Lise Rye
About
Lise Rye is Professor of Contemporary European History at the Department of Historical and Classical Studies (IHK) at NTNU. In the period 2021-23, she is also Professor II at the Department of Religion, Philosophy and History at the University of Agder. Rye researches the history of European integration, with the history of the EU, EFTA, Norway's relations with the EU and the EEA agreement as special fields. The aim of this research is to understand why different forms of integration emerge, how the development of the EU can be explained, and how integration affects democracy, in the Member States and at European level.
Rye is the academic director of NTNU's bachelor program in European Studies and NTNU's international master's program in European Studies. She teaches Norway's relationship with the EU, and she is the responsible teacher for NTNU European Studies' internship-program. She supervises at all levels, and students who want to write assignments in her field, whether these are purely historical or multidisciplinary, are welcome to get in touch.
In the period 2010-2012, Rye sat on the government-appointed research committee (“Europautredningen”) which evaluated Norway's agreements with the EU. In the period 2018-22, she was part of NTNU's team in the H2020-funded RIA project "Reconciling Europe with its Citizens through Democracy and the Rule of Law (RECONNECT)". In the period 2018-21, she led the ERASMUS + funded Jean Monnet module "Differentiated Integration: The Norwegian Case in Perspective".
Her most recent book is En kort introduksjon til EUs historie (“A short introduction to the history of the EU”), written for the Norwegian audience and published by Cappelen Damm Akademisk in 2022.
Research interests:
- EFTA-EU relations
- Contemporary French history
- The history of European integration
- Norway's relations with the EU (EEA)
- Euroscepticism
- Democracy and the rule of law in Europe
- Trust in European governance
- https://www.ntnu.edu/ihs/research/european-studies
Teaching:
- EUR 3414 Differentiated integration: The Norwegian case in perspective. Differentiated integration: The Norwegian case in perspective is a Jean Monnet-module, co-funded by the European Union's Erasmus+ programme. The module runs in the autumn semester in the period 2018-21. Please consult the module website for further information: https://www.ntnu.edu/differentiated-integration
- EUR 2915 History of European integration (BA-level, 7.5 ECTS)
- EUR 1001 Introduction to the European Union (BA-level, 7.5 ECTS)
- EUR 38001/38002 Report from candidates in practice (MA-level, 15/30 ECTS)
Ongoing research:
RECONNECT: Reconciling Europe with its Citizens through Democracy and the Rule of Law
RECONNECT focuses on the impact of potential inconsistencies arising between the EU Treaty principles of democracy and the rule of law, and the ways these are interpreted and applied across the EU. RECONNECT further aims to understand and explain citizens’ perceptions of democracy and the rule of law, thereby assessing to which extent they align with or diverge from EU principles and practices. By placing citizens at the heart of its research and in order to address these mismatches, RECONNECT will formulate policy recommendations, develop communication strategies and propose Treaty changes, with the aim of enhancing the EU’s legitimacy.
RECONNECT is a four-year Horizon 2020 multidisciplinary research project led by the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies at KU Leuven. It is joined by 17 academic partners from 14 countries. www.reconnect-europe.eu
Norge i Europa
Economic integration in Western Europe: EFTA-EC relations from 1973 to 1994. Based on primary sources from the EFTA and EC archives, this project analyses the development in EFTA-EC relations as they developed from the 1972/73 free trade agreements to the 1994 European Economic Area.
Previous projects:
Distant voices. Ideas of democracy and the Eurozone crisis. This joint research effort, conducted by nine researchers from six countries, investigated the impact of the European crisis on ideas of national and EU democracy in six European countries: Iceland, Portugal, Greece, Hungary, Turkey and Norway. The results appeared in an edited volume, published by Akademika publishing in 2013: https://www.bestselgerklubben.no/_faglitteratur/samfunnskunnskap/distant-voices-9788232103546.
Outreach:
Rye gives public speeches on topics covered by her research and she contributes regularly to national and international media outlets.
Together with Kristine Graneng, Rye produce the podcast Det europeiske kvarter, which focuses on the history and politics of the EU. The podcast has a Facebook-page where they post literature references and supplementary information.
Other assignments:
- Academic Programme Director, NTNU European Studies (2021 - )
- Visiting Professor, Department of Religion, Philosophy and History, University of Agder (2021 -)
- Board member, The Holberg Board (2020 - )
- Elected safety representative, Department of historical and classical studies, NTNU (2020)
- Coordinator of the Jean Monnet module Differentiated integration: The Norwegian case in perspective (2018-21)
- Board member, Centre Universitaire de Norvège à Paris (2017-)
- Membre du Conseil de la Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe (2017-)
- Member of the programme council for the NTNU programmes in European studies (2015-)
- Member of the Research Council of Norway's reference group Europe in a changing world, Horisont 2020 (2015-2019)
- Head of the NTNU MA programme in European Studies (2009-2013)
- Head of study programme council, European Studies, NTNU (2009-2011)
- Elected board member, Department of History and Classical Studies, NTNU (2009-2013)
- Member of the Mid-Norway European Office resource group (2012-2016)
- Member of the EEA Review Committee (2010-2012). The EEA Review Committee was a broad-based independent committee of twelve researchers appointed by the Norwegian Government in 2010 to undertake a thorough, research-based review of the EEA Agreement. The committee submitted its report in 2012: