Nina Hellum

Nina Hellum is a principal research scientist and social anthropologist at the Total Defence division of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI). She combines anthropological insight, expertise on Russia, and training in psychotherapy to provide a distinctive perspective on human factors within the military and contemporary security environments. Hellum has extensive experience conducting research on gender and gender-related issues in the Norwegian Armed Forces, as well as substantial expertise in areas such as counterintelligence (CI), psychological operations (PSYOPS), open-source intelligence (OSINT), and military deception (MILDEC).

Hellum has played a key role in the development of the C-SPI (Cyber-Social Propaganda and Influence) project and currently focuses on research questions related to influence operations, human resilience, and the relationship between technology and behaviour. Over many years, she has built a comprehensive empirical and qualitative dataset based on fieldwork conducted across all branches of the Norwegian Armed Forces.

She has published scientific and popular science articles, reports, book chapters and opinion pieces, and she frequently holds lectures and appears in podcasts. She regularly participates in conferences and panel discussions and serves as both a reviewer and external examiner.

Internationally, Hellum is active in the field of military sociology and contributes to several NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO) activities. Her work encompasses operational security and cyber security, military culture, gender, defence willingness, and human factors. She collaborates closely with research communities across the Nordic countries, Europe, and North America, and her work is applied in analytical processes and decision-support processes across civilian and military organisations.