Glenn Diesen plans to leave Norway after years of political attacks, canceled lectures, and accusations of Russian propaganda. Now the professor is launching a fierce counterattack against the government, the media, and organizations he believes are trying to destroy his career. His stand has garnered widespread international support.
The Norwegian professor and geopolitical commentator Glenn Diesen has applied for unpaid leave for almost the entire year of 2027 to conduct research in China and Australia. According to the newspaper Khrono He wants to leave the country following a long-running campaign against his research on Russia, China, and the NATO military alliance.
In a comprehensive post on X Diesen describes how his academic career and reputation are repeatedly attacked in public. The reason? He questions the geopolitical game, the warmongering in the West, and NATO’s aggressive expansion. He directs sharp criticism at the politicians and media outlets that attempt to silence objective debates with personal attacks and accusations of spreading ”propaganda” for other powers.
Criticizes the government's methods
Diesen argues that his research is, in practice, being ”criminalized” by those in power. He describes how Norway’s defense minister accused him of spreading Russian propaganda following his analysis that NATO’s aggressive eastward expansion in Europe contributed to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022. The minister is also said to have lashed out at two podcast hosts simply because they interviewed Diesen.
”By attacking an individual academic for questioning official truths, the government has already claimed a monopoly on the truth.”, writes Diesen.
Lectures are suspended—the employer is under pressure
He also describes how his public appearances have been thwarted. On one occasion, an event at a church was canceled because he was scheduled to appear alongside the former CIA officer John Kiriakou. When an alternative venue was found, a journalist spread false information claiming that that event had also been canceled.
He also accuses the Norwegian Helsinki Committee—a ”human rights organization” with ties to the government and the U.S.—of trying to get him fired, stop his lectures, and publish a photo of his home. The organization has previously accused him of spreading Russian propaganda.
He also levels harsh criticism at the Norwegian tax-funded broadcaster NRK’s ”investigation” of his statements regarding the war in Ukraine. He believes that the journalists distorted his claims that only 20 percent of Ukrainians wanted to join NATO between 1991 and 2014, the Western powers’ war aims, and how the West sabotaged the peace negotiations in Istanbul in 2022.
According to Diesen, information supporting his argument has been omitted, while his analyses have been dismissed as ”disinformation.” He points out that those who attack him are desperately trying to protect the established narrative of the war in Ukraine and to suppress perceptions and opinions that challenge it.
Strong support—despite the attacks
What has happened to Diesen has sparked strong reactions around the world. One of these is the British politician George Galloway, who, like Diesen, is an outspoken critic of the geopolitical game.
”Time for exile, Glenn”, Galloway writes.
The university denies that Diesen's research is being criminalized and states that no research projects have been rejected. A decision on his request for a leave of absence is expected in November.
Glenn Diesen is a hero—nothing less.
There should be more people of his caliber!
It’s almost a given in the final stages of the war—tough times lie ahead for the warmongers in the EU!
There isn't much democracy left in Western Europe today.