Research Interests
- Political and violent conflicts in Myanmar and Thailand
- Civil society movements and societal transformation in peacebuilding and democratization
- Religious and spiritual practices in politics and nation building
- Popular culture and art in resistance movements
- The politics of humanitarian aid and development schemes in violent conflicts
- The Rohingya crisis and community strategies in forced displacement settings
Background
Marte Nilsen is a Senior Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). She is a Historian of Religions and holds a PhD from Lund University (Sweden). Her research focus is on political and violent conflicts in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on Myanmar and Thailand, and on the Rohingya crisis.
In her current work, Nilsen investigates how opposition groups in Thailand and Myanmar use popular culture and art to challenge the legitimacy of the authoritarian state. The role of local cultures and religious and spiritual knowledge is of particular interest. In other projects, Nilsen conducts research on identity politics among Rohingya refugees and on the refugees' own humanitarian and political strategies.
Language skills
Fluent: Norwegian, English.
Intermediate: Thai, German.
Basic: Burmese, Chinese (Mandarin).
Education
2022: Thai Language, level 3 (1 year), SOAS, University of London.
2012: Dr.philos., History of Religions, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University.
2012: Burmese language course (1 week intensive), SOAS University of London.
2006 Chinese language (KIN 1110-1120, 1 year), University of Oslo.
2005: Cand.philol., History of Religions, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo.
2002: Cand.mag., History of Religions, Sociology, History, University of Oslo.
Positions of trust
2020 – present: Coordiator, PRIO's FIWON Network.
2017 – present: Coordiator, PRIO's Religion research group.
2017 – 2021: Coordinator, Research School on Peace and Conflict.
2006 – 2008: President, Attac Norway.
2005-2006: University board member, University of Oslo.
Dissemination
Podcasts
"Myanmar med Marte Nilsen" 198 land med Einar Tørnquist
"Aung San Suu Kyi og Myanmar" Historier som endret verden
"Coup in Myanmar seven months later” PRIO’s Peace in a Pod 54
"Myanmar et halvt år etter militærkuppet” Verden og vi NCA
“Kuppet i Myanmar” Utviklingspoddensialet
“Myanmar after the Coup” The Nordic Asia Podcast NIAS
“Coup in Myanmar: Protest, Art Technology” PRIO’s Peace in a Pod 25
"Art, Conflict and Land rights in Myanmar” PRIO’s Peace in a Pod 18
Television and Radio appearances (sample)
Myanmar Politics: Studio 2, NRK P2, 20.09.2022
Myanmar Politics: Studio 2, NRK P2, 01.02.2022
Myanmar Politics: Dagsnytt 18, NRK2, 28.09.2021
Myanmar Politics: Studio 2, NRK P2, 01.02.2021
Thai Politics: Dagens, NRK P1, 15.10.2020
Thai Politics: Nyhetslunsj, NRK 06.05.2019
Thai Politics: TV2 Nyhetskanalen, 06.05.2019
Thai Politics: NRK Alltid Nyheter, 25.03.2019
Thai Politics: Urix på lørdag, NRK P2, 23.03.2019
Thai Politics: Studio 2, NRK P2, 06.03.2019
Myanmar Politics: Urix, NRK 2, 20.09.2017
Thai Politics: Ytring, NRK P2, 14.05.2017
Thai Politics: Norgesglasset, NRK P1, 13.10.2016
Thai Politics: Urix, NRK2, 12.10.2016
Thai Politics: Her og Nå, NRK P1, 12.08 2016
Thai Politics: Nyhetskanalen, 10pm. TV2 11.08.2016
Thai Politics: Nyhetsmorgen, NRK P2, 08.08.2016
Myanmar Politics: Urix, NRK2 15.02.2016
Thai Politics: Dagsrevyen, NRK1, 18.08.2015
Myanmar Politics: Urix NRK2, 15.03.2016.
Myanmar Politics: Nyhetsettermiddag NRK P2, 11.05.2015
Thai Politics: Norgesglasset NRK P1, 23.05.2014
Thai Politics: Dagsnytt 18 NRK2, 22.05.2014
Thai Politics: Nyhetsmorgen P2, 03.02.2014
Myanmar Politics: Urix NRK2, 14.11.2012
Thai Politics: Aktuelt NRK2, 19.05.2010
Thai Politics: Dagsnytt 18 NRK2, 18.05.2010
Thai Politics: Dagsnytt 18 NRK2, 19.05.2010
Blog Posts
The political implications of ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks and ideologies in Myanmar received much attention in the years before the 2021 military takeover. As Myanmar has turned more violent since the coup, ultra-nationalist monks have been radicalised further. What role are these monks playing in the political landscape of Myanmar today? ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen on Thursday, 25 August 2022
Without access to education, work, healthcare, and citizenship, the Rohingya are calling on the world to act. The start of the brutal massacre of the Rohingya people in Myanmar marks its anniversary on 25 August. It has been five years since thousands of men and children were piled up by ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen & Benjamin Dix on Monday, 16 November 2020
Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy secured yet another large majority in the Myanmar parliament in the national election. But, despite the Nobel peace laureate’s party being in power since 2015, progress in the war-torn and troubled country remains hampered by both structural restraints and the absence of political ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen on Thursday, 30 July 2020
I felt like I had defeated the dictators when I walked out of Yangon’s Mingeladon airport for the first time, more than 20 years ago. Unnoticed, I had sneaked out of the queue and avoided the mandatory exchange of three new, unfolded, and spotless 100-dollar bills into the FEC monopoly ... Read more »
Who are we accountable to when doing research on migration and mobility? Many scholars, ourselves included, do research with – rather than about – refugees and other migrants, or indeed communities and individuals in origin or destination country. But to whom are we accountable? And what can and should accountability ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen on Monday, 17 October 2016
For 70 years, the beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) ruled Thailand, and to date he has represented the country’s only stable political reference point. Since the introduction of the constitutional kingdom in 1932, the country has been through 19 different constitutions and 12 military coups – the latest just ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen on Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Ma Ba Tha and similar groups of extremist monks in Myanmar could face resistance after a government official finally rebuked their brand of nationalism. It took just one dismissive comment from the chief minister of Yangon to seemingly deflate Ma Ba Tha. The Buddhist nationalist organisation has become known for ... Read more »
For the first time in over half a century, Myanmar has a government with a popular mandate, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). Although the Myanmar armed forces still have extensive political powers under the 2008 constitution, and may seriously curtail the independent action of the new government, ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen on Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Narrow Burman-Buddhist nationalism remains the country’s biggest barrier to sustainable political reform. The Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion, known by the Burmese acronym Ma Ba Tha, is gaining ground in Myanmar. It has also been receiving increased international attention—last month for its proposal to ban Muslim headscarves ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen on Thursday, 12 March 2015
It’s election year in Myanmar, the big test for the country’s aspiring democratic transition. Among the spirited national debates there are four controversial pieces of legislation currently under consideration in Myanmar’s Assembly of the Union parliament (the Pyidaungsu hluttaw). These reportedly aim to protect race and religion. But in truth, ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen, Stein Tønnesson & Emil Jeremic on Thursday, 23 October 2014
Are the people of Myanmar able to distinguish between Norway’s role in promoting peace and the commercial interests of Norwegian businesses? Now that several state-owned Norwegian companies have entered into large and risky ventures in Myanmar, Norway is walking a tightrope between peace and commerce. The maintenance of support for ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen, Kristin Dalen & Kristin Jesnes on Friday, 17 October 2014
Norway has spent NOK 40 million to help fund a census in Myanmar (Burma). The census results are at odds with previous assumptions and may increase the level of conflict in the country in the run-up to the elections in 2015. Norway must take responsibility. Every country needs to know who ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen on Friday, 30 May 2014
The traditional elite clings to an outdated world view. But a military coup offers no solution. Two days after the military coup in Thailand at least 13 bombs exploded, approximately simultaneously, in the city of Pattani. Three people, including a five-year-old child, were killed, and approximately 60 people injured. On ... Read more »
In March/April 2014 Myanmar will carry out its first population and housing census in more than 30 years. If carried out properly it may provide reliable data to be used not just by the government, but also by civil society organizations and political parties, as a basis for negotiating the ... Read more »
Posted by Marte Nilsen on Monday, 20 January 2014
In the wake of the power struggle between the political elites in Thailand, we are now seeing a popular uprising. Once again Thailand’s capital is paralysed by demonstrations. The streets are filled with Thai flags and demands that the prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, must step down. “Shut down Bangkok – ... Read more »