This text has been translated from Norwegian with the assistance of GPT UiO.
Over time, many countries have experienced a decline in democratic governance. Today, a smaller proportion of the world’s population lives in democratic states than just a few years ago. We are witnessing a global trend towards authoritarianism – even in countries once considered stable democracies, notably the United States. In this context, robust knowledge about the factors that support the development and sustainability of democratic institutions, processes, and civic engagement is of immense value. This is equally true for safeguarding academic freedom and the institutional autonomy of universities.
Recent, overt attacks on academic freedom and the autonomy of American universities serve as a stark reminder: the functioning of universities is closely intertwined with democracy as a system of governance. Neither democracy nor academic freedom can be taken for granted.
Against this backdrop, it is particularly meaningful that the University of Oslo’s Board has awarded this year’s Research Prize and Prize for Young Researchers to two democracy scholars from our faculty: Carl Henrik Knutsen and Sirianne Dahlum.
The Board highlights that Carl Henrik’s research is internationally leading. He has built a strong global network at the University of Oslo, recognised as a world-class research environment. Sirianne’s work focuses on citizens’ attitudes and behaviours, and she has shown that people may be more receptive to authoritarian regimes than previously assumed – underlining our vulnerability to democratic backsliding. Both are active voices in public debates on how democracy functions and what it requires to thrive.
These awards are a well-deserved recognition of Carl Henrik and Sirianne’s contributions to a vital field of research. They also help shine a spotlight on democracy research more broadly – both within our faculty and across the university.
The timing of these awards is significant. They serve as a reminder that democracy is not currently flourishing, and they offer an excellent opportunity to highlight the important democracy-related research taking place at the University of Oslo – not only at the Department of Political Science.
At a time when democracy is under pressure, and the consequences of democratic decline are becoming increasingly evident – including for the higher education sector – it is worth recalling that UiO:Democracy is one of the University of Oslo’s three interdisciplinary priority areas. This initiative reflects the university’s commitment to producing knowledge that strengthens democracy and its willingness to invest in this area.
UiO:Democracy supports both large and small research projects and organises a range of public events, including the annual Democracy Conference. Several research groups at our faculty have successfully secured funding from UiO:Democracy or are partners in projects led by other faculties.
Knowledge that contributes to strengthening democracy is more important now than ever. We are proud that our faculty is among the leading contributors to this essential work.