Ólafur Björnsson is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago who specializes in International Relations. Ólafur’s primary research interests are Great Power Politics, International Security, and Strategic Studies, which he pursues with a strong emphasis on case studies drawn from European diplomatic and military history. Ólafur’s broader research interests include International Relations Theory, especially debates about World Order, Political Theory, and theories of Nationalism/State Formation.

Ólafur originally came to the University of Chicago as a Fulbright Scholar to obtain an MA degree in the Committee on International Relations. Before that, he studied Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Iceland, which included one semester spent as an Erasmus Scholar at the University of St Andrew Security Studies Program. For the 2024-2025 academic year, Ólafur will be a Hans J. Morgenthau Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Notre Dame’s International Security Center and a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University’s Institute for Security and Conflict.