Researcher
Ole Jacob Sending
Contactinfo and files
Summary
Ole Jacob Sending is Research Professor in the Research group for global order and diplomacy at NUPI.
Sending does research on global governance, with a particular focus on the role of international and non-governmental organizations in peacebuilding, humanitarian relief, and development. His publications have appeared, inter alia, in International Studies Quarterly, European Journal of International Relations, and International Theory.
Expertise
Education
2004 Dr. Polit., Department of Administration and Organization Theory, University of Bergen
1998 Master of Science, Political Science. Department of Political Science, SUNY, Albany, New York
1997 Cand. Mag., University of Bergen, Norway. (Economics, Political Science, Sociology)
Work Experience
2023- Research Professor, NUPI
2012-2023 Research Director, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
2008-2009 Visiting Scholar, Fulbright Scholarship, Dept. of Sociology, UC Berkeley
2008- Senior Researcher, NUPI
2008-2014 Adjunct Senior Researcher, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen
2006-2008 Senior Adviser, Policy Analysis Unit, Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
2003- Senior Researcher, NUPI
2002 Visiting Research Fellow, Stanford University (SCANCOR)
1999-2003 Research Fellow, NUPI, PhD Student, University of Bergen
Aktivitet
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Clear all filters“Ambassador, you’re really spoiling us!” Diplomatic gifts and profligate autocrats
Qatar’s “unconditional” gift of a $400 million Boeing 747-8 to Donald Trump serves as a reminder that states have long used diplomatic gifts to impress others, forge bonds, and secure favorable treatment. However, in an age where citizens and media outlets routinely scrutinize public spending, there is good reason to think that not all governments are able to justify lavishing large sums on such interactions. In this paper, we test the claim that autocracies are less constrained in their diplomatic gift giving due to an absence of domestic accountability mechanisms. To evidence this, the authors draw on a dataset of diplomatic gifts presented to U.S. presidents from 2001 to 2018. The results show that autocratic regimes systematically spend more on diplomatic gifts than do democracies. Supplementary analyses suggest that this is, in part, due to new media in democracies being able to criticize profligate diplomatic practices. Interviews with Norwegian diplomats corroborate the importance of domestic media scrutiny in shaping diplomatic gift giving. The article contributes to scholarship that probes the relationship between regime type and public spending, by showing its relevance to diplomatic interactions.
Who Killed the Liberal International Order and What Comes Next?
The Norwegian Centre for Geopolitics invites you to a lecture on the world's most urgent ‘whodunnit’: "Who Killed the Liberal International Order and What Comes Next?".
Når USA gjør det slutt – hva Trumps sikkerhetsstrategi betyr for Europa - og Norge
Dagens Næringsliv: Ole Jacob Sending (NUPI) forklarer at av-og-på forholdet mellom Europa og USA er lite oppbyggelig, og i utenrikspolitikken også direkte farlig. Han viser til Trump administrasjonens nye Nasjonale Sikkerhetsstrategi, og skriver at Norge blir vesentlig mer utsatt fordi USA nå svekker det viktigste av tre ben i den norske utenrikspolitiske strategien.
The Chinese are Coming! US Think Thanks and the Belt and Road Initative in the Middle East and North Africa
Neil Ketchley (University of Oxford), Moren S. Andersen (NUPI) and Ole Jacob Sending (NUPI) shed light on the consequences of American think tanks portraying China's Belt and Road Initiative as a significant threat to American interests in the Middle East and North Africa, even though Chinese projects there are still relatively small. This perceived threat is used to strengthen and justify existing American foreign policy goals, even in regions where Chinese influence is still limited.
Is U.S. foreign policy now "open for business"?
In this episode of the World Stage podcast, host Ole Jacob Sending (The Norwegian Centre for Geopolitics, NUPI) sits down with Alex Cooley (Columb...
India in South Asia: Quest for regional dominance in a multipolar world
This seminar will present a new report on India's role in South Asia.
Trump 2.0 og internasjonal politikk
I denne spesialrapporten har Senter for geopolitikk samlet en rekke bidrag fra forskere tilknyttet senteret, fra Fridtjof Nansen Institutt, Institutt for Forsvarsstudier, Universitetet i Oslo, UiT – Norges Arktiske Universitet og Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt. Bidragene setter søkelys på noen konkrete temaer som inntak til å forstå et USA i endring og hva det vil kunne bety for andre stater, og for utviklingen på konkrete politikkfelt. Rapporten har særlig fokus på hva disse endringene, hver for seg og samlet, betyr for Europa og Norge. En oppdatert versjon ble publisert 12.06.25, klokken 12.40.
Trump, debt and the risk of an own goal
The bond market can bring down governments and force shifts in economic policy, even in great powers, writes Ole Jacob Sending in this op-ed. « I wish I could come back as the bond market. You can intimidate everybody.» This is how James Carville, advisor to Bill Clinton, described the power wielded by the bond market. In 2025, Carville’s quote has regained relevance. The United States’ position as an economic hegemon is under pressure, not least due to a combination of high debt levels and the Trump administration’s irresponsible economic policies. The bond market may be the clearest example of how political power is grounded in economic power – particularly in a globalized world. The effects of this market are felt across all economies, including those of the great powers.
Breakfast seminar: When expertise becomes power politics – US perspectives on Russia and China
What can we learn from US engagement towards China and Russia after the Cold War? And what role should experts play in the shaping of foreign policy?