The Missing Peace in the Middle East

Welcome to the Annual Oslo Peace and Conflict Lecture!

Historian and Professor at the University of Oslo and Research Professor at PRIO Hilde Henriksen Waage has been a central scholar of the Middle East and the Oslo peace process, and her work has challenged dominant narratives about Norway’s role as a peace nation. Through extensive archival research, she has repeatedly raised concerns about missing or inaccessible documents related to Norwegian Middle East diplomacy and has called for greater openness as a prerequisite for robust, evidence-based scholarship.

Waage is also a popular lecturer and supervisor at UiO, and she was previously involved in The Master's Degree in Peace and Conflict studies (PECOS) when the program had a separate “History track”. In 2024 she was awarded UiO’s Dissemination Award, and in 2026, she was awarded the Freedom of Expression Prize 2026 by the Fritt Ord Foundation. According to the foundation, Waage received the award for her “critical and courageous research and fearless critique of power over several decades,” as well as her persistent efforts to promote transparency in Norwegian foreign policy.

Program:

• 16:00: Doors open
• 16.30: Welcome remarks by Prof. Tore Wig (Head of PECOS)

• Lecture by Prof. Hilde Henriksen Waage: The ‘True Story’ - Norway and the Oslo Peace Process in the Middle East

  In the lecture Waage critically examines Norway’s role as a mediator in the Oslo peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Drawing on extensive archival research, Waage challenges the idealized image of Norway as a neutral, honest broker and highlights how power imbalances, secret diplomacy, and political interests shaped the negotiations and their outcomes. She will discuss Norway's real room for maneuver and the missing files from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The lecture offers a nuanced and sometimes uncomfortable reassessment of what really happened behind the scenes of Oslo, and what this means for understanding peace processes in the area more broadly.

• Panel discussion moderated by Prof. Tore Wig

  Hilde Henriksen Waage

  Nils August Andresen is the editor in chief of the conservative magazine Minerva. He is a frequent contributor to public debate. 

  Ada Nissen is an associate professor in history and the Vice dean for research at the faculty of humanities, UiO. She works on Norwegian foreign affairs and peace negotiations. 

  Tore Wig is a professor at the department of Political Science, UiO and Research Professor at PRIO. He works on democracy, autocracy, peace and conflict.
   

• 18:30: Doors close

Participate

The event is free and open to all. Sign up via the link below if you want to participate in person. (Deadline 17.8)

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You can also follow the event via streaming. The streaming will begin when the event starts.

Welcome!

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