Liberal Democracy Under Pressure
We raise the big questions concerning challenges to established liberal democracies in our time. The purpose is to contribute to a deeper understanding of these challenges and to critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of current knowledge and research on democracy.
PROGRAM
11:00-12:15 Registration and lunch
12:15-12:30 Opening of KODEM and welcome by hosts Jonas Stein (UiT) & Anne Lise Fimreite (UiB), Margareth Hagen (Rector, UiB) and Synnøve Kristine Nepstad Bendixsen (Dean at the Social Science Faculty, UiB)
12:30–13:15 Keynote lecture by Diana Mutz: Winners and Losers: The Psychology of Foreign Trade
13:15–13:45 KODEM-presentations:
- Åsta Nordø (UiB): “Voters’ attitudes towards climate change policies”
- Soran H. Dahl (UiB): “Hearing the other side on immigration”
- Johannes Bergh (ISF): “Political engagement and polarization among young voters”
13:45–14:15 Panel debate v/Diana Mutz, Åsta Nordø (UiB), Soran H. Dahl (UiB), Johannes Bergh (ISF), led by Elisabeth Ivarsflaten
14:15–14:45 Pause
14:45–15:30 Keynote lecture by Don Moynihan: Trump's Assault on the Administrative State
15:30–16:00 KODEM-presentations:
- Tobias Bach (UiO): “How do citizens and elites view the politicization of administrative leaders?”
- Marta R. Eidheim (UiB): “The education and centre-periphery cleavages as a challenge to the impartial state”
- Sveinung Arnesen (NORCE): “AI and state legitimacy”
16:00–16:30 Panel debate v/Don Moynihan, Tobias Bach (UiO), Marta R. Eidheim (UiB), Sveinung Arnesen (NORCE), led by Kristoffer Kolltveit (UiO)
16:30–16:45 Pause
16:45–17:30 Panel debate (in Norwegian): Knowledge and Expertise in Liberal Democracy v/Camilla Stoltenberg (NORCE), Margareth Hagen (Rector, UiB), Sveinung Rotevatn (Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and former Minister of Climate and Environment (2020–2021), mod: Jonas Stein (Vice-Rector for Dissemination at UiT The Arctic University of Norway)
Part I: Winners and Losers: The Psychology of Foreign Trade
Diana C. Mutz (external link), Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication, Director, Institute for the Study of Citizens and Politics, University of Pennsylvania
One of the great challenges of our time is that the international world order is in play both due to acts of war and dramatic changes in US trade and foreign policy. At the kick-off conference we will get an extremely timely keynote lecture by the award-winning American political scientist, Professor Diana Mutz (external link). In one of her prescient books, Winners and Losers: The Psychology of Foreign Trade, she shows that attitudes towards international trade among American voters are less about their economic interests and more about psychological predispositions.
Her insights will help raise challenging questions for further discussion—about the relationship between political leadership and the will of the people, between politics and expertise, and how research on democracy should respond to the fact that the distinction between foreign and domestic politics is becoming less important.
Part II: Trump’s Assault on the Administrative State
Don Moynihan (external link), Ford School’s J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan
Another of the great challenges of our time is that democracy as a form of governance is under significant pressure from multiple directions. An obvious example is the rise of
populist and autocratic governments that weaken key institutions such as the courts and public administration. Another example is technological change in the form of artificial intelligence and algorithm-driven platforms, largely propelled by a handful of giant technology companies, most of which are based in the United States. Elon Musk with a chainsaw in the American state apparatus is a striking image that illustrates this challenge.
For the kick-off conference, we have invited a world-leading expert on public policy and administration, Professor Donald Moynihan (external link), to give a keynote lecture on the current situation in the American state apparatus and the Trump administration’s political attacks on public administration. The lecture will be the starting point for a broader conversation about political-ideological and technology-driven threats to impartial institutions and independent truth-seeking knowledge.
Part III: Panel Debate on Knowledge and Expertise in Liberal Democracy
To conclude the day, Jonas Stein, Vice-Rector for Dissemination at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Head of Communication for KODEM, will moderate a panel discussion on Knowledge and Expertise in the Liberal Democracy.
The panel will feature: Camilla Stoltenberg, CEO of NORCE; Margareth Hagen, Rector of the University of Bergen; and Sveinung Rotevatn, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and former Minister of Climate and Environment (2020–2021).
KODEM
The kick-off conference “Liberal Democracy Under Pressure” marks the beginning of the new national research infrastructure for democracy studies in Norway, Coordinated Online Panels for Research on Democracy and Governance (KODEM) (external link)
KODEM is a new digital national research infrastructure established through collaboration between 10 Norwegian universities and research institutions.
KODEM will build and maintain four nationally representative online panels covering key aspects of democracy and society: citizens, elected politicians, public administration employees, journalists, and media organizations.
Read more about each panel:
Norwegian Panel of Politicians