She receives project funding from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond

Jenny Hedström has been awarded funding from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) to spend a year developing her research on revolutions. The grant will enable her to write a book and conduct research at universities in Canada and Japan.

The funding has been awarded through the RJ Sabbatical programme, which enables researchers in the humanities and social sciences to complete research projects that are already at an advanced stage. For Jenny Hedström, Associate Professor at the Department of War Studies at the Swedish Defence University, this means a year dedicated to her research, while also exchanging knowledge and ideas with international colleagues.

“This is an incredible opportunity! The grant gives me the opportunity to focus on my research without interruption for an entire year. I will also be able to spend time abroad and exchange ideas with other researchers working in the same field”, she says.

During the year, she will first spend time at the University of British Columbia in Canada, where Professor Erin Baines is based. She will then continue to the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University in Japan. The grant also includes funding for workshops and participation in academic conferences.

Writing a book about revolutions

During her sabbatical, Jenny Hedström plans to write a book about revolutions, drawing on the Karenni revolution in Myanmar. She aims to explore how revolutions affect people's everyday lives and relationships, beyond the political transitions and military conflicts that often dominate research in this field.

“A revolution is not just about fighting, governments and major political turning points. It is also lived through everyday life, within families and in the forests and mountains where people flee, hide and struggle to make a living”, she says.

Her research explores, among other things, how people organise themselves, create security and develop new ideas about power and belonging during ongoing conflicts. Jenny Hedström believes that more knowledge is needed about how revolutions transform societies at a deeper level, rather than simply changing their political institutions.

“When questions of revolution and resistance become urgent, studying regimes and armies is not enough. We also need to understand how ordinary people live, survive and organise themselves during war, because it is often their actions that sustain resistance.”

Through the book, she hopes to contribute to a broader understanding of revolutions and their consequences for individuals and societies alike. Above all, however, she is looking forward to the opportunity to devote an entire year to her research.

“Being able to spend a whole year focusing on my research without interruption really is a dream come true”, she says.