Rhys Crilley
Reader, University of GlasgowRhys Crilley is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Reader in International Relations at the University of Glasgow.
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A joint initiative between the University of Bergen
and CMI – Chr. Michelsen Institute
Hashtag Wars: War, media and participation in the digital age
29.10.2026
14:00 - 15:30English
Contemporary wars have become hashtag-wars that extend beyond the physical battlefield into global war ecologies.
CMI Digital technologies have not only changed military operations but also enable ordinary people to participate in armed conflicts wherever they happen. Individuals participate by clicking ‘like’ on a Facebook page, sharing a tweet which comments on the war, creating a meme that mocks the adversary’s incompetence or glorifies their own party’s bravery, or donating for military or humanitarian equipment.
Such everyday acts of digital participation blur the boundaries between battlefield and private home, civilian and combatant, and war and peace.
This seminar brings together leading scholars working on the role of digital technology in warfare. They will share their perspectives on the current nature and practice of warfare, the mediatisation of conflict, and the global ecologies of the wars in Myanmar and Ukraine
Facebook eventEvent info.
Bergen GlobalJekteviksbakken 31, Bergen
29.10.2026
14:00 - 15:30
English
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Matthew Ford
Associate Professor, Swedish Defence UniversityMatthew Ford is Associate Professor in the Department of War Studies at the Swedish Defence University
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Stein Tønnesson
Director, Toda Peace InstituteStein Tønnesson is the Director of Toda Peace Institute in Tokyo, and Research Professor Emeritus at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)
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Eva Johais
Senior Researcher, CMIEva Johais is an interdisciplinary researcher with a home in International Studies and an interest in violence, conflict, and war and international interventions.
Read moreRhys Crilley
Reader, University of Glasgow
Rhys Crilley is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Reader in International Relations at the University of Glasgow.
his research explores the contemporary politics of nuclear weapons by analysing and aiming to improve nuclear arms control and disarmament efforts. His first book Unparalleled Catatstrophe: Life and Death in the Third Nuclear Age has been described as “timely and excellent” by a former British Foreign Secretary, and upon publication it was an Arms Control Association Book of Note and well reviewed in prominent academic journals and policy outlets.
Matthew Ford
Associate Professor, Swedish Defence University
Matthew Ford is Associate Professor in the Department of War Studies at the Swedish Defence University
Matthew Ford is an academic focusing on war and the data-saturated battlefields of the 21st century. His third book entitled, “War in the Smartphone Age Smartphone” was published by Hurst & Co, London in June and by Oxford University Press, New York in September 2025.
Stein Tønnesson
Director, Toda Peace Institute
Stein Tønnesson is the Director of Toda Peace Institute in Tokyo, and Research Professor Emeritus at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)
Stein Tønnesson is research professor emeritus at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and associate editor for Asia in the Journal of Peace Research. His areas of research are peace in East Asia, nation-building in Southeast Asia, conflict in the South China Sea, revolution and war in Vietnam, and the role of social media in Myanmar’s internal armed conflicts.
Eva Johais
Senior Researcher, CMI
Eva Johais is an interdisciplinary researcher with a home in International Studies and an interest in violence, conflict, and war and international interventions.
She holds a PhD in Political Science from the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences and studied political science, law and peace and conflict studies at the Philipps-University of Marburg and the University of Tehran.
Since her studies she has extended her professional repertoire to theories and methods from social anthropology, sociology, cultural and media studies. She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Germany, Ethiopia, and the United States.
Bergen Global is a joint initiative between the University of Bergen and Chr. Michelsen Institute that addresses global challenges.
