Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI)

For Sudan’s displaced families and host communities, rising fuel prices because of the US/Israel-Iran war translate directly into higher food costs, delayed humanitarian aid, and diminishes the refugees’ chances of ever returning to their homes.

In a new Sudanese Perspectives blog Adam Babekir examines how a surge in global oil prices could deepen Sudan’s already devastating displacement crisis, and why fragile states like Sudan are hit hardest by such energy shocks.

Read the full blog here:

The $200 barrel shock: Protecting Sudan's displaced and host communities amid global energy insecurity As global oil prices threaten to rise above $100 a barrel because of the conflict in the Middle East, the world's most vulne...

Today marks three years since the start of the war in Sudan. A war that has displaced around 14 million people and created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Alongside violence and conflict, a war economy has developed in Sudan, and as the war enters its fourth year, the dynamics of this war economy continue to shape everyday life and limit opportunities, especially for young people.

In this new post from our Sudanese Perspectives blog, Amro Awad Ali Osman examines the country’s war economy and the role youth could play in a transition toward a peace economy.

Read the full blog - https://www.cmi.no/publications/9892-from-war-economy-to-peace-economy-the-role-of-youth-in-peacebuilding-in-sudan

From war economy to peace economy: The role of youth in peacebuilding in Sudan Sudan’s youth sparked a revolution but find themselves sidelined by a war economy that leaves them with few real choices. Their ...

🎙️ Two CMI researchers Anwesha Dutta and Nick Harvey Sky recently joined the Conservation and Science podcast to discuss their work on conservation labour.

They explore an often-overlooked aspect of conservation: the labour that underpins it, examining issues such as unpaid work, inequality, and how factors like race, class, and gender shape participation in conservation efforts.

Drawing on insights from the CONLAB Project, the conversation highlights the need to better understand who is doing conservation work – and under what conditions – and what this means for building more equitable and sustainable practices.

🎧 Listen to the episode here 👇

224: Conservation Labour with Anwesha Dutta and Nick Harvey Sky Working in conservation? Take the survey➡️ CONLAB survey Who are the people doing the actual work of conservation? How many of them are there and what are their working conditions? And whose labour…

➡️New Blog: What does it really mean to be ‘legal’?

In his new Sudanese Perspectives blog, Tamer Abd Elkreem explores the concept of legality, not just as a matter of documents and visas but as a question of the right to exist without constantly having to justify your presence.

Using Sudanese experiences as a starting point, he reflects on how being labelled legal or illegal is often tied to colonial ideas about culture, civilisation, and whose lives are seen as valuable.

These ideas did not disappear with colonialism. Rather they continue to shape everyday encounters with borders, authorities, and institutions.

At a time when millions are displaced and mobility is increasingly unequal, Elkreem suggests rethinking legality as an existential and political concept, shaped by power relations rather than neutral rules.

🔗 Read the full blog here: https://www.cmi.no/publications/9893-is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-legal-sudanese-migrant

We are looking for a Research Assistant to join the ERC-funded project , exploring the politics of war participation in the digital age with a focus on Myanmar, Ukraine and Sudan.

The role offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience across a full range of research project tasks – including theoretical and empirical engagement with the topic, organisation of events, and research dissemination.

This position is well suited for a master’s student and offers the possibility to develop a thesis connected to the project.

➡️Interested in working with us? Find more information and apply via the link below:

👉https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/297401/20-research-assistant-position-with-possibility-for-a-masters-student-placement

Today CMI welcomed Kjersti Stenseng – the Norwegian Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion, in connection with the national initiative Ungdomsprogrammet (Nav Norway youth employment program) aimed at supporting young people in entering the workforce.

CMI was able to contribute to this effort through our collaboration with NAV Bergen Sør, one of seven NAV offices participating in the program.

We were also happy to welcome NAV Fylkesdirektør Bjarte Hysing-Olsen and Labour Party Group Leader Linn Kristin Engø.

We are pleased to be a part of these kind of initiatives that help contribute to more inclusive employment and work environments.

Next week CMI's Bet Caeyers will be hosting a Thrive webinar examining the Reach Up programme’s transition to a more scalable, blended model - combining home visits with telephone support within the public healthcare system.

📅Tuesday 31 March 2026
🕒16:00-17:00 CET
💻Online

Bringing together experts from the Caribbean Institute for Health Research, the The Ministry of Health & Wellness, Jamaica, and Thrive Child Evidence, the discussion will explore what it takes to embed evidence-based parenting support into national systems.

Find more information here 👇https://thrivechildevidence.org/events/delivering-an-effective-parenting-programme-through-the-government-healthcare-system-in-jamaica-combining-home-visits-and-telephone-calls/

📣 Join us at Bergen Global CMI/UiB on 25 March at 08:30 for a breakfast seminar on Ukrainian return under conditions of uncertainty. Ukrainian scholars will share insights on displacement, integration, and the geopolitical factors shaping future return.

All welcome!

➡️ More info about the event: https://bergenglobal.no/events/ukrainian-return-under-conditions-of-uncertainty/

Zimbabwe’s human rights organisations are navigating an increasingly restrictive and underfunded environment. A new CMI Brief from the RightAct project shows how organisations adapt to political repression, legal constraints, and major reductions in international support.

Key findings:
• The state has intensified repression through militarisation, judicial capture and new restrictive laws, significantly narrowing civic space.
• Donor fatigue, shifting priorities, and new funding requirements have sharply reduced support for rights-based work.
• Many CSOs are depoliticising their work, shifting towards livelihood, socio‑economic and environmental issues.
• Organisations increasingly rely on localisation, cost‑cutting, and hybrid models that blend advocacy with service provision.
• Some actors are relocating activities to South Africa or Zambia and activating regional networks to maintain influence

The brief highlights how civil society is adapting to survive in a constrained political environment.

Read the full brief 👇

https://www.cmi.no/publications/9874-zimbabwes-shrinking-civil-society-space

We are very pleased to welcome professor Eirik Gaard Kristiansen from NHH Norwegian School of Economics as the new Chair of the Chr. Michelsen Fund (CMF) and as an external member and Vice Chair of the CMI Board.

With strong academic credentials, public sector leadership, and extensive board experience, Kristiansen brings valuable expertise that will support CMI’s mission and future development.

➡️ Read more: https://www.cmi.no/news/3582-eirik-gaard-kristiansen-appointed-new-chair-of-the-cmf-board

Israel’s renewed “Dahiyeh doctrine” in Beirut has triggered mass displacement and intensified Lebanon’s ongoing political and economic crisis. As more than 800,000 people flee targeted districts, the Lebanese Armed Forces face the dilemma of responding to Hizbollah, a militia that remains militarily stronger than the state, writes research professor Are J. Knudsen in this new CMI blog post.

With Hizbollah weakened yet still central to Lebanon’s security landscape, the push for disarmament exposes deep national fault lines. Both continued militarization and forcible disarmament risk destabilizing the country further.

Read the full blog here 👇

https://www.cmi.no/rewrite.cfm/publications/9882-hizbollah-farewell-to-arms