From Partylion to Palestinan politics

It is good to be back at PRIO after a couple of weeks in the Adriatic. Luckily, my vacation was not of the sort that PRIO alumnus Kjersti Løken Stavrum wrote about in Aftenposten Aften today; so unsuccessful that you chose to return to work prematurely, despite of the taboo against admitting holiday failure. Myself, having just started in a new job, I did not feel that urge to disconnect fully.

Today, I have tested out a new genre, as the special guest referred to as selskapsløven (’party lion’?) in Radioselskapet (’the Radio Community...’) at NRK P2 Radio. I was overwhelmed by questions on sms and e-mail, ranging from non-violence (nuclear pacifist) to is the world becoming more peaceful (yes, but perceptions also matter) and how do you combine family and research (ensure family shares interest in the research). To my surprise, Radioselskapet proves to be widely listened to, and I had numerous feedback messages, including from Helga and Iselin (Frydenlund). Encouraged by the compliments, I moved on to make a summer guest interview for Aftenposten (appearing Sunday), talking myself into having to climb the tree and adapt a summerly relaxed pose in the tree in the backyard. Later, I was also invited to Dagsrevyen to comment on Palestine, Fatah, Hamas, and the forces that drive radicalization in the Middle East and elsewhere (thanks to Jørgen J for his very competent briefing).

In-between this, I had a number of meetings with PRIOites, on topics ranging from taxation and planning of strategy get-away to militancy among Darfurian refugees. It is good to be back at work.