Sine Vorland Holen

Sine Vorland Holen is an Associate Professor at the Norwegian Defence University College (NDUC) Staff College, Section for Joint Operations and Strategy. 

Her research examines civil-military security governance, with particular emphasis on the transbounded spaces between security, war and crime, the division of labour between military and policing tasks, and the role of the armed forces in protecting civilians during hybrid warfare and armed conflict.

She teaches and supervises at the bachelor’s and master’s levels and contributes to the master course “National Preparedness and Crisis Management,” a collaboration between the NDUC and the Norwegian Police University College (PHS). 

She holds a PhD in Criminology and Sociology of Law from the University of Oslo (2024), an interdisciplinary master’s degree (2005) and a graduate diploma in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies (2004) from The American University in Cairo, a cand.mag. from the University of Oslo (2002), has completed individual modules in Criminal Law, the Law of Armed Conflict, and International Human Rights, and is a certified Gestalt therapist (2017). 

Holen has extensive experience in conflict resolution, including state-building, human rights promotion, security policy analysis, and individual case management.

She has served in international operations and humanitarian response with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Peace Operation in Kosovo, and the Norwegian Refugee Council. 

She has contributed to policy development for NATO and the Norwegian Armed Forces on human security and is a Norwegian representative to the NATO Human Security Research Task Group. She led a project on combating conflict-related sexual violence (2017–2019).

From 2019 to 2024, her research focused on the military's role in protecting civilians from violence and enhancing human security in armed conflicts.