Tröger currently works at the University of Tübingen, Germany, but as Wallenberg Academy Fellow she is affiliated with Södertörn University and will receive five years of funding.

“Receiving this grant is a huge privilege. It provides me with the opportunity to conduct thorough and independent historical research on a subject of great relevance,” she says.

This year, twenty-seven young researchers will benefit from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation’s five-year basic research grant, which gives them the chance to contribute groundbreaking knowledge by tackling difficult and long-term research questions.

“We are delighted that Mandy Tröger has been appointed a Wallenberg Academy Fellow at Södertörn University. It bolsters our ability to contribute vital knowledge in a time of complex challenges,” says Ylva Fältholm, Vice-Chancellor of Södertörn University.

How has NATO impacted national communication systems?

NATO not only plays a role in nations’ security and defence, but was also involved in how international communications systems were designed.

Tröger’s interdisciplinary project will investigate the role NATO has played in the expansion of national and international communication systems. By bringing together military studies, history, and media and communication research, she will investigate which conflicts and common interests have existed between NATO and its member states.

Using archive materials from the UK, Belgium, Germany and the US, among other places, she will also map the organisational structures within NATO that deal with communication.

“I am really looking forward to meeting and working with my colleagues in the Department of Media and Communication Studies and to getting to delve into the archives,” says Tröger.

About Wallenberg Academy Fellows

The programme, which is funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, has been established in close collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, the Swedish Academy and Swedish universities. The universities nominate researchers for the programme, the academies evaluate the candidates and present the most promising researchers to the foundation, which then makes the final selection. After the end of the first funding period, researchers may apply for an additional five years of funding. Since it started in 2012, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has allocated a total of nearly SEK 3.2 billion within the programme.