Working at Østfold University College, but living in Oslo
Dir. tel: +4747271794
About me and my academic interests
I was born in 1966 in Nice, France, came to Norway in 1987 and became a Norwegian citizen in 2022. I originally trained as a historian at Université Côte d'Azur and Université de Caen-Normandie. During my studies, I specialized in contemporary history and international relations. In France, I did the equivalent of the first year of a PhD (DEA). To validate my academic education in Norway, I took a master's degree in French at the University of Oslo, specializing in culture and society.
My PhD in 2009 reflected this background. It focused on the concept of power in international relations and on French foreign policy and the different strategies used by France as a middle power between 1945 and 1995 to maintain its global influence. I had the great honor of having Øyvind Østerud, Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo, as my supervisor during this period.
A natural follow-up to my research on French influence politics can be found in a publication from 2016 “Déclin ou décadence de la France : entre géopolitique et fantasme.” (Cambridge Scholars Publishing). Another is the article I published in the journal ELLA in July 2025, titled 'Can we still talk about a ‘geopolitics of the Francophonie?
Through my various positions (at the think tank Europa-program between 1995 and 2005, as a graduate student at the University of Oslo between 2005 and 2009, then as a researcher at the Norwegian Correctional Service's College and Education Center between 2009 and 2014 and finally at Østfold University College since 2014), I have defined several research directions for my academic production.
The one most directly related to my current position is French domestic and foreign policy, which I have been analyzing and commenting on since 1995. My most recent publication on this subject dates from 2024, is in Norwegian and is entitled “The Fifth Republic and Presidential Power”. I would also like to highlight my publication “European populism and the blurring frontier between left and right: Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon at the 2017' French presidential elections” from 2019, which analyzes how left- and right-wing populism converge in a common desire to blur the traditional boundary between left and right to replace it with a new divide between people and elite.
My years at the Norwegian Correctional Service's University College and Education Centre enabled me to work on another topic, namely the various causes that lead to individuals or groups being radicalized into terrorist acts. Among other things, this led me to interview several jihadists who had been sentenced to prison in connection with my evaluation of the de-radicalization programme in Norway in 2019. I published two articles about this, one in English (2022), and another in French (Le programme de mentoring pour détenus radicalisés en Norvège : enseignements de la première évaluation, 2020).
My latest publication on this topic, “From Tragedy to Trial: The Ripple Effect of Breivik's Legal Actions on Survivors and Bereaved Families” (Alexandre Dessingué and Paula Hamilton (Eds): Terrorism in Memory Culture: Investigating the Aftermath of July 22 in Norway. Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies), was published in March 2025, and deals with how the trials for the conditional release of Anders Behring Breivik and the alleged inhumane conditions of his imprisonment affect the families of those killed and survivors of the July 22, 2011 terrorist attacks in Oslo and Utøya. In July 2024,
I published a short article in French “Menace terroriste en Norvège : le miroir déformé d'une polarisation politique”, on the status of the terrorist threat in Norway in the journal Hermès. Another article, “L'obsession remplaciste en France avant Renaud Camus”, was published in June 2024, about the prehistory of the concept of “The Great Replacement” in France before the author Renaud Camus started writing about it in 2010-2011 (Nouvelles tendances de la romanistique scandinave, 2024).
More recently, I have been looking into the phenomenon of “hybrid warfare”, more specifically in terms of the desire of some states to interfere with electoral processes in third countries, in particular using disinformation and grey or black propaganda to undermine incumbent governments, weaken the national consensus and exacerbate possible tendencies towards fragmentation and polarization of public opinion.
This part of my research resulted in a publication in 2024 “Sowing the Seeds of Distrust? Foreign Cyber Interference in the French Presidential Election in 2017 and 2022” (Waxmann, 2024). Going forward, I will focus more on issues related to the relationship between international politics, hybrid war and democracy.
I am currently working on two articles. The first is almost finished and is entitled "Trading Paris for Washington? The Nordic Countries and the Nuclear Deterrence Credibility Dilemma". This paper examines the reactions of the Nordic countries to the French proposal to join France's extended nuclear deterrence and the reasons for that.
The second article is less advanced but builds on a chapter I published in 2024 on digital foreign information, manipulation and interference in the French presidential elections of 2017 and 2022. In this new article, which I expect to publish before the 2027 presidential election in France, I will revisit the issue of digital foreign interference to assess whether its potential harmful impact is greater in 2027 than it was in 2022.
Courses taught
SFF42315 Master thesis (responsible)
SFF21721 French Foreign Policy after 1958 (responsable)
SFF41115 Intercultural Learning and Democratic Culture (responsable)
SFF11620 French Culture and Society (responsable)
SFF11320 French Literature and Society (co-responsable)
SFBS30321 Communication and culture dissemination on digital platforms (responsable)
SFB13009 Culture Meetings I
SFB24011 Culture Meetings II
SFB55022 International Relations
MEDIA
Narvik-avtalen og Europas nye atomdilemma, MInerva, 6. oktober 2026
Frankrike forklart episode 155: Hva betyr Narvik-avtalen mellom Norge og Frankrike? Med Bjørn Olav Knutsen
Frankrike forklart episode 154: Hvem prøver å påvirke det franske presidentvalget? Med Paul Buvarp, 21. september 2026
Vi er i en ny atomalder, intervju i Forsvarets Forum, 13. august 2026
Valgvake: Parlamentsvalget i Ungarn, Agenda, 12. april 2026
Frankrikes «fremskutte atomavskrekking»: en mini revolusjon, DNAK, 10. mars 2026
Frankrikes «fremskutte atomavskrekking»: et lite paradigmeskifte, Minerva, 9. mars 2026
10 år siden masseterroren i Paris - franskmennene lever ennå i frykt. Forskning.no, 13. november 2025
Et fransk ben for Norges forsvar? Minerva, 26. juni 2025
En europeisk atomparaply? Minerva, 19. mai 2025
Frankrike trumpifiseres. Minerva, 3. april 2025
En fransk-britisk atomvåpenparaply for europeerne? Ukens analyse, DNAK, 14. mars 2025
Er Macron Europas nye Churchill? Forskersonen. Forskning.no, 7. mars 2025
Hva vil Macron igjen med franske atomvåpen? Ukens analyse. DNAK, 13. mai 2024
Spiller Macron russisk rulett med europeernes sikkerhet? Ukens analyse, DNAK, 20. april 2024
Background
Ph.D, University of Oslo, 2009
France and its power: perspectives and Foreign Policy Strategies : 1945-1995
Supervisor: Professor Øyvind Østerud (Department of Political Science, University of Oslo)
MA in French, University of Oslo, 1994
François Mitterrand and European Integration: from political opportunism to European pragmatism? 1945-1992
MA (Level 5/DEA), University of Nice Sophia Antipolis and University of Caen Basse Normandie, 1998-1990
Thesis 1 : The use of oil incomes in the Norwegian economy: an example of "kowetisation" of an economy
Thesis 2 : Norwegian oil policy: 1960-1980
Supervisor: professor André Nouschi, Head of the Center for Contemporary Mediterranean Studies (CMMC)
Awards
Knight in Order of the Academic Palms, awarded by the Minister of Education, France, 2022
The Palmes académiques order is the oldest of France's civilian awards. It honors people whose work can be linked to the Ministry of Education. Outside universities, this order can also honor people who have made a significant effort in one of the activities that can be related to the national education system, and to distinguished personalities who have made an exceptional contribution to the enrichment of France's cultural heritage.
Winner of the Prize for dissemination of research results, Østfold University College, 2017
HiØ's dissemination prize is awarded to a researcher/artist/group/academic community that is able to disseminate broad academic knowledge, results from research or artistic development work in such a way that it provides insight, perspectives or contributes to debate. The dissemination may be aimed at specific target groups as well as broad audiences. The award shall in particular recognize dissemination to the general public and dissemination that puts HiØ on the map. The prize can be awarded based on individual communication initiatives or communication work over time.
Positions held
Head of research group in areas studies AreaS, Østfold University College, 2016-2024
Co-host, podcast France Explained, 2020 - now
Member of the research committee, HiØ, 2016 - 2024
Member of the dissemination committee, HiØ, 2014 - 2021