- Arms trade.
- Defence industries.
- Relationships between weapon flows and conflict.
- Arms control.
- Disarmament.
Nicholas Marsh
Senior Researcher
Email: nic@prio.org
X: @marshynic
Interests and experience
Languages spoken:
English, learning Norwegian
Work experience:
2014 - 2015 & 2022 - 2023 Consultant to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
2004 - 2008 Chair, European research Network COST Action A25 'European Small Arms and the Perpetuation of Violence'
2001 - present Researcher, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo
2001 - 2019 Consultant to the Small Arms Survey (work on the global trade in small arms and light weapons)
1995 - 2001Several positions, including work for the UK Defence Forum.
Education:
Dr.Philos, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo - 2020
MA International Conflict Analysis - University of Kent at Canterbury - 1994-1995
BSc Economics - International Relations and Area Studies (East Asia) - University of Wales, Aberystwyth - 1991-1994
Projects
All of Nicholas Marsh projects
The Norwegian Centre for International Economics (NORCIE)
CENTREPEACE – Central And Eastern European Security Cooperation Cluster
Small Arms survey
Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT)
Reconfiguring Deterrence as NATO Strategy for Defeating Russia
Getting to Completion: Funding Mine and Cluster Munition Clearance in Lebanon, Mauritania and Zimbabwe
Arms Control In Bello
The Humanitarian Disarmament Roundtable
Consequences of the Invasion of Ukraine for the Global South
Arms Export and the Peace Nation
Latest publications
All of Nicholas Marsh publications
From national arsenals to European defence: changes in media framings of European defence industries, 2004–2024
Journal article in European Security
Arming Europe – reconceptualising European defence production
Journal article in European Security
Security Assistance and the Crisis of the Liberal International Order
Journal article in International Studies Review
NORM Project – Research Design and Methodology
Spesa per la difesa europea: compromessi e conseguenze del disallineamento
Book chapter in L’industria della difesa europea ai tempi della guerra
Distributed deterrence: Europe’s new security logic and action plan
PRIO Policy Brief
The European Iron Network: the remaking of the political economy of European defence production following the Ukraine War
Journal article in Journal of European Integration
Beyond Resolve: Industrial Capacity and the Credibility of European Deterrence
IDN Brief European Deterrence
Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration in peace agreements (1975–2021): Introducing the DDR dataset
Journal article in Journal of Peace Research
A theory of the symbolic role of disarmament during peace processes: The laying down of FARC-EP’s weapons in Colombia
Journal article in Security Dialogue
Latest news
All of Nicholas Marsh news
PRIO researchers publish in new special issue on European rearmament
Europe is not just rearming; it is redefining the role of defence industries in security innovation and European cooperation.
Academic skills course on integrating quantitative data into qualitative research
The PRIO Research School on Peace and Conflict hosted researchers from Masaryk University and the University of Helsinki for an academic skills course.
PRIO’s first European Security Week
PRIO’s first European Security Week brought together researchers and experts for a series of debates on the future of European security.
Stakeholder dialogue held in Manila as part of the NORM project
In September 2023, the PRIO NORM team was in Manila, The Philippines, to conduct fieldwork interviews and meetings with local stakeholders.
NORM Project Kick-Off Meeting
The NORM project ('Shaping the Digital World Order: Norms and Agency along the Digital Silk Road in Southeast Asia') was officially launched with a kick-off meeting on 4 May.
Ukraine: PRIO Expertise
The most relevant PRIO researchers to comment on aspects relevant to the Russia-Ukraine War are listed here.
Call for Applications: Research Assistant Position at PRIO
PRIO seeks to recruit a Research Assistant in a 50% position, to work for 10 months on the DISARM project within the CVP department.
New Project on Disarmament
The DISARM project seeks is to identify the impact of disarmament processes on conflict recurrence and pinpoint the conditions under which disarmament can be the most effective.
NORM: New Project on the Digital Silk Road
The NORM project aims at finding out how China’s Digital Silk Road shapes the digital world order and its norms, and the agency that recipient developing countries exercise in response.
PRIO Joins EU Network of Non-Proliferation and disarmament think tanks
PRIO has now joined the European Network of non-proliferation and disarmament think tanks, established by the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium.
Latest events
All of Nicholas Marsh events
The internal drivers of Russian policy toward Europe
The struggle for influence between Russia and the EU
Cognitive threats and democratic resilience
Rethinking European security: technology, energy and diplomacy
The politics of European rearmament
Norway’s role in a rapidly evolving European security landscape
Unpacking European rearmament and defence procurement
Unpacking Russian Disinformation and Propaganda on Ukraine
Fractured Order, Rising Influence: Southeast Asia and China’s Digital Ambitions
Taking Away the Guns: How Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Can Contribute to Peacebuilding
Latest comments
All of Nicholas Marsh comments
Why Would Humans Do Anything Boring, Difficult or Dangerous in Star Wars? Science Fiction’s Reluctance to Embrace Its Own Technology.
Ukraine Food Export Agreement: Not Yet Delivering
Mass Shootings Are Mostly Committed by Men: How Might a Gender Lens Help Us Understand This?
Security Logics of Africa’s Divided Position on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Arms and Influence in Ukraine
Peer Review and Societal Impact of COVID-19 Research
The Pitfalls of Societal Impact in a Politicized Environment: An Example from the Corona Era
Compounding Fragmentation: New PRIO Policy Paper on Security Force Assistance to the Sahel and Horn of Africa
How Far Should We Go to Stop Migration to Europe?
How did the San Bernardino Killers Obtain the Guns used to Commit the 2 December Massacre?
The internal drivers of Russian policy toward Europe
The struggle for influence between Russia and the EU
Cognitive threats and democratic resilience
Rethinking European security: technology, energy and diplomacy
The politics of European rearmament
Norway’s role in a rapidly evolving European security landscape
Unpacking European rearmament and defence procurement
Unpacking Russian Disinformation and Propaganda on Ukraine
Fractured Order, Rising Influence: Southeast Asia and China’s Digital Ambitions
Taking Away the Guns: How Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Can Contribute to Peacebuilding
Conference Reconfiguring Deterrence as NATO Strategy
Norway: Peacemaker, Arms-Dealer
In the media
PRIO researcher Nicholas Marsh was mentioned in the BBC Swahili article about the diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States in Muscat over Iran’s nuclear programme.
PRIO researcher Nic Marsh was interviewed about laws concerning the Norwegian export of weapons parts which are likely used by Israel in Gaza, in an article for the state broadcaster, NRK.
PRIO researcher Nic Marsh was interviewed about how Norwegian arms export regulations apply to trade with Israel in an article that appeared in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz.
PRIO researcher Nic Marsh was interviewed about how weapons being sold on the black market end up in the hands of insurgents, for the podcast The Red Line.
PRIO researcher Nic Marsh was interviewed about Norwegian weapons parts being used in Israeli weapons, for FriFagbevegelse, the Norwegian online news portal for the trade magazines of the LO unions.
PRIO Researchers Ilaria Carrozza and Nicholas Marsh’s 2022 study titled ‘Great Power Competition and China’s Security Assistance to Africa: Arms, Training, and Influence’ was mentioned in an article about China’s military support to Zimbabwe, in an article by the South China Morning Post.
The PRIO Paper ‘Dual-Use AI Technology in China, the US and the EU: Strategic Implications for the Balance of Power,’ by Ilaria Carrozza, Nic Marsh and Greg Reichberg, was referenced in an article on AI and the clash between great powers, by the Italian site, Proiezionidi Borsa.
PRIO Researchers Ilaria Carrozza and Nicholas Marsh’s 2022 study *Great Power Competition and China’s Security Assistance to Africa: Arms, Training, and Influence *was mentioned in an article about China’s military support to China, in The Eurasian Times.
PRIO Researcher Nicholas Marsh’s interview about the high number of firearms in circulation in the US not equating to it to having the highest number of murders with weapons, was covered by the news site, Science Norway.
PRIO Researcher Nicholas Marsh’s 2017 article titled “Brothers Came Back with Weapons. The Effects of Arms Proliferation from Libya”, was quoted in an article on the boomerang effect of NATO’s 2011 attack on Libya, on the news site South World. Nic was interviewed about the high number of firearms in circulation in the US not equating to it to having the highest number of murders with weapons, by the news site, Forskning.no.
PRIO Researcher Nicholas Marsh was interviewed on cluster bombs by the Spanish news outlet, Newtral.
PRIO Researchers Nicholas Marsh and Ilaria Carrozzas’ study on Great Power Competition and China’s Security Assistance to Africa: Arms, Training, and Influence was mentioned in an article in the Musalman Times.
PRIO started listing media appearances on profiles in 2023. Earlier media appearances may not be listed.