Elections and Democracy
The Norwegian National Election Studies (NNES) started at the Institute for Social Research in the 1950s, where it is still housed.
For decades, many key contributions in election and democracy research have come from researchers at the ISF. These contributions cover areas such as political representation and participation, electoral systems, internet elections, referenda, political parties, and political institutions at the national and local levels. This research constitutes an important knowledge base for understanding political developments in Norway.
The research uses a broad spectrum of research methods that also include experimental methods. Today, this research is largely characterised by national and international co-operation and is more extensive than ever.
Projects
- Communication Power of Politicians in a Digital Age (CEPOL)
- Far right politics online and societal resilience (FREXO)
- NORPOL – is Norwegian society being polarized?
- Pandemic rhetoric, trust and social media — PAR-TS
- Polling station accessibility and suitability
- Populism, Inequality and Institutions
- Research on local party branches and non-partisan lists
- The 2021 Sámi Parliament Election Study
- The Norwegian Local Election Studies of 2019 and 2023
- The Norwegian National Election Studies (NNES) of 2017 and 2021
- The state of freedom of speech in Norway 2020–2021
Researchers



















