Janne Haaland Matláry is Professor of International Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian National Defense University College (Forsvarets Høgskole). She specializes in European foreign and defense policy and international security. Her current work focuses on the polarization and fragmentation of modern European politics. She aims to better understand the divisions in European democracies today and what causes them to become divided.

From 1997-2000, Professor Matláry served as the deputy Foreign Minister in Kjell Magne Bondevik’s Christian-Democratic government. In taking that position, Matláry became the first woman to hold a high government post in Norway since the Protestant Reformation. After her work as deputy Foreign Minister, Matláry served on the Norwegian parliament’s commission, tasked with proposing changes to the Norwegian Constitution for its 200th anniversary. She has also worked as a member of the national defense commission of Norway and is on the board of trustees of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights.

Professor Matláry has written extensively on European politics, governmental policy, and political science. She has published over one hundred journal articles and numerous books, including The United Kingdom’s Defence after Brexit: Britain’s Alliances, Coalitions, and Partnerships (editor and author with Robert Johnson, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), Hard Power in Hard Times: Can Europe Act Strategically? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), Ukraine and Beyond: Russia’s Strategic Security Challenge to Europe (editor and author with Tormod Heier, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), and Intervention for Human Rights in Europe (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002).

In 2007, Professor Matláry was awarded the St. Benedict prize, conferred by the Benedictine Community in Subiaco, Italy, for her work on European culture and politics. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed her a life-long member of the Pontifical Academy of Science (Social Sciences branch). She has also served as a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Family.