Institution
Roskilde University – Department of Social Sciences and Business
Dissertation title
Civil-Military Relations in Peace Operations: Delivering coherent responses to complex emergencies
Field of expertise
International relations, security governance, EU Common Security and Defence Policy, peace operations, civil-military relations, crisis management, conflict prevention, development cooperation, African affairs
Languages knowledge
Danish, English, German
What did the ESDC Doctoral School provide for you during your PhD program?
“The European Doctoral School offered me a unique platform to bridge my practical field experience with academic research. Through its extensive network, I gained access to senior CSDP experts and fellow researchers, enriching my understanding of EU security governance and providing real-world insights that strengthened my methodology. The Doctoral School’s events and network greatly enhanced my ability to integrate theory and practice in international security, and expanded my professional network across EU institutions and missions.”
Selected publications
- Zartsdahl, P.H. (2018). Civil–military synergies in EU crisis response and peacebuilding: a framework for analysis. Global Affairs, 4(2-3), 197–213.
- Petrov, P., Dijkstra, H., Đokić, K., Zartsdahl, P.H., & Mahr, E. (2019). All hands on deck: levels of dependence between the EU and other international organizations in peacebuilding. Journal of European Integration, 41(8), 1027–1043.
Profile
Dr Peter Zartsdahl is a practitioner-academic with extensive experience in international security and development. He is a civilian crisis management expert with over a decade of operational work in conflict-affected regions of Central and Eastern Africa and Eastern Europe, most recently Ukraine. As a former officer in the UN Mission in South Sudan, he was responsible for coordinating national civil assistance, and he has led multinational research teams evaluating EU and UN missions in Mali, South Sudan and Somalia. Between 2016 and 2022, he headed more than 20 short-term advisory and training teams on the management of peace operations across Africa.
On the academic front, Dr Zartsdahl earned his PhD in Global Politics (International Crisis Management) from Roskilde University, while serving as a Doctoral Fellow of the ESDC’s European Doctoral School on CSDP. His research focuses on integrated approaches to peace operations, examining whole-of-government and civil-military relations to deliver coherent responses to complex crises. Dr. Zartsdahl applies pragmatic and multidisciplinary methods to balance lived experiences from practice with organizational and conflict management theory to provide front of line recommendation for effectiveness.
In addition to his research, Dr Zartsdahl is a practitioner at heart. He served as a Senior Adviser to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he led an international advisory team based in Nairobi in support of the African Union’s Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF). Since 2024 he has served as Secretary General of Engineers Without Borders Denmark (EWB), focusing on technical-humanitarian assistance and emergency response in conflict-affected and fragile regions from Western Africa to Eastern Ukraine. As part of the EWB crisis response to Ukraine, Dr. Zartsdahl oversees the continuous deployment of Danish volunteer engineers from civil society to service at-risk communities and support local Ukrainian authorities in the reconstruction. Dr. Zartsdahl also chairs the board of Civil Society in Development (CISU), Denmark's largest member-based organization for CSOs engaged in global civil society work.
Through roles with the UN, EU networks, and NGOs, Dr Zartsdahl exemplifies the practitioner-academic profile – applying scholarly research to enhance field practices in international relations, security sector governance, and development cooperation. His work highlights the value of bridging academic expertise with hands-on experience to inform policy and improve operations in peace and security.