The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO; no, Institutt for fredsforskning) is a private research institution in

peace and conflict studies Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyzes violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending conflicts (including social conflicts), with a view towards understanding those pro ...

, based in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, with around 100 employees. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researchers led by

Johan Galtung Johan Vincent Galtung (born 24 October 1930) is a Norwegian sociologist who is the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. He was the main founder of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in 1959 and served as its ...

, who was also the institute's first director (1959–1969). It publishes 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 ...

'', also founded by Johan Galtung.

History and governance

PRIO was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researchers led by

. The institute originally was a department of the

Norwegian Institute for Social Research The Norwegian Institute for Social Research ( no, Institutt for samfunnsforskning, ISF) is a private social science research institute based in Oslo, Norway. It was founded in 1950 by Vilhelm Aubert, Arne Næss, Eirik Rinde, and Stein Rokkan ...

in Oslo and became an independent institute in 1966. It was one of the first centres of peace research in the world, and it is Norway's only peace research institute.Forr, Gudleiv. (2009). ''Strid og fred. Fredsforskning i 50 år: PRIO 1959-2009''. Oslo: Pax The institute's director since 2017 is

Henrik Urdal Henrik Urdal (born 19 October 1972) is a Norwegian political scientist and the current director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Before his appointment as director in 2017 he was a research professor and research director at the insti ...

, with Torunn Tryggestad as deputy director. Since 2005, the institute has been located in the former gas works building in central Oslo. PRIO is an independent foundation, governed by a seven-member board. The board includes two PRIO employees, two members appointed by the

Research Council of Norway The Research Council (also the Research Council of Norway; no, Norges forskningsråd) is a Norwegian government agency that funds research and innovation projects. On behalf of the Government, the Research Council invests NOK 11,9 billion (2021) ...

, one member appointed by the Institute for Social Research, one by 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 ...

, and one by the Nordic International Studies Association.PRIO statutes
(2010), Retrieved 13 August 2013 Previous PRIO directors are, chronologically,

(1959–69),

Asbjørn Eide Asbjørn Eide (born 11 February 1933) is a Norwegian human rights scholar with base in Law and Social Science Research. He was married October 10, 1959, to Professor of nutritional physiology Wenche Barth Eide Wenche Barth Eide (born 3 January 1 ...

(1970, 1980–81), Helge Hveem (1971),

Nils Petter Gleditsch Nils Petter Gleditsch (born 17 July 1942 in Sutton, Surrey, Great Britain) is a Norwegian sociologist and political scientist. He is Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). In 2009, Nils Petter Gleditsch was awarded the ...

(1972, 1977–78), Kjell Skjelsbæk (1973–74), Ole Kristian Holthe (1975–76),

Tord Høivik Tord is a given name, derived from the elements thor meaning thunder, thunder god; and '' meaning peace, beautiful, fair. The name developed as a short form of Thorfrid (Old Norse). Notable people with the name include: * Tord Andersson (born 1 ...

(1979–80, 1984–86), Marek Thee (1981–83), Sverre Lodgaard (1986–92), Hilde Henriksen Waage (const., 1992–93), Dan Smith (1993–2001),

Stein Tønnesson Stein Dorenfeldt Tønnesson (born 2 December 1953), is a Norwegian historian. Career He was the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) from 2001 to 2009, when he was replaced by Kristian Berg Harpviken. Stein Tønnesson stays on at ...

(2001–09),

Kristian Berg Harpviken Kristian Berg Harpviken (born 27 December 1961) is a Norwegian sociologist and researcher, and since 2009 director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Harpviken is foremost known for his competence on Afghanistan, where he has travelled ...

(2009-2017), and

(2017–present). After Galtung's resignation in 1969, the institute staff elected a leader for one year at a time. In 1986 this was changed to a three-year period, and again in 1993 to a maximum of two consecutive four-year periods. PRIOs first chairman of the board was

Erik Rinde Erik Rinde (17 March 1919 – 28 May 1994) was a Norwegian jurist who became a pioneer of social sciences in Norway. The social sciences witnessed an impetus worldwide after the end of World War II, but were little developed in Norway. From 1946 a ...

(1966–79), director of

Institute for Social Research The Institute for Social Research (german: Institut für Sozialforschung, IfS) is a research organization for sociology and continental philosophy, best known as the institutional home of the Frankfurt School and critical theory. Currently a pa ...

. He was succeeded by

Torstein Eckhoff Torstein Einang Eckhoff (5 June 1916 – 17 April 1993) was a Norwegian civil servant and professor of law at the University of Oslo. Personal life He was born in Vestre Slidre as the son of shipmaster Trygve Eckhoff (1884–1957) and his wi ...

(1979–1986),

Bernt Bull Bernt Bull (born 12 July 1946) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He is a son of Brynjulf Bull, another Labour Party politician. Bernt Bull holds the cand.jur. degree. He was a member of Oslo city council from 1980 to 1995, and led ...

(1987–94),

Frida Nokken Frida Nokken (born 20 September 1948) is a Norwegian civil servant. She was born in Fredrikstad. A cand.polit. by education, she worked for Statskonsult from 1975, the Financial Supervisory Authority from 1989 and Posten Norge from 1992. From ...

(1995-2000),

Helge Pharo Helge Pharo (born 29 December 1943) is a Norwegian historian. Background He graduated from the University of Oslo with a cand.philol. degree in 1970. From 1972 he was a research assistant at the University of Oslo, and after a tenure as research ...

(2000–2003),

Øyvind Østerud Øyvind or Oyvind may refer to: * Oyvind Aasland (born 1967), Norwegian darts player * Øyvind Alapnes (born 1976), Norwegian football referee *Jon Øyvind Andersen (born 1965), Norwegian black metal guitarist * Carl Øyvind Apeland (born 1964), No ...

(2004–06),

Bernt Aardal Bernt is a Scandinavian variant of the German masculine given name Berend, which is the Low German form of Bernard (Bernhard). The name Bernhard means "strong bear" (from Old German ''bero'', "bear", and ''harti'', "strong"). Its use in Sweden wa ...

(2007–2016) and Åslaug Marie Haga (2016 – present). PRIO is mainly funded by the

and the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, with some additional funding from the Ministry of Defence, various international organisations 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 ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, and private foundations. PRIO has around 100 employees. Its headquarters are located in central Oslo.

Research

The institute's purpose, as formulated in the statutes, is "to engage in research concerning the conditions for peaceful relations between nations, groups and individuals". Researchers come from a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, including

political science 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 ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

human geography Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography that studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment. It analyzes spatial interdependencies between social i ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

history of religion The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

, and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. Output from the research is primarily published as articles in

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic journals An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

, anthologies or monographs, but also as more policy-oriented reports and papers such as PRIO's in-house series. Approximately 15 percent of the institute's budget is made up of a core grant from the Research Council of Norway, and the remaining 85 per cent is funded on project basis. The two largest project funders are the Research Council of Norway and 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 ...

. Other funders include the

, the

, and the

Norwegian Ministry of Defence The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence ( no, Det kgl. Forsvarsdepartement) is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of th ...

. In 2009, PRIO initiated the founding of the US based Peace Research Endowment. In Oslo, PRIO hosted the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers, which was shut down in 2017 due to lack of funding. This was a joint initiative of PRIO, the

Norwegian Red Cross The Norwegian Red Cross (''Norges Røde Kors'') was founded on 22 September 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1895 the Norwegian Red Cross began educating nurses, and in 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization f ...

and the

Norwegian Church Aid Norwegian Church Aid (NCA; Norwegian: ''Kirkens Nødhjelp'') is a Norwegian humanitarian and ecumenical organisation with headquarters in Oslo. It was traditionally affiliated with the state Church of Norway, but is now independent. Norwegian Chu ...

to help block the spread of

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

to areas where they are likely to be used in warfare, armed violence or human rights abuses. The staff comprises a core group of 40-50 full-time researchers and support staff. In addition, there are researchers with a part-time affiliation with PRIO, visiting scholars, interns and students.

Research centres

;Centre for the Study of Civil War From 2003 to 2012, PRIO hosted the Centre for the Study of Civil War, one of the original 13 "Centres of Excellence" in Norway. The director for the full 10-year period was Scott Gates. ;Cyprus Centre The institute maintains a centre in

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, known as the PRIO Cyprus Centre. Through its network, projects and dialogue forums, the PRIO Cyprus Centre aims to foster cooperation between

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

and strengthen regional cooperation in the

Eastern Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to communi ...

at large. ;Centre on Gender, Peace and Security In 2015, PRIO established their Centre on Gender, Peace and Security, which is engaged in research in gender and conflict studies. In particular, the centre studies issues like sexual violence in conflict situations, women's representation in mediation and post-conflict settlements, and gender security.

Journals

PRIO owns two academic journals, both edited at the institute and published by

SAGE Publications SAGE Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent publishing company founded in 1965 in New York by Sara Miller McCune and now based in Newbury Park, California. It publishes more than 1,000 journals, more than 800 books ...

: ''

'', edited by Gudrun Østby and ''

Security Dialogue ''Security Dialogue'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes scholarly articles which combine contemporary theoretical analysis with challenges to public policy across a wide-ranging field of security studies. The journal is owned by t ...

'', edited by Mark B. Salter.

Education

PRIO provides a limited number of education services. The Research School on Peace and Conflict is a multidisciplinary training center, where a number of courses are taught by visiting scholars. Partner institutions include the University of Oslo and the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

. Courses concentrate on academic writing, research methodology and topical issues. Until 2013, PRIO and Bjørknes College provided joint

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

programs with

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

and the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

in international political economy and conflict dynamics, as well as peace and conflict studies.

PRIO Annual Peace Address

Initiated in 2010, the PRIO Annual Peace Address intends to create awareness, stir public debate and increase understanding about the conditions for peace in the world. Inviting researchers and other people with strong views on peace-related topics, the idea is to challenge the peace research community by suggesting new measures and bringing new perspectives on peace and war. * 2010:

Jon Elster Jon Elster (; born 22 February 1940, Oslo) is a Norwegian philosopher and political theorist who holds the Robert K. Merton professorship of Social Science at Columbia University. He received his PhD in social science from the École Normale Su ...

: ''Justice, Truth, Peace'' * 2011:

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

: ''The Role of Nonviolence in the Struggle for Liberation'' * 2012:

Azar Gat Azar Gat (born 1959 in Haifa, Israel) is a researcher and author on military history, military strategy and war and peace in general. Along with Steven Pinker and others, Gat argues that war is in decline in today's world. He is currently Ezer W ...

: ''Peace for Our Time?'' * 2013:

Jody Williams Jody Williams (born October 9, 1950) is an American political activist known for her work in banning anti-personnel landmines, her defense of human rights (especially those of women), and her efforts to promote new understandings of security i ...

: ''The Power of Global Activism'' * 2014:

Paul Collier Sir Paul Collier, (born 23 April 1949) is a British development economist who serves as the Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government and the director of the International Growth Centre. He currently is a ...

: ''Civil Conflict: What are the Current Risks, and What are the Realistic Solutions?'' * 2015:

John Mueller John E. Mueller (born June 21, 1937) is an American political scientist in the field of international relations as well as a scholar of the history of dance. He is recognized for his ideas concerning "the banality of ethnic war" and the theory t ...

: ''The Dangers of Alarmism'' * 2016: Francesca Borri: ''The Journalistic Contribution to Peace'' * 2017:

Obiageli Ezekwesili Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili (born 28 April 1963) is an economic policy expert, an advocate for transparency, accountability, good governance and human capital development, a humanitarian and an activist. She is a former vice president for the Wor ...

: ''Education and Peace'' * 2018: Debarati Guha-Sapir: ''The Epidemiology of Armed Conflicts'' *2019:

Steven Pinker Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. P ...

Enlightenment Now!

References

External links

*
PRIO Strategy Document 2010-2013

Centre for the Study of Civil War

PRIO Cyprus Centre
{{authority control Peace and conflict studies 1959 establishments in Norway Organizations established in 1959 Research institutes in Norway Peace organisations based in Cyprus Political research institutes