Karl Gustafsson

New article!

My article 'Deterrence through captivity: China's use of detention to dissuade threats to regime security' has been published in @ejisbisa.bsky.social

It is part of the forthcoming special issue (co-edited with Richard Samuels) 'Kidnapping politics: Captivity passions and international security'.

🚨 New Publication in International Organization! 🚨

Happy to share our latest paper with @jeremymoulton.bsky.social:“The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order”, part of SI #IOFoGG on the Future of Global Governance. doi.org/10.1017/S002...
@iojournal.bsky.social

Inför vårterminen 2026 söker jag en praktikant med inriktning på säkerhetspolitik.
www.fhs.se/om-forsvarsh...

I am off to Pamplona to attend the "Empires: Experience, Memory and Idea" conference at the University of Navarra. Looking forward to interesting discussions! en.unav.edu/web/institut...

As China marks 80 years since war against Japan, can time heal historical wounds? Historical memory is used by Chinese and Japanese politicians for their agendas, making it hard to forgive and forget. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

I am quoted in this article in The Straits Times

www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-as...

Thank you! We actually discuss what inspired us to write this piece in the article (on p. 484).

Swedish Defence University advertises two postdoc positions focused on narrative geopolitics, or how emotional and widely circulated narratives shape international security, great power relations & geostrategic rivalry.

fhs.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

fhs.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

Deadline: 31 Aug

Award-winning article highlights anxiety as a creative force in the research process Karl Gustafsson and Linus Hagström have been awarded the European Political Science journal's Jacqui Briggs EPS Prize for the best academic article of 2024.

An award-winning article by researchers from Stockholm University and the Swedish Defence University explores how anxiety can contribute to a more creative research process and more interesting research problems.
tinyurl.com/zbfs2z2n

@profgustafsson.bsky.social
@linushagstrom.bsky.social

👏 Congratulations to ‪@ecprtheloop.bsky.social authors @profgustafsson.bsky.social & @linushagstrom.bsky.social on winning the 2024 Jacqui Briggs 📗 EPS Prize!
✍️ Read their Loop blog piece 'Embracing anxiety can help us do better research', based on the winning research: ow.ly/pIIq50W4ULl

Thanks Oliver!

Announcing the winners of the 2024 Jacqui Briggs EPS Prize European Consortium for Political Research

Very happy that @profgustafsson.bsky.social and I have been awarded the Jacqui Briggs Prize for best article published in @ecprinterestgroups.bsky.social journal European Political Science in 2024. The statements by the jury and the editor can be read here: ecpr.eu/News/News/De...

Announcing the winners of the 2024 Jacqui Briggs EPS Prize Congratulations to Karl Gustafsson and Linus Hagström of the Swedish Defence University

🏆 Our 2024 Jacqui Briggs EPS Prize goes to @profgustafsson.bsky.social‬ & @linushagstrom.bsky.social‬ for their article📗 The insecurity of doing research and the ‘so what question’ in #PoliticalScience 👏 Congratulations!

@forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social‬
#ECPRPrizes #AcademicSky #Polisky

Thank you Yoni!

Thank you Anne-Marie!

Thanks Nina!

what is the point? teaching graduate students how to construct political science research puzzles - European Political Science One of the key challenges graduate students face is how to come up with a good rationale for their theses. Unfortunately, the methods literature in and beyond political science does not provide much a...

The article is a sequel to our previous article published in 2018 in the same journal: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The insecurity of doing research and the ‘so what question’ in political science: how to develop more compelling research problems by facing anxiety - European Political Science Research problems are crucial in the sense that they provide new research with purpose and justification. So why, despite the abundance of guidance available from an extensive methods literature, do g...

The full article can be accessed and downloaded here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Announcing the winners of the 2024 Jacqui Briggs EPS Prize European Consortium for Political Research

I am delighted that @linushagstrom.bsky.social and I have been awarded the Jacqui Briggs Prize for best article published last year in the @ecpr.bsky.social journal European Political Science. The statements by the jury and the editor can be read here: ecpr.eu/News/News/De...

We're hiring! Two postdoc positions focusing on narrative geopolitics @forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social

www.fhs.se/en/swedish-d...

Sociability, Emotions, and Encounters with the Uncommon Other: World-Making at the Rokumeikan

🚨 New Publication in International Political Sociology:

#Sociability, #Emotions, and Encounters with the Uncommon Other: World-Making at the Rokumeikan

Find the paper here (open-access):

academic.oup.com/ips/article/...

Forum on Charlotte Epstein’s Birth of the State: The Place of the Body in Crafting Modern Politics - Jens Bartelson, Nina C Krickel-Choi, R B J Walker, Lauren Wilcox, 2025 In this forum, four authors discuss Charlotte Epstein’s book Birth of the State: The Place of the Body in Crafting Modern Politics published in 2021. After havi...

📢Publication alert!📢
I have a small part in this forum on Charlotte Epstein's excellent book 'The Birth of the State'.✨
doi.org/10.1177/0010...

I was invited to reflect on the link between her argument and ontological security - not an easy task and probably the hardest 2,000 words of my life. 1/2

New colleague wanted! At the Metropolitan University Prague's Center for Security Studies (C4SS), we're searching for a post-doc for up to 2 years. You'll work with us on IR/area studies and get decent salary for Czechia and other perks.

Call here: www.c4ss.cz/en/for-stude...

Changing identity to remain oneself: ontological security and the Swedish decision on joining NATO - Journal of International Relations and Development Why, despite its longstanding identity as a non-aligned country, did Sweden apply for NATO membership in May 2022? Did this decision not fundamentally challenge Swedish ontological security? Conversel...

Why did Sweden join NATO? This new article in JIRD argues that non-alignment clashed with deeper identity constructs after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Finland's NATO bid. Joining NATO helped resolve the clash, thus restoring ontological security for many Swedes. tinyurl.com/yjnxdj3x

@yeonjujung.bsky.social is defending her PhD dissertation!

The insecurity of doing research and the ‘so what question’ in political science: how to develop more compelling research problems by facing anxiety - European Political Science Research problems are crucial in the sense that they provide new research with purpose and justification. So why, despite the abundance of guidance available from an extensive methods literature, do g...

Last year, @profgustafsson.bsky.social and I published this article on how to deal with the insecurity of doing research. It is now assigned to an issue of European Political Science. It’s Open Access, so please feel free to download a copy or recommend to students! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Thank you! I hope you find it useful.

Can’t wait to read this piece. As someone who writes about and mentors learners on how to craft research questions and show contributions to the literature, this seems a timely piece.

The insecurity of doing research and the ‘so what question’ in political science: how to develop more compelling research problems by facing anxiety - European Political Science Research problems are crucial in the sense that they provide new research with purpose and justification. So why, despite the abundance of guidance available from an extensive methods literature, do g...

I have an issue. Or, more specifically, this article I published together with Linus Hagström now has an issue! It is now out (open access) in the latest issue of European Political Science.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...