Louise Riis Andersen

Research areas

Please notice: Louise Riis Andersen is currently on leave.

Louise Riis Andersen’s research focuses on Danish foreign policy, the future of the United Nations and global order. Starting from the inherent dilemmas of liberal internationalism, she works to understand the growing crisis of rules-based multilateral cooperation.

Current research

Lesser powers in the global order

Can we govern the globalized world we have created, and can small states and middle- powers be co-creators of global order at a time when great power rivalries are mounting and geopolitics are flaring up?

To answer these questions, Louise Riis Andersen's research focuses on multilateralism and the development of the rule-based international order that emerged after 1945 and which today struggles with extensive crisis of legitimacy, efficiency and trust. Focusing especially on the UN, she studies the institutional practices and power dynamics that enable lesser powers to play a role in shaping the development of international norms and the maintenance of international peace and security.

In her work, Louise zooms in the shifting position of multilateralism in Danish foreign policy over time. She persistently seeks to put the case of Denmark in perspective by studying it against the backdrop of trends and processes in other countries.

Drawing on her previous research, which focused on the security-development nexus and international interventions in fragile states, Louise Riis Andersen has a particular interest in the inherent dilemmas of liberal internationalism. Central to this is the contested and confused understanding of state sovereignty and the many tensions that follow from seeking to create common rules and standards in a world of inequality and diversity.

To better understand change and continuity in Danish foreign policy, part of Louise Riis Andersen's work is aimed specifically at following Danish domestic policy and studying the Danish foreign policy decision-making process.