Eirik Wig Sundvall

Eirik Wig Sundvall serves as Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Oslo's Faculty of Humanities, specializing in 20th century political and labor history with a transnational perspective. His academic trajectory reflects deep engagement with Cold War-era ideological conflicts and labor movement dynamics across national boundaries.

His educational background includes:

• Master's degree in history from University of Oslo (2013)
• Doctorate in history from University of Agder (2020)

Sundvall's research centers on Norwegian and international labor history from the Russian Revolution to the Cold War, with particular emphasis on transnational ideological influence, network building, and propaganda cooperation. His work examines how the Norwegian Labor Party constructed anti-communist narratives during the Cold War while navigating complex transatlantic relationships. He has made significant contributions to understanding the influence of Red Vienna on Norwegian socialist thought and the development of anti-totalitarian discourse within Scandinavian political movements. His methodology combines archival research with network analysis to trace how political concepts crossed national borders.

His publication pattern reveals evolving sophistication in analyzing transnational connections, moving from early studies of conceptual frameworks like totalitarianism to more recent investigations of specific propaganda campaigns and individual connectors within transatlantic networks. The trajectory shows increasing attention to how intelligence services intersected with labor movements during the Cold War.

Sundvall teaches multiple courses including HIS1400 (Recent history from about 1800 to the present day), HIS2322 (Reaction, fascism and right-wing extremism), HIS2359 (Ideology and terror), and HIS2370 (War and Peace, Rebellion and Liberation. The Great Powers and the Global Cold War), demonstrating how his research directly informs his pedagogy. He is involved with research groups focused on Contemporary Norwegian and International History, Democracy, Freedom and Boundaries, and Experiencing American Democracy.