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 of Åshild Kolås projects
PRIO Fieldwork Network (FIWON)
Oct 2022 – Dec 2025
Digital Emergency Communication (DIGeMERGE)
Digital Emergency Communication (DIGeMERGE)
Jan 2022
Technology and Law in India's National Register of Citizens
Technology and Law in India's National Register of Citizens
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
Oct 2020 – Jun 2021
Critical Perspectives on Digital Peacebuilding
Critical Perspectives on Digital Peacebuilding
Jan 2020 – Dec 2025
e-Topia: China, India and Biometric Borders
e-Topia: China, India and Biometric Borders
Feb 2016 – Dec 2018
WOMENsPEACE: Gender Equality, Peace and Security in Nepal and Myanmar
WOMENsPEACE: Gender Equality, Peace and Security in Nepal and Myanmar
Sept 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 of Åshild Kolås publications
Åshild Kolås (2027)
e-Topia: Localizing the Digital
e-Topia: Localizing the Digital
Monograph
Åshild Kolås (2026)
Crisis informatics, disinformation and emergency politics
Crisis informatics, disinformation and emergency politics
Journal article in Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
Åshild Kolås, Stine Bergersen & Kristoffer Lidén (2026)
Lever vi i en permanent krise? Norge foran et veiskille
Lever vi i en permanent krise? Norge foran et veiskille
Popular article in High North News
Lars Gjendem & Åshild Kolås (2026)
Police communication in Norway: The transition from Twitter/X to the Police Log
Police communication in Norway: The transition from Twitter/X to the Police Log
PRIO Policy Brief
Åshild Kolås (2025)
Keyboard Warriors and Peace-makers: Social Media Discourse and the Framing of Conflict in Manipur, Northeast India
Keyboard Warriors and Peace-makers: Social Media Discourse and the Framing of Conflict in Manipur, Northeast India
Journal article in Conflict and Society
Åshild Kolås (2025)
Through the India–China Border: Kalimpong in the Himalayas: Prem Poddar and Lisa Lindkvist Zhang
Through the India–China Border: Kalimpong in the Himalayas: Prem Poddar and Lisa Lindkvist Zhang
Book review in Journal of Contemporary Asia
Fahad Khalid et al. (2025)
Emergency alerting in the Nordic countries: A cross-national survey of alert timing and channel preferences
Emergency alerting in the Nordic countries: A cross-national survey of alert timing and channel preferences
PRIO Policy Brief
Grace Akosua Dankwa & Åshild Kolås (2025)
Towards Issue-Based Party Politics in Ghana
Towards Issue-Based Party Politics in Ghana
Journal article in Alternatives: Global, Local, Political
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 & Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya (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
Latest news
All of Åshild Kolås news
Friday, 29 May 2026
Looking for Horizon Europe partners? Explore PRIO’s new EU Matchmaking Guide
Looking for Horizon Europe partners? Explore PRIO’s new EU Matchmaking Guide
PRIO has developed a new EU Matchmaking Guide to support organisations preparing project proposals under Horizon Europe in identifying relevant researchers.
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.
Latest events
All of Åshild Kolås events
Friday, 10 Oct 2025 09:00–12:00 UTC+02
Digitalization and women’s (dis)empowerment in India
Digitalization and women’s (dis)empowerment in India
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 Sept 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
Latest comments
All of Åshild Kolås comments
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 Sept 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 Sept 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.