Johan Peder Olsen (born August 14, 1939) is a Norwegian

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

, and professor emeritus in political science at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

, known for his work on

new institutionalism New institutionalism (also referred to as neo-institutionalist theory or institutionalism) is an approach to the study of institutions that focuses on the constraining and enabling effects of formal and informal rules on the behavior of individuals ...

Life and work

Olsen obtained his MA in political science, with a minor in economics and political history, at the University of Oslo in 1967. In 1971 he obtained his PhD at the

. He obtained an honorary doctorate from the Åbo Akademi, Finland in, 1988, from the University of Copenhagen in 1990. and from the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2003. Olsen has started his career as journalist and reporter for various Norwegian newspapers from 1958 to 1963. He started his academic career as research assistant at the Institute of Political Science of the University of Oslo in 1965. In 1969 he was appointed assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology of the University of Bergen, in 1970 associate professor, and in 1973 professor in public administration and organization theory until 1993. Olsen was also member of the Norwegian Research Council, and a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Unive ...

. He established ARENA (Advanced Research on the Europeanization of the Nation State) in 1994. He was research director at ARENA until 2007, and subsequently Professor Emeritus. Olsen is one of the developers of the systemic-anarchic perspective of organizational decision-making known as the Garbage Can Model. In 2003 he received an honorary doctorate by the Erasmus University Rotterdam, department of Public Administration. In 2015, Olsen was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Selected publications

Books

* March, James G. and Johan P. Olsen, (eds.). ''Ambiguity and Choice in Organizations'', Bergen Universitetsforlaget, 1976. * March, James G. & Johan P. Olsen. ''Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics''. New York: The Free Press, 1989 * Brunsson, Nils & Johan P. Olsen. ''The Reforming Organization''. London: Routledge, 1993. * March, James G. & Johan P. Olsen. ''Democratic Governance''. New York: The Free Press, 1995. * Brunsson, Nils & Johan P. Olsen (eds.). ''Organizing Organizations''. Bergen-Sandviken, Norway: Fagbokförlaget, 1998.

Articles

* Cohen, Michael D.,

James G. March James Gardner March (January 15, 1928 – September 27, 2018) was an American political scientist, sociologist, and economist. A professor at Stanford University in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford Graduate School of Educat ...

, and Johan P. Olsen
A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice
. ''

Administrative Science Quarterly ''Administrative Science Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of organizational studies. The journal was established in 1956 and is published by SAGE Publications for the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Mana ...

'', 17 (l) (1972): p. 1-25 * March, James G., and Johan P. Olsen.
The new institutionalism: organizational factors in political life
" ''American Political Science Review'', 7 (3) (1983): 734-749.

References

External links

Johan P. Olsen CV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Johan 1939 births Living people Norwegian business theorists Norwegian political scientists Public administration scholars Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences