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Stig Jarle Hansen

Stig Jarle Hansen

Professor

  • International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric

Professor Stig Jarle Hansen works primarily within the fields of security, maritime security, extremism, organized crime, and religion, with an additional special interest in Islamic political thought. Geographically, his main focus is on the wider Red Sea region, including Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya. He has also conducted field studies in Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, Pakistan, Sudan, Mali, Nigeria, Tunisia, Norway, and the United States. Hansen is frequently consulted as an expert commentator by global media. He has appeared on CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters, CCTV 4, and numerous other international outlets. He also worked as a senior analyst for Risk Intelligence, where he conducted professional risk assessments for commercial maritime actors. 

Hansen’s book, Al-Shabaab in Somalia, was critically acclaimed by Foreign Policy and The Economist. Newsweek Magazine published a chapter from it. Another of his books, Horn, Sahel and Rift: Fault-lines of the African Jihad is considered the standard reference on jihadism in Africa and is used in university teachings worldwide. He has published in a wide range of academic journals and is currently a member of the editorial board of Small Wars & Insurgencies. 

Hansen has been invited to present for government institutions such as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has testified in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom on West African jihadism. He has served as a court-appointed expert witness on related issues in Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. He has contributed to the frequently cited military publication Jane's Defence Weekly and has given expert talks at prominent security-related institutions such as the Marine Corps University, the United States Special Operations Command in Tampa, the European Commission, and the United Nations as well as other institutions. Hansen was also involved in the research component following Norway’s action plan against radicalization and violent extremism in 2014.

At NMBU, He led Norway’s only Master’s program in International Relations from its inception in 2009 to 2016, and again from 2018 to 2024. He was a Belfer Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University from 2016 to 2017 and a Visiting Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University from 2024 to 2025. Hansen is currently also a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.  

  • Areas of Work
    • Political Science
    • Religious Politics
    • Religious Terror
    • Piracy
    • International Relations
    • Security
  • Publications

    Academic profile and publications

    SELECT PUBLICATIONS:

    BOOKS

    'Routledge Handbook of Deradicalisation and Disengagement', (with Stian Lid), Routledge Handbook (2020)

     ‘The Sahel, The Horn and the Rift: the New Fault-lines of Jihad’, Oxford University Press/Hurst (2019)

    ‘Al Shabaab in Somalia - The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamist Group, 2005–2012’, Colombia University Press (2013)

    ‘The borders of Islam’ (with Tuncay Karadas and Atle Mesøy), Hurst/ Colombia University Press (2009), London/ New York

    Doktrineutvikling i heimevernet:  The development of military doctrine in the Norwegian National Guard, Abstrakt forlag, 2007 (Oslo).

     

     BOOK CHAPTERS (PEER REVIEWED)

     ‘Private Security, Maritime protection and   surveillance in Somaliland’ in Cullen and Berube (2011), Maritime Private Security: Market Responses to Piracy, Terrorism and Waterborne Security Risks in the 21st Century. Routledge, USA

    ‘Somalia's Al-Shabaab: Hijacked by Al-Qaeda?’ in Manuel Castro e Almeida (ed.) (2012) ‘Al-Qaeda After Bin Laden’. Dubai, Al Mesbar Studies and Research Centre (published in Arabic)

    ‘Harakat Al-Shabaab, and Somalia’s Current State of Affairs’ (with Muhamed Gaas) in Krause and Hansen (2012), ‘Jaahrbook Terrorismus 2011/2012’, Verlag Barbara Budrich, Opladen

    ‘Trans-border Islamic Activism in the Horn of Africa: The Case of Tadamun—the Ethiopian Muslim Brotherhood?’ in Desplat and Østebø (2013), ‘Muslim Ethiopia, the Christian Legacy, Identity Politics and Islamic Reformism’, Palgrave

    ‘Opposing interests? The Geopolitics of the Horn of Africa’, in Leonard, Emma & Gilbert Ramsay (Eds.), 2013, ‘Globalizing Somalia: Multilateral, International, and Transnational Repercussions of Conflict’. Bloomsbury Academic, New York.

    ‘Piracy, Security and State Formation in the Early Twenty First Century’, in Amirell and Muller (2014), ‘Persistent Piracy, Maritime Violence and State-Formation in Global Historical Perspective’, Palgrave, USA

     

    COMMISSIONED JOURNALS

    Special Issue Counterinsurgency in the age of geopolitics: Small Wars &Insurgencies (with Mikael Skjelderup) (2026)

    Special issue on Global Piracy (with Peter Chalk): Journal of Terrorism and Conflict Studies (2012)

     

    ARTICLES IN PEER REVIEWED ACADEMIC JOURNALS

    'Counterinsurgency in the age of geopolitics: Small Wars &Insurgencies' (with Mikael Skjelderup) (Taylor &Francis, 2026)

    ''Forever wars'? Patterns of diffusion and consolidation of Jihadism in Africa', Small Wars &Insurgencies (Taylor &Francis, 2022)

    'Can Somalia's New Offensive Defeat al-Shabaab', CTC Sentinel (2023)

    'Mosaic; counter-insurgency approaches and the war against the Islamic state in Mozambique', Small Wars &Insurgencies (Taylor &Francis, 2024)

    'Spectres of Black Flags in the Miombo: The Islamic State's coverage of their Mozambique province 2022-2023 (with Ida Bary)', Kronos (scielo.org.za, 2024) 

    'Conclusions, counter-insurgency in the age of geopolitics' (with Mikael Skjelderup), Small Wars &Insurgencies (Taylor &Francis, 2025)

    'Hillbillies or Riders of the Apocalypse? The Strange Case of the Islamic State in Somalia', Current Trends (s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com, 2025)

    ‘Yemeni security/political dynamics and maritime security in the Indian Ocean’, Journal of Indian Ocean Region (December 2012)

    ‘International Interventions, State-building and Democratization: Justifying the Role of the Private Security Companies in Mogadishu?’ African Security 5 (3-4) (2012)

    ‘Illegal fishing and piracy in Somalia’, Royal United Services (RUSI) Journal (2011)

    ‘The Status of Modern-Day Piracy’ (with Peter Chalk), Journal of Terrorism and Conflict Studies (2012)

    ‘The Somali Cluster’, Journal of Terrorism and Conflict Studies (2012)

    ‘The Civil Maritime Sector and their Counter-Piracy Strategies’, Journal of Terrorism and Conflict Studies (2012)

    ‘Pirates, Poverty and Nation-building: Reflections against Naivety’, Internasjonal Politikk 69 (3)

    ‘Revenge or Reward? The Case of Somalia’s Suicide Bombers’ Journal of Terrorism Research 1:1 (2010)

    ‘The Impact of Private Security Companies on Somalia’s Governance Networks’ (with Christopher Kinsey and George Franklin), Cambridge Review of International Affairs (2009) - "Somaliland, a new democracy at the Horn of Africa", with Mark Bradbury, review of African political economy , 34/114 (2007)

    ‘Warlords and Peace Strategies’, Journal of Conflict Studies xxIi: 2 (2003)

    ‘Warlords, Ethnicism, Patrimonialism: The Cases of China, Afghanistan and Somalia’, Peace Research 35:2

     

    NON-PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS IN PERIODICALS

    ‘A Force Defeated? The Challenges Facing Shabaab’, Rusi News Brief 26, (2014)

    ‘Al-Shabaab is failing in Somalia, but Kenya’s chaotic response could keep it alive’, The Conversation, (9 December 2014)

    ‘Al-Shabaab’s Three Crises’, Op-ed for the Tony Blair Foundation (2014)

    ‘Yemen: Internal Conflict and the National Dialogue Conference Outcome’, Strategic Insights No 52 (2014)

    ‘The Future of the Mali Conflict and its Regional Impact’, Strategic Insights No 52 (2014)

    ‘A Who’s Who of Somali Piracy Today’, Strategic Insights No 51 (2014)

    ‘Going Transnational? Boko Haram and Regional Security in West Africa’, Strategic Insights No 51 (2014)

    ‘An In-depth Look at Shabaab’s Internal Divisions’, CTC Sentinel (West Point), 7 (2)

    ‘Somalia in 2013 and looking ahead to 2014: An in-depth overview’, Strategic Insights No 50 (2014)

    ‘Al-Shabaab terror attacks and beyond: Analysing the Westgate mall attack’, Strategic Insights No 49 (2013)

    ‘Revisiting Yemen in 2013’, Strategic Insights No 48 (2013)

    ‘The future of Al-Shabaab and the impact on maritime security’, Strategic Insights No 47 (2013)

    ‘Clans, business and piracy in Somalia’, Strategic Insights No 47 (2013)

    ‘Somali piracy in 2013: Few attacks but pirate structures still in place’, Strategic Insights No 44 (2013)

    ‘Tanzania collapsing? Maritime risks and the Tanganyika-Zanzibar conflict’, Strategic Insights No 43, (2014)

    ‘The fall of Kismayo: Consequences for Somalia and the wider region’, Strategic Insights No 42 (2014) 

    ‘Faction fluctuation: The shifting allegiances within Hizbul Islam’, Jane’s Intelligence Review 6/11 (2010)

    ‘The Enemies Enemy: Eritrea’s involvement in Somalia’, Jane’s Intelligence Review 21/10 (2009)

    ‘Misspent Youth’, Jane’s Intelligence Review 20/10 (2008).

    ‘Somalia’s fragmentation’, Foreign Policy (August 2008)

    ‘The Destabilization of Puntland: The Decline of Somalia’s Strategic Semi-Autonomous Region and its Implications for Maritime Security’ (with Karsten von Hoesslin and Hans Tino Hansen), Strategic Insights 11:4 (2008)

    ‘Tug of War: Territorial shifts in northern Somalia’, Jane’s Intelligence Review 19:12 (2007)

    ‘Biding time: An interview with Omar Idriss of the Sharia court alliance’, Jane’s Intelligence Review 19:5 (2007)

    ‘Anarchy and Meddling Neighbours’, Islamic Affairs Analyst (August 2007)

    ‘Ethiopia’s deployment to Somalia’, Jane’s Intelligence Review 18:2 (2006)

    ‘Pirates of the Horn’ (with Atle Mesøy), Beacon 188:2 (2006)

    ‘The Pirates of The Horn: State Collapse and the Maritime Threat’ (with Atle Mesøy), Strategic Insights 1:2 (2006)

    ‘Sharia courts holds sway in Mogadishu’, Foreign Report, 10 (2006)

    ‘Somalia provides a test case of counter-terrorist efforts’, Jane’s Intelligence Review 16:9 (2004)

                                                                 

  • Teaching

    Courses:

    EDS371  Introduction to Intelligence Studies and International Relations (Course Responsible)

    EDS372  Security Studies (Course Responsible)

    EDS373  Piracy and International Relations (Course Responsible)

    EDS376  Religion, Politics and Islam (Course Responsible)

    Hansen will supervise students on religion and politics, terror, radicalisation, selected IR theories, security, maritime security, organised crime, Yemen, Kenya, Somalia, Qatar, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Emirates, Israel-Palestine, and the Muslim Brotherhood

     

    PhD Supervision:

    Ongoing:

    Akhtar Chaudhry, NMBU

    Gilbert Masengeli, United States University of Nairobi

  • Research and projects

    Research projects

    Research projects with a website outside NMBU

  • Misc and CV