Olav Elgvin new PhD scholar at Department of Comparative Politics

Elgvin recently began his five year PhD studies at the Department of Comparative Politics. Elgvin’s PhD project focuses on Muslim religious leaders in Germany, France and England: How do they understand the relationship between religion and politics, and how do they view the relationship between Sharia law and democracy? Elgvin’s study is part of a larger research project on Islam and politics in European countries, which is funded by the Norwegian Research Council and is led by research institute Fafo in Oslo. Alongside his engagement at the Department of Comparative Politics, Elgvin will also work part time as the coordinator for this project. His fellowship period at the Department of Comparative Politics is therefore extended to five years.

Elgvin comes from a position as a researcher on immigration and integration at Fafo, where he has worked for the past three years. He has two master’s degrees; one in philosophy from the University of Lund in Sweden, and one in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Oslo. In addition to his scholarly focus on questions relating to Islam and immigration, Elgvin is also interested in political developments in Western Europe more broadly. Alongside his work as a researcher, he is a regular op-ed contributor to the daily Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen.

Elgvin’s PhD proejct is part of a larger cross-disciplinary project on IMER topics (international migration and ethnic relations) at the University of Bergen. Elgvin will therefore join the IMER network at the university, which also includes PhD students in sociology, anthropology and human geography.