Henrik Urdal (born 19 October 1972) is a Norwegian

political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...

and the current director of the

Peace Research Institute Oslo The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO; no, Institutt for fredsforskning) is a private research institution in peace and conflict studies, based in Oslo, Norway, with around 100 employees. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researcher ...

(PRIO). Before his appointment as director in 2017 he was a research professor and research director at the institute. He was

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the ''

Journal of Peace Research The ''Journal of Peace Research'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes scholarly articles and book reviews in the fields of peace and conflict studies, conflict resolution, and international security. It was established by J ...

'', the premier journal in the field, from 2010 to 2017.

Research interests

Urdal's research interests include the relationship between

demography Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and Population dynamics, dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups ...

, environment, and politics, particularly focusing on how

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

, "

youth bulge A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it typically takes the shape of a pyramid ...

s", and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

affect violent conflict.

Education and work experience

Since 2000, Urdal has been affiliated with

PRIO The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO; no, Institutt for fredsforskning) is a private research institution in peace and conflict studies, based in Oslo, Norway, with around 100 employees. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researche ...

, first as a student, then moving on to positions as researcher, senior researcher, Research Professor and Research Director. Urdal received his Research Professor competence in 2013. He obtained his PhD in political science from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in 2007, entitled
Demography and Internal Armed Conflict
'. Urdal was a PRIO board member 2013-15. Urdal is the Research Director at the Department o
Conditions of Violence and Peace
where he heads th
Conflict Trend
project. PRIO’s Conflict Trends project collaborates with the

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian (Bokmål): ''Det kongelige utenriksdepartement''; Norwegian (Nynorsk): ''Det kongelege utanriksdepartement'') is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway. It was established on June ...

to answer questions relating to the causes, consequences and trends in conflict. He was a researcher with the Centre for the Study of Civil War (CSCW) – one of the 13 original Norwegian Centres of Excellence – from the beginning in 2003 and throughout its 10 years of existence. Urdal has held research fellowships at the

Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

(

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

; 2011–12) and

East West Center East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

(

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii; 2005-2006). He has previously worked for the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (1999). Urdal has previously been Associate Editor (2006–10), Editorial Committee Member (2004–06), Book Review Editor (2004–05) for the ''

.'' Henrik was the Secretary General of the Socialist Youth League ( Sosialistisk Ungdom) of Norway (1996–98) and worked as a research assistant, at

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

, at the Division for Social and Demographic Research (1995). Henrik was a board member of th
Norwegian Demographic Society
(2011–12),

Bibliography (selected)

Gudrun Østby; Henrik Urdal & Ida Rudolfsen, (2017) What is driving gender equality in secondary education? ''Education Research International'': forthcoming. Gudrun Østby,; Henrik Urdal & Ida Rudolfsen (2016) What Is Driving Gender Equality in Secondary Education? Evidence from 57 Developing Countries, 1970–2010, ''Education Research International''. Håvard Strand & Henrik Urdal (2014) Hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing: Can states reduce the risk of armed conflict by banning census data on ethnic groups?, '' International Area Studies Review'' 17(2): 167–183. Henrik Urdal & Chi, Primus Che (2013) War and Gender Inequalities in Health: The Impact of Armed Conflict on Fertility and Maternal Mortality, ''International Interactions''39(4): 489–510. Håvard Hegre; Joakim Karlsen; Håvard Mokleiv Nygård; Håvard Strand & Henrik Urdal (2013) Predicting Armed Conflict, 2010–2050, ''International Studies Quarterly'' 57(2): 250–270. Halvard Buhaug & Henrik Urdal (2013) An urbanization bomb? Population growth and social disorder in cities, ''Global Environmental Change'' 23(1): 1–10. Henrik Urdal& Kristian Hoelscher (2012) Explaining Urban Social Disorder and Violence: An Empirical Study of Event Data from Asian and Sub-Saharan African Cities, ''International Interactions'' 38(4): 512–528. Henrik Urdal (2008) Population, Resources and Violent Conflict: A Sub-National Study of India 1956–2002, Journal of Conflict Resolution 52(4): 590–617. Clionadh Raleigh,; & Henrik Urdal (2007) Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Armed Conflict, ''Political Geography'' 26(6): 674–694. Henrik Urdal(2006) A Clash of Generations? Youth Bulges and Political Violence, ''International Studies Quarterly'' 50(3): 607–630.
Full publication list at Urdal's Staff page at PRIO.

Dissemination

Henrik Urdal holds policy relevant consultancies for various international and Norwegian organizations and institutions, such as the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and

External links

Staff page
at

.
Staff page
at

Urdal's publications
in the Norwegian library system BIBSYS
Urdal's publications
in the Norwegian publication system Cristin {{DEFAULTSORT:Urdal, Henrik 1972 births University of Oslo faculty Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Norwegian political scientists