Bjørnar Østby

Bjørnar Østby is a lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies at Oslo Nye University College.

His academic background is within Conflict Studies, and he graduated with a master’s degree from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2017. He is also an alumnus from Oslo Nye, holding a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Throughout his career so far Bjørnar has primarily studied armed conflicts and genocides in sub-Saharan Africa (with an emphasis on Rwanda, the DRC, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia), as well as the Islamic State and its African branches. In terms of research areas, Bjørnar is particularly interested in wartime political orders and the complex and sometimes counterintuitive distribution of authority and power between states and non-state actors in intrastate conflicts.

Coming from a family with ties to Ethiopia spanning several generations, he has considerable experience from the country, and has also lead several study trips to Tanzania and Germany. Bjørnar has extensive experience in administrating and developing online courses at Oslo Nye, and currently teaches the courses FK1120 Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, FK1210 Conflict Resolution and FK2110 Religion in Peace and Conflict. 

Since 2020, Bjørnar has hosted the weekly podcast «Hva skjer med verden?» alongside colleague Nik Brandal, and he is currently writing a textbook on international conflict resolution.