Attacks in the USA and reports of pandemic-related harassment of Asians has brought the #StopAsianHate conversation to Norway. In the summer of 2020, the conversation about discrimination and racism spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement also brought forth topics like the experience of adoptees from South Korea. And the murder of Johanne Zhangija Ilhe Hansen in 2019, which we know was racially motivated, has also been named by Norwegian youth as part of the greater conversation around growing up with an Asian background. Stop Asian Hate. Photo: Victoria Pickering / FLICKR Debates about ..read more

Polarized debates about racism can be counterproductive, closing down possible spaces of mutual understanding, instead of opening them. Photo: Clay Banks via Unsplash Over the last few months, the debate in Norway around racism has been far more polarized than it needs to be. Many of the discussions are important, like the exchanges around the term “structural racism”. At the same time, both research and practical experience clearly show that: where individuals meet, with all their different experience, intentions, and backgrounds, we have a chance to understand each other, listen, be chal ..read more

A lack of a sense of belonging is destructive. So perhaps it is wise to examine both structural racism and everyday racism more closely, also in Norway, writes Marta Bivand Erdal. Photo: Amnesty The police killing of George Floyd and the ensuing demonstrations that occurred both in the United States and in Norway, put anti-racism on the agenda in the summer of 2020. The public debate about these demonstrations and Black Lives Matter rapidly became just as polarized as debates on immigration. Subsequently debates in Norway have been focused around concepts and approaches to studying racism ..read more

“Black Lives Matter protest” James Eades via Unsplash. Introduction For over six decades, our mission here at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) has been to produce research for a more peaceful world. We analyze the conditions, causes, and dynamics of the political and social processes that create conflict or peace, and communicate this knowledge to policymakers, stakeholders, and the general public so that all those who are engaged in promoting peace can do so on the basis of solid evidence and understanding. Discussions on racism and discrimination have gained momentum following the ..read more

Addressing racism and decolonizing humanitarian studies is urgent, and as scholars we need to step up our efforts. Partnerships between scholars and conflict-affected communities are as unequal as ever, and the disparities between humanitarian studies in the global North and global South remain large. Dorothea Hilhorst here introduces the importance of localization in humanitarian studies that will be discussed in an upcoming workshop on 20 August, highlighting the need for equal partnerships and meaningful participation, as well as continuous debate to move beyond quick fixes in addressing s ..read more

On September 29, 1919, in Phillips County, Arkansas, a deputy died while trying to break up a labor meeting of black farmers. The next day rumors swirled about an impending black insurrection. In response, a white mob of up to 1,000 strong formed and indiscriminately attacked blacks across the county for three days. Federal troops, requested by the governor to put down the violence, may have assisted and even taken part in the massacre. And the newspapers went along for the ride, publishing false stories about plots to massacre whites. In reality no uprising took place. Instead, up to 240 bla ..read more

Since George Floyd’s brutal killing by the police in May, demonstrations have spread to more than 2,000 major cities and villages in the United States. Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) is probably the most widespread movement in the country’s history. In addition, we have seen huge global support, with demonstrations in more than 50 countries. Black Lives Matter protest against St. Paul police brutality, 2015. Photo: Fibonacci Blue / CC BY 2.0 / Flickr This is not the first time such protests have taken place in the United States. In 1967, two police officers assaulted and arrested a cab driver ..read more

With summer holidays around the corner, I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to a vacation so much. I’m exhausted after months of alternating between being terrified I would die from a mysterious bat virus, frustrated with having to learn how to suddenly adapt to a virtual work life, and wondering whether the world will ever go back to the way it was (and whether it should). I want nothing more than to put it all behind me, putter around in the garden, feel the sun on my face, and whisper sweet nothings to my vegetables. But it has not escaped me that being able to hide from the world is a ..read more

Some experiences are like a key: they open a door, though the view might be an unsettling one. One of our students did a masterful degree in an environment as speech-heavy as academia – while having a stutter. His success was mainly of his own making. He prepared himself and his surroundings before he started speaking. Despite this ultimately positive example I realized how little the academic system accommodates for those who are not as well-prepared. The experience illustrated how little space and visibility students with dysphemia have in our dynamics of discussion, even though most academ ..read more

People around the world are grappling to understand events in the United States at the moment regarding the current wave of protest and protest policing.  A few events readily come to mind in this comparison but the one that probably carries the greatest resonance would be the uprisings/disturbances/riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (hereafter MLK).  Are these events similar though? Black Lives Matter protest in New York, in 2020. Photo: duluoz cats via Flickr Following the assassination of MLK in May 1968, over 120 U.S. cities erupted in a wave of s ..read more