superior air power alone cannot guarantee a meaningful victory.

Comment

Saturday, 7 Mar 2026

2025 Women, Peace and Security Index Covert Art . Illustration: GIWPS/PRIO

Wellbeing of women goes hand in hand with wellbeing of nations

In 2024, 676 million women lived in proximity to conflict, that is almost every 6th woman in the world — the highest number and proportion ever recorded.

Comment

Friday, 6 Mar 2026

Tehran March 02 2026. Picture has been converted to black and white. Photo: Contributor/Getty Images

Dilemmas for Greece with the war against Iran

The current state of affairs, characterized by the circumvention of the law, the discrediting of institutions, the normalization of exception and the legitimization of bullying, is disastrous for us.

Comment

Tuesday, 3 Mar 2026

The Persian Gulf, a vital oil and natural gas maritime corridor between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. The Gulf channels energy exports from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, and Oman. The route passes through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint in the global energy supply chain. . Photo: Gallo Images/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2025

The outbreak of war against Iran also affects grandiose designs, such as the Vertical Corridor

The tactics of the European leadership could be considered careless.

Comment

Tuesday, 3 Mar 2026

The minaret of a mosque is visible behind the ruins of a police headquarters that is completely destroyed in U.S.-Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran, on March 2, 2026.
. Photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Russia struggles to find a response to U.S.–Israel attack on Iran

The U.S.–Israeli airstrikes against Iran that began on February 28 shocked Moscow.

Comment

Friday, 27 Feb 2026

Joint Press Conference on Asylum, Migration and Visa Strategies in Brussels. Belgium on January 29, 2026. Photo: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images

What problems are third‑country asylum centres intended to solve?

The EU is considering moving parts of asylum processing out of Europe, and several countries are pushing for third-country solutions.

PRIO Comments

Survey evidence from King Harald V’s funeral: those Norwegians who felt their grief was shared grew closer to the nation

Comment series Ukraine War

Putin’s early October diplomacy fails to deliver

Comment series Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Prize: Gaza is a genocide

Tags

The return of interstate war should change how we think about conflict

Putin’s ‘Special Electoral Operation’ could backfire

Predicting conflict fatalities with temporal fusion transformers

Russia remains absorbed with Europe amid BRICS summit

Escalation and the size of wars

China isn’t winning the digital order – yet

Is Europe up to Putin’s challenge – and vice versa?

Civil wars cluster around the Equator – but why?

Yes, we must create jobs, but not to prevent migration

Comment archive

Is US patience with Israel running out?

Echoes of Partition: Migration, borders and shared humanity

How to make sense of the new world disorder

Only Moscow lacks new ideas for ending war against Ukraine

The Ukraine War takes new turns in the Black Sea theatre

When the deadline looms: political crises, displacement and the clock

Seeing 22 July through transitional justice: what have we learned?

Does ‘ceasefire’ still have any real meaning?

How the G7 can reset global finance

Norwegian peace diplomacy - is it facilitation or mediation? And why this matters.

AI is neither the autocrat’s silver bullet nor democracy’s death sentence

Do we need peace research when Norway is threatened by war?

The war in the shadow of Iran

Putin’s Beijing visit promises few rewards

The Gaza effect

A challenging Presidency of a Union strained by a war-challenged member state

Russians appeal to Putin that he is misinformed about reality

The ceasefire with Iran expires on 22 April. What happens then?

As Hungary rejoices, Moscow keeps counting down its comrades and clients

Attacks on education cause lifelong harm

Political realism in the era of Donald Trump

It’s time for academics to take community action on AI

Putin’s war calculus keeps oscillating as spring offensive stumbles

Lebanon in the crossfire: Ten key points about the impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran

Peace with an entry fee: Trump’s Board of Peace as a blueprint for ending wars

Rights and duties in the Norwegian welfare state

The US may become trapped in its own escalation

Russia expects Iran to endure U.S.–Israeli strikes

Wellbeing of women goes hand in hand with wellbeing of nations

Dilemmas for Greece with the war against Iran

The outbreak of war against Iran also affects grandiose designs, such as the Vertical Corridor

Russia struggles to find a response to U.S.–Israel attack on Iran

What problems are third‑country asylum centres intended to solve?

Comment series
Ukraine War

Comment series
Nobel Peace Prize