The research at the Department of Economic History and International Relations has two main areas: Economic History and International Relations. At the department work around 30 researchers and teachers. Within Economic History research covers how mankind has solved sustenance problems over time, both nationally and internationally. Within the overarching theme “Long-term reorganization of economic and social systems” three areas are central:

1) Why does economic development occur, and what explains it?
2) How does gender and economy interact in society? Within this field questions pertaining to the historical gender division of labor in the light of normative perceptions of male and female connotations on different levels of society.
3) How has the exploitation of natural resources over time interacted with the social
organization and technological restructuring and what are the societal effects of this?

The second main field is International Relations where research on global governance, development policy, security policy, and environmental policy are conducted. In close relation to International Relations, research on “International political economy” is a central theme: Research on the redistribution of natural resources and power in the global system from a historical perspective is prioritized. Three research areas are distinguished in research in “International political economy”:

1) The interplay and the friction between local and global arenas. Focus is on places and human beings’ roles in the global system and consequences of shifts in resources and power for economic and social development. Questions of gender, ethnicity and class are central.
2) How flows of commodities, services, human beings and ideas interact and shape relations between agents, nations and macro regions. A central question is how markets and political organization have been formed and organized in a historical perspective.
3) The relationship between natural resources, energy and security in the international system, the development of global markets for water, oil and nuclear power and the political security consequences of this development.