Kari Steen-Johnsen

• Kaakinen, Markus; Oksanen, Atte; Kusher Gadarian, Shana; Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Herreros, Francisco; Winsvold, Marte Slagsvold; Enjolras, Bernard Louis & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Online Hate and Zeitgeist of Fear: A Five-Country Longitudinal Analysis of Hate Exposure and Fear of Terrorism After the Paris Terrorist Attacks in 2015. Political Psychology. . doi: 10.1111/pops.12732 Full text in Research Archive.
• Karlsen, Rune & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Nyheter, sosiale nettverk og lokalpolitisk orientering i lokalvalgkamp, I: Jo Saglie; Signe Bock Segaard & Dag Arne Christensen (red.),  Lokalvalget 2019: Nye kommuner - nye valg?.  Cappelen Damm Akademisk.  ISBN 9788202727840.  Kapittel 5.  s 117 - 142
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Winsvold, Marte Slagsvold & Enjolras, Bernard (2021). Tillit etter terror i Norge, Frankrike og Spania. Betydningen av narrativer og politisk kontekst. Norsk sosiologisk tidsskrift.  5(3), s 12- 27 . doi: 10.18261/issn.2535-2512-2021-03-02 Full text in Research Archive.
• Karlsen, Rune; Beyer, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Do High-Choice Media Environments Facilitate News Avoidance? A Longitudinal Study 1997–2016. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. . doi: 10.1080/08838151.2020.1835428 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  The well-known “high-choice news avoidance thesis” and the alternative “network structure perspective” stipulate somewhat conflicting expectations about news consumption in today’s digital media systems. Based on annual survey data from Norway, the article examines news avoidance from 1997–2016, a period when digitalization processes transformed the media environment. Results show that news avoidance increased only marginally. The decrease in use of traditional media is largely compensated for by online news. However, news avoidance is increasingly polarized along educational lines, and it is unclear to what degree online news consumption equals traditional news media consumption in qualitative terms.

• Makkonen, Anna; Oksanen, Atte; Gadarian, Shana Kushner; Herreros, Francisco; Winsvold, Marte; Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Fear-triggering effects of terrorism threats: Cross-country comparison in a terrorism news scenario experiment. Personality and Individual Differences.  161 . doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.109992 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Terrorist attacks can instigate widespread and long-lasting fear. Mass media can enforce fear by framing the events and affecting their perceptions. We implemented a news experiment to investigate the fear-triggering effects of different types of terrorist threats. We manipulated the type of terrorist group in three scenarios: a homegrown Islamist group, a foreign Islamist group, and a domestic far-right group. The fourth group served as the control group. The data were collected in early 2017 from Finland (N = 2024), Norway (N = 2063), Spain (N = 2000), France (N = 2003), and the United States (N = 2039). The results showed that in Finland and France, fear was higher in groups primed with jihadist scenarios. Ethnic intolerance was associated with fear related to jihadist news across all of the countries. Institutional trust was positively associated with fear, whereas interpersonal trust was negatively associated when significant. Moreover, highly neurotic individuals were likely to fear more across the cultural context or threat type. The results support previous studies on two cross-culturally merging dimensions of personality and emotions; neuroticism, and negative affect.

• Enjolras, Bernard; Gadarian, Shana & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Social Media Use and Fear Levels after the Paris 2015 Attacks: A Comparative Study, In Miriam F. Elman; Catherine Gerard; Galia Golan & Louis Kriesberg (ed.),  Overcoming Intractable Conflicts : New Approaches to Constructive Transformations.  Rowman & Littlefield International.  ISBN 978-1786610737.  Chapter 7.  s 107 - 122
• Enjolras, Bernard; Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Herreros, Francisco; Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Winsvold, Marte; Gadarian, Shana & Oksanen, Atte (2019). Does trust prevent fear in the aftermath of terrorist attacks?. Perspectives on Terrorism.  13(4), s 39- 55 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  This article examines the potentially buffering effect of generalized social trust on fear in the aftermath of terrorist attacks and in situations of terrorist threat. It draws on comparative, longitudinal survey data, examining the cases of the 2011 Utøya terrorist attack in Norway, the 2016 Nice attack in France and the 2017 Barcelona attack in Spain; it also draws on a comparative news story experiment that examined the bolstering effect of social trust in relation to terrorist threat. The results show that high levels of generalized social trust before exposure to terrorism are linked to lower levels of fear after the event. This relationship holds for the longitudinal survey data and the news story experiment, and across national contexts. This result indicates a general bolstering effect of social trust. However, the size of effects vary between national contexts and incidents of terrorism. This indicates that the effect of trust is dependent on the social and cultural structures of trust in the different countries and on specific factors related to the attacks.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Sundet, Vilde Schanke & Enjolras, Bernard (2019). Theorizing Policy-Industry Processes : A Media Policy Field Approach. European Journal of Communication. . doi: 10.1177/0267323119830047 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  This article develops a theoretical perspective to study the conditions for media policy formation under the condition of digitalization – the Media Policy Field approach – building on an organizational field approach in combination with theories of policy development. The theory of strategic action fields offers a meso-level view of how actors in media fields interact and how their respective opportunities for influencing policy are structured by the state of the field and their respective positions. This theory is linked with the Multiple Streams Approach, which maintains that change occurs when policy entrepreneurs connect problem, policy and politics streams, and create policy windows. The Media Policy Field approach proposes three analytical foci for the study of current media policy processes: collective frames, incumbent and challenger roles and policy windows. Empirical strategies for pursuing this theoretical programme are discussed.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Winsvold, Marte (2019). Global Terrorism and the Civil Sphere in Norway: Renegotiating Civil Codes, In Jeffrey C. Alexander; Anna Lund & Andrea Voyer (ed.),  The Nordic Civil Sphere.  Polity Press.  ISBN 978-1509538843.  Chapter 9.  s 229 - 255 Full text in Research Archive.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Winsvold, Marte (2019). Islamist Terrorism, Out-Group Trust, and Motivation to Control Prejudice. International Journal of Public Opinion Research. . doi: 10.1093/ijpor/edz014 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Using Norwegian survey experiments (N ¼ 1,541), we examined the relationship between Islamist terrorist threats and trust in out-groups, focusing on how this relationship was conditioned by the ‘‘motivation to control prejudice’’ (MCP) and emotions of anxiety. After exposure to a news story describing an Islamist threat scenario, the treatment group reported higher levels of trust in out-groups than the control group. High levels of MCP were linked to higher levels of trust; anxiety played an ambiguous role. Although anxiety had a strong negative effect on trust in out-groups, the positive effect of MCP increased with rising anxiety levels, thus making the people who were most scared also more trusting. Activation of social norms may, thus, bolster distrust.

• Sundet, Vilde Schanke; Ihlebæk, Karoline Andrea & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Policy windows and converging frames: a longitudinal study of digitalization and media policy change. Media, Culture and Society.  s 1- 16 . doi: 10.1177/0163443719867287 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  This study analyzes how media industry players have influenced media political solutions to digitalization, using data from the daily press and policy documents in the period from 1998 to 2017 as sources. It concentrates on two specific areas of media policy: public service broadcasting (PSB) and press subsidies. Based on a media policy field approach, this study identifies key collective frames and the players that promote them, and shows how policy windows are created. The study finds that there is strong continuity in terms of the basic frames used to discuss media policy and in the actors involved in creating collective frames, which means that the incumbents maintain their positions. Converging frames that include several industry problems are activated to an increasing degree to initiate and influence media policy actions.

• Wollebæk, Dag; Karlsen, Rune; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2019). Anger, Fear, and Echo Chambers: The Emotional Basis for Online Behavior. Social Media + Society.  5(2) . doi: 10.1177/2056305119829859 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Emotions, such as anger and fear, have been shown to influence people’s political behavior. However, few studies link emotions specifically to how people debate political issues and seek political information online. In this article, we examine how anger and fear are related to politics-oriented digital behavior, attempting to bridge the gap between the thus far disconnected literature on political psychology and the digital media. Based on survey data, we show that anger and fear are connected to distinct behaviors online. Angry people are more likely to engage in debates with people having both similar and opposing views. They also seek out information confirming their views more frequently. Anxious individuals, by contrast, tend to seek out information contradicting their opinions. These findings reiterate predictions made in the extant literature concerning the role of emotions in politics. Thus, we argue that anger reinforces echo chamber dynamics and trench warfare dynamics in the digital public sphere, while fear counteracts these dynamics.

• Beyer, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2018). Nasjonale organisasjoners bruk av sosiale medier. Muligheter og barrierer for bruk, I: Bernard Enjolras & Ivar Eimhjellen (red.),  Fra kollektiv til konnektiv handling? Nye former for samfunnsengasjement og kollektiv handling i Norge.  Cappelen Damm Akademisk.  ISBN 9788202590420.  Kapittel 9.  s 235 - 270
• Eimhjellen, Ivar; Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Folkestad, Bjarte & Ødegård, Guro (2018). Changing patterns of volunteering and participation, In Bernard Enjolras & Kristin Strømsnes (ed.),  Scandinavian Civil Society and Social Transformations : The Case of Norway.  Springer.  ISBN 9783319772639.  Kapittel 2.  s 25 - 65
• Enjolras, Bernard; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Beyer, Audun (2018). Forholdet mellom online- og offline-deltakelse i frivillige organisasjoner, I: Bernard Enjolras & Ivar Eimhjellen (red.),  Fra kollektiv til konnektiv handling? Nye former for samfunnsengasjement og kollektiv handling i Norge.  Cappelen Damm Akademisk.  ISBN 9788202590420.  Kapittel 4.  s 101 - 126 Full text in Research Archive.
• Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2018). Is ethnic diversity bad for any dimension of social capital? Trust, networks, and voluntarism in Norwegian communities. Scandinavian Political Studies.  41(3), s 336- 366 . doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12127 Full text in Research Archive.
• Oksanen, Atte; Kaakinen, Markus; Minkkinen, Jaana; Räsänen, Pekka; Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2018). Perceived societal fear and cyberhate after the November 2015 Paris Terrorist Attacks. Terrorism and Political Violence. . doi: 10.1080/09546553.2018.1442329 Full text in Research Archive.
• Engelstad, Fredrik; Larsen, Håkon; Rogstad, Jon & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Introduction: The Public Sphere in Change. Institutional Perspectives on Neo-corporatist Society, In Fredrik Engelstad; Håkon Larsen; Jon Rogstad & Kari Steen-Johnsen (ed.),  Institutional Change in the Public Sphere: Views on the Nordic Model.  De Gruyter Open.  ISBN 978-3-11-054633-0.  1.  s 1 - 21 Full text in Research Archive.
• Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). The digital transformation of the political public sphere: a sociological perspective, In Fredrik Engelstad; Håkon Larsen; Jon Rogstad & Kari Steen-Johnsen (ed.),  Institutional Change in the Public Sphere: Views on the Nordic Model.  De Gruyter Open.  ISBN 978-3-11-054633-0.  Chapter 5.  s 99 - 117 Full text in Research Archive.
• Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Willingness to discuss the publishing of religious cartoons. Spiral of silence in the private and public spheres, In Arnfinn Haagensen Midtbøen; Kari Steen-Johnsen & Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud (ed.),  Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere.  Cappelen Damm Akademisk.  ISBN 978-82-02-53503-2.  Chapter 3.  s 77 - 108 Full text in Research Archive.
• Karlsen, Rune; Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Wollebæk, Dag & Enjolras, Bernard (2017). Echo chamber and trench warfare dynamics in online debates. European Journal of Communication.  32(3), s 257- 273 . doi: 10.1177/0267323117695734 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  In this article, we take issue with the claim by Sunstein and others that online discussion takes place in echo chambers, and suggest that the dynamics of online debates could be more aptly described by the logic of ‘trench warfare’, in which opinions are reinforced through contradiction as well as confirmation. We use a unique online survey and an experimental approach to investigate and test echo chamber and trench warfare dynamics in online debates. The results show that people do indeed claim to discuss with those who hold opposite views from themselves. Furthermore, our survey experiments suggest that both confirming and contradicting arguments have similar effects on attitude reinforcement. Together, this indicates that both echo chamber and trench warfare dynamics – a situation where attitudes are reinforced through both confirmation and disconfirmation biases – characterize online debates. However, we also find that two-sided neutral arguments have weaker effects on reinforcement than one-sided confirming and contradicting arguments, suggesting that online debates could contribute to collective learning and qualification of arguments.

• Kumlin, Staffan; Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Leap of Faith or Judgment of Deservingness? Generalized Trust, Trust in Immigrants and Support for the Welfare State, In Wim van Oorschot; Femke Roosma; Bart Meuleman & Tim Reeskens (ed.),  The Social Legitimacy of Targeted Welfare: Attitudes to welfare Deservingness.  Edward Elgar Publishing.  ISBN 9781785367205.  Chapter 15.  s 281 - 296
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Boundary-making in the public sphere: Contestations of free speech, In Arnfinn Haagensen Midtbøen; Kari Steen-Johnsen & Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud (ed.),  Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere.  Cappelen Damm Akademisk.  ISBN 978-82-02-53503-2.  Ch. 1.  s 13 - 43 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right and considered a core value in liberal democracies. However, it is also one of our time’s most contested issues, constantly claimed either to be too wide-ranging, allowing continuous repression of minority groups, or too limited – restricting dissent and democratic deliberation. In this book we depart from conventional approaches of free speech, which tend to focus on whether specific types of public talk should be considered legally allowed or not. Instead, we study how boundaries of free speech are contested and negotiated through social processes which silence certain groups and opinions while amplifying others. Theoretically, we build on the concepts of boundaries and boundary-work. The study of symbolic and social boundaries has a long tradition in sociological and anthropological research, but is less used in current scholarship on free speech. We believe that this field of research can benefit from employing this perspective because it allows us to study the social processes through which boundaries of free speech are drawn, maintained and changed. How are boundaries of free speech defined – explicitly or implicitly – by institutional elites? And how are these boundaries perceived by the mainstream public and from the margins of the public sphere? These questions direct our attention to fundamental dynamics of the public sphere: Public debates are shaped by social mechanisms which silence certain groups and opinions, while amplifying the voice of others. These mechanisms create boundaries that are not (primarily) defined through judicial paragraphs, but rather barriers made of different types of perceived pressure, self-censorship, exclusion and stigma. Sometimes boundaries of free speech appear bright and clear-cut, based on a strong consensus regarding what opinions and groups are considered legitimate or illegitimate in the public sphere. However, they are more often blurred and ambiguous, leaving room both for explicit conflict over where the boundaries are or should be drawn, and for individual maneuvering in the public sphere based on assumptions about the subtle rules defining ‘the game’ of public participation. In a sociological perspective, we argue, the public sphere can be seen as a locus of ‘boundary struggles’: Constant debates over the boundaries of free speech shape the dynamics of public debates and gradually change what actors and opinions are granted a legitimate space in the public sphere.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2016). Ytringsfrihetens grenser i det flerkulturelle Norge. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift.  33(1-2), s 21- 33 . doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-3053-2016-01-02-03 Show summary

  Normative diskusjoner om ytringsfrihet bygger gjerne på bestemte empiriske forutsetninger, blant dem antakelser om at offentlig debatt enten har en «rensende» eller en «ekskluderende» karakter. Disse forutsetningene er imidlertid i liten grad undersøkt empirisk. I denne artikkelen bygger vi på surveyundersøkelser og kvalitative data og diskuterer den norske offentlighetens virkemåte, med særlig vekt på erfaringene til etniske og religiøse minoriteter. Funnene gir empirisk surstoff til normative diskusjoner om ytringsfrihetens grenser i det flerkulturelle Norge.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2016). The Fear of Offending: Social Norms and Freedom of Expression. Society (New Brunswick).  53(4), s 352- 362 . doi: 10.1007/s12115-016-0044-2
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Ihlebæk, Karoline Andrea & Enjolras, Bernard (2016). News on new platforms: Norwegian journalists face the digital age, In Jeffrey C. Alexander; Elizabeth Butler Breese & Mariá Luengo (ed.),  The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered: Democratic Culture, Professional Codes, Digital Future.  Cambridge University Press.  ISBN 9781107448513.  10.  s 190 - 210 Show summary

  This collection of original essays brings a dramatically different perspective to bear on the contemporary 'crisis of journalism'. Rather than seeing technological and economic change as the primary causes of current anxieties, The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered draws attention to the role played by the cultural commitments of journalism itself. Linking these professional ethics to the democratic aspirations of the broader societies in which journalists ply their craft, it examines how the new technologies are being shaped to sustain value commitments rather than undermining them. Recent technological change and the economic upheaval it has produced are coded by social meanings. It is this cultural framework that actually transforms these 'objective' changes into a crisis. The book argues that cultural codes not only trigger sharp anxiety about technological and economic changes, but provide pathways to control them, so that the democratic practices of independent journalism can be sustained in new forms.

• Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2015). Democratic governance and citizenship, In Philippe Eynaud; Jean-Louis Laville & Dennis Young (ed.),  Civil Society, the Third Sector and Social Enterprise: Governance and Democracy.  Routledge.  ISBN 9781138013315.  Chapter 11.  s 191 - 204
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2015). Social Media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOS): Transformed Challenges for Governance, In Hugo Asencio & Rui Sun (ed.),  Cases on Strategic Social Media Utilization in the Nonprofit Sector.  IGI Global.  ISBN 9781466681880.  Chapter 9.  s 237 - 260
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2015). Social research and Big Data – the tension between opportunities and realities, In Hallvard Fossheim & Helene C. Ingierd (ed.),  Internet Research Ethics.  Cappelen Damm Akademisk.  ISBN 978-82-02-48035-6.  Kapittel.  s 122 - 140

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• Engelstad, Fredrik; Larsen, Håkon; Rogstad, Jon & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (ed.) (2017). Institutional Change in the Public Sphere: Views on the Nordic Model. De Gruyter Open.  ISBN 978-3-11-054633-0.  269 s. Show summary

  The main focus of the book is institutional change in the Scandinavian model, with special emphasis on Norway. There are many reasons to pay closer attention to the Norwegian case when it comes to analyses of changes in the public sphere. In the country’s political history, the arts and the media played a particular role in the processes towards sovereignty at the beginning of the 20th century. On a par with the other Scandinavian countries, Norway is in the forefront in the world in the distribution and uses of Internet technology. As an extreme case, the most corporatist society within the family of the “Nordic Model”, it offers an opportunity both for intriguing case studies and for challenging and refining existing theory on processes of institutional change in media policy and cultural policy. It supplements two recent, important books on political economy in Scandinavia: Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity (Kathleen Thelen, 2014), and The Political Construction of Business Interests (Cathie Jo Martin and Duane Swank, 2013). There are further reasons to pay particular attention to the Scandinavian, and more specifically the Norwegian cases: (i) They are to varying degrees neo-corporatist societies, characterized by ongoing bargaining over social and political reform processes. From a theoretical perspective this invites reflections which, to some extent, are at odds with the dominant conceptions of institutional change. Neither models of path dependency nor models of aggregate, incremental change focus on the continuous social bargaining over institutional change. (ii) Despite recent processes of liberalization, common to the Western world as a whole, corporatism implies a close connection between state, public sphere, cultural life, and religion. This also means that institutions are closely bundled, in an even stronger way than assumed for example in the Varieties of Capitalism literature. Furthermore, we only have scarce insight in the way the different spheres of corporatism are connected and interact. In the proposed edited volume we have collected historical-institutional case studies from a broad set of social fields (a detailed outline of contents and contributors is attached): • Critical assessments of Jürgen Habermas’ theory of the public sphere • Can the public sphere be considered an institution? • The central position of the public sphere in social and political change in Norway • Digital transformations and effects of the growing PR industry on the public sphere • Institutionalization of social media in local politics and voluntary organizations • Legitimation work in the public sphere • freedom of expression and warning in the workplace • “Return of religion” to the public sphere, and its effects.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (ed.) (2017). Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere. Cappelen Damm Akademisk.  ISBN 978-82-02-53503-2.  323 s. Show summary

  Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right and a core value in liberal democracies. It is also, however, one of our time’s most contested issues, constantly claimed to be either too wide-ranging, at the peril of vulnerable minority groups, or too limited, restricting dissent and democratic deliberation. Employing a sociological lens on the dynamics of the public sphere, this book investigates how the boundaries of free speech are contested and negotiated through social processes which silence certain groups and opinions while amplifying others. The book focuses on key topics in current free speech debates – immigration, religion and culture. Drawing on population-representative survey data, media analysis and in-depth interviews, the authors paint a broad picture of how boundaries of free speech are defined and maintained, experienced and challenged, in the rapidly changing Norwegian public sphere. The analyses in this book build on four years of work on a large-scale project called The Status of Freedom of Speech in Norway, funded and initiated by the Fritt Ord foundation. The book presents the key findings of the second round of this project.

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• Fladmoe, Audun; Wollebæk, Dag; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Hva mener befolkningen om ytringsfrihetens grenser?. Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  I denne publikasjonen tar vi for oss noen nøkkelspørsmål knyttet til vilkårene for ytringsfrihet i befolkningen. Vi undersøker hvor ulike grupper trekker grensene for hva slags ytringer som kan aksepteres, hvordan opinionsklimaet oppleves, samt folks erfaringer med ubehagelige kommentarer og trusler. Til sammen kan analysene gi en forståelse av hvilke grenser befolkningen setter for hva som er akseptable ytringer, hvordan de opplever sin egen ytringsfrihet, og hva omfanget av erfart netthets er i ulike grupper. Vi kan også se hvordan disse forholdene har endret seg over tid.

• Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Heidar, Knut (2019). Terrorism and Attitudes Toward Out-groups: A Political Perspective. Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  How does terrorism affect attitudes towards out-groups? While research has found negative effects, these effects may be dependent on more factors than has been acknowledged so far. This thesis proposes a framework for understanding the consequences of terrorist attacks consisting of three parts; the terrorists’ group background, the framing of attacks and the public’s prior attitudes. Three empirical studies of surveys after attacks and of survey experiments explore this framework. The first investigates the reaction to the July 22, 2011 attacks in Norway and shows that the political response and people’s prior attitudes were central to the increase in out-group trust afterwards. The second studies the Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher attacks in Paris in 2015, showing that while people in France did not increase their opposition to immigration, people outside France did. This is interpreted in light of the French response with its emphasis on republican values such as tolerance. The last paper explores how the terrorist threat affects for support for counterterrorism and shows that this support increases even for measures that target other groups than the ones creating the threat

• Fladmoe, Audun; Sætrang, Synne; Eimhjellen, Ivar; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2016). Nordmenns bidrag i flyktningsituasjonen 2015/2016. Rapport fra Senter for forskning på sivilsamfunn og frivillig sektor. 2016-6. Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Basert på en spørreundersøkelse om frivillig innsats gjennomført før og etter de økte flyktning- og aslylankomstene høsten 2015, ser vi i denne rapporten nærmere på nordmenns bidrag i forbindelse med flyktningsituasjonen. Hvordan ble folk rekruttert, hvem bidro og hva gjorde de? Hvilken rolle spilte nye, uformelle initiativer sammenlignet med de tradisjonelle organisasjonene? Rapporten viser at om lag én av tre nordmenn bidro, enten med å donere penger, klær, mat og utstyr, eller med frivillig innsats. De aller fleste som bidro var tidligere organisasjonsfrivillige, og det var også en overrepresentasjon av høyt utdannede og personer som stemmer på Rødt, SV, MDG eller Krf. Blant «nye» frivillige (som ikke deltok i organisasjonsfrivillighet i 2014) var kvinner overrepresentert. Selv om nye frivillige initiativ og sosiale medier har fått mye oppmerksomhet, var tradisjonelle frivillige organisasjoner den viktigste kanalen for bidragene. Mer enn halvparten bidro i regi av en frivillig organisasjon, mens til sammen én av fem bidro i regi av et nyopprettet initiativ eller gjennom egenorganisering. Studien understreker hvordan nye og mer uformelle organiseringsformer fremstår som et viktig supplement til de etablerte frivillige organisasjonene. Mens de sistnevnte særlig bidro med innsamling av penger, har nyopprettede initiativ i større grad organisert innsamling og utdeling av klær, mat og utstyr. Omfanget av bidragene viser at det norske sivilsamfunnet har et stort mobiliseringspotensiale i krevende situasjoner.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Fladmoe, Audun & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2016). Ytringsfrihetens grenser: Sosiale normer og politisk toleranse. Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Denne rapporten handler om ytringsfrihetens grenser i Norge. Diskusjoner om ytringsfrihet handler gjerne om hvorvidt de grensene som settes av aktuell lov er de adekvate, og om hvilke sosiale og etiske grenser som kan eller bør trekkes innenfor rammene jussen setter. Hvor de sosiale og juridiske grensene for ytringsfriheten går aktualiseres blant annet i spenningsforholdet mellom retten til å ytre seg fritt på den ene siden, og retten til vern mot hatytringer og forfølgelse på etnisk, religiøst eller annet grunnlag, på den andre. Det er dette spenningsforholdet som særlig er temaet for denne rapporten. Rapporten springer ut av prosjektet «Status for ytringsfriheten i Norge – Fritt Ords Monitorprosjekt», som nå er i sin andre runde. I den første runden av prosjektet studerte vi holdninger til og erfaringer med ytringsfrihet i den norske befolkningen og utvalgte grupper, i en bredt anlagt studie. I denne andre runden går vi dypere inn i de prosessene der grensene trekkes for hva som kan ytres og ikke ytres i norsk offentlighet.

• Enjolras, Bernard; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Karlsen, Rune (2014). Valgkampen 2013 på Twitter : Sosiale medier som kritisk offentlighet. Rapport - Institutt for samfunnsforskning. 2014:003. Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Rapporten analyserer aktiviteten på Twitter under valgkampen 2013, med utgangspunkt i alle twittermeldinger om partier, partiledere og utvalgte politiske saker i perioden 01.06 til 08.09.13. Vi viser hvilken oppmerksomhet de ulike partiene og partilederne fikk i valgkampens ulike faser, og hvordan denne oppmerksomheten henger sammen med den TV-sendte valgkampen og med andre forhold. Vi analyserer også tonen i det som tvitres, og fordelingen mellom positive, negative og nøytrale twittermeldinger om partier og partiledere. Til slutt analyserer vi også partiledernes effektivitet i å nå ut til velgerne. Basert på disse analysene stiller vi tre spørsmål om mulige endringer i norsk valgkamp: om Twitter vil bidra til at styrkeforholdet mellom partiene endres, til at mediene får konkurranse i sin makt til å sette agenda, og til endringer i relasjonen mellom partier, politikere og velgere. Vi mener at det foregår en parallell forsterkning og utjevning når det gjelder styrkeforhold mellom partier og partiledere. De største partiene får størst oppmerksomhet, men også mindre aktører kan nå ut med sine budskap under gitte omstendigheter. twitteragendaen er nært, men ikke entydig, knyttet til den TV-sendte valgkampen. Overordnet fremstår Twitter som et kritisk forum, som utvider offentligheten og gir opphav til en mer mangfoldig debatt. -

• Enjolras, Bernard; Rasmussen, Terje & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (red.) (2014). Status for ytringsfriheten i Norge: Hovedrapport fra prosjektet. Rapport – Institutt for samfunnsforskning. -. Full text in Research Archive.

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• Haugsgjerd, Atle; Karlsen, Rune; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Beyer, Audun (2021). Misinformed or uninformed? A panel-study of how the use of social media as a news source influences political knowledge.
• Karlsen, Rune; Sundet, Vilde Schanke & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Slik er den nye digitale offentligheten. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Den digitale valgkampen 2021.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Hvordan vil sosiale medier prege valgåret 2021?.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Krenk? En samtale om unges ytringsrom i dag.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Populisme og politisk kommunikasjon - kommentar til Toril Aalberg.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021, 12. mars). Sosial og politisk tillit under pandemien. Et år etter at Norge stengte ned.. [Radio].  NRK Nyhetsmorgen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Tillit.
• Beyer, Audun; Karlsen, Rune & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Social Media News Consumption and Political Surveillance Knowledge:Adding Motivation and Ability to the Equation.
• Ljunggren, Jørn; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Andersen, Patrick Lie (2020). Social Inequality, Political Trust and Emotions.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020, 24. mars). Innslag om hamstring og tillit under Corona-krisen. NRK Nyheter. [Radio].  NRK.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020, 04. oktober). Kampen mot koronatiltakene.  Aftenposten.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020, 05. august). Nyhetsinnslag om sosial tillit under koronakrisen. [Radio].  NRK Nyhetsmorgen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020, 16. mars). Nyhetsmorgen. Innslag om politisk og sosial tillit i kriser. [TV].  NRK.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Offentlighet og polarisering.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020, 21. mars). Pandemier har forandret verden før. Hva blir endringene denne gangen?.  Aftenposten.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Panelsamtale om det sosiologiske tillitsbegrepet.
• Beyer, Audun; Karlsen, Rune & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). News Habits Die Hard, but Die. A Longitudinal Study of Total News Avoidance in the transition from low to high-Choice Media Environments 1997-2016.
• Ihlebæk, Karoline Andrea; Sundet, Vilde Schanke & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Digitalization and diversity: A case study of policy incentives in the news sector.
• Karlsen, Rune; Beyer, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Social Media News Consumption, News Finds Me Perceptions, and Political Knowledge..
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019, 04. mars). Facebook stopper vaksinemotstandere. [Radio].  NRK P2 Studio 2.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019, 06. september). Mener mediene har «berøringsangst»: – Vi skal høre på folk når de er forbannet.  Aftenposten.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Offentligheten som rom for frie uttrykk.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Personvern, politikermakt og demokrati - innlegg i paneldebatt.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Polarisering, fragmentering og ekkokamre.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019, 17. november). Skal forske på ytre høyre på nett: aldri noen enkel oppgave å klassifisere aktører. [Internett].  Resett.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019, 23. april). Sosiale medier i krisesituasjoner. [Radio].  NRK Nyhetsmorgen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019, 24. april). Stengning av sosiale medier etter terroren på Sri Lanka. [TV].  TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019, 05. mai). Tillit og bevæpning av politiet. [Radio].  NRK P2 Desse dagar.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019, 16. mars). Trenger kvinner beskyttelse?. [Radio].  NRK P2 Kurér.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Utfordringer for offentlighet og ytringsfrihet i dagens Norge.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Ytre høyre på nett og samfunnets motstandskraft.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Boulianne, Shelley; Koc-Michalska, Karolina & Bimber, Bruce (2019). Digital media, networks, and offline volunteering: A comparative study.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Enjolras, Bernard; Winsvold, Marte Slagsvold & Solheim, Øyvind Bugge (2019). Bør vi blokkere sosiale medier etter terrorangrep?. Morgenbladet.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Fladmoe, Audun (2019). How wide is the acceptance in the general public to publish religious cartoons in mass media? Evidence from a Norwegian survey experiment.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Fladmoe, Audun (2019). Xenophobia and offensive speech targeting minorities. Evidence from two survey experiments in Norway..
• Sundet, Vilde Schanke; Ihlebæk, Karoline Andrea & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). 20 år med digital mediekrise. Dagens næringsliv.
• Sundet, Vilde Schanke; Ihlebæk, Karoline Andrea & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Policy windows and converging frames: How media industry players frame digitalization and the need for policy actions.
• Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Enjolras, Bernard; Winsvold, Marte; Herreros, Francisco; Gadarian, Shana & Oksanen, Atte (2018). Terrorism, emotion and trust in Muslims.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2018, 17. november). Folkemassene alene får ikke politikerne til å handle. [Internett].  TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2018). Media, misinformation and polarization.
• Sundet, Vilde Schanke & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2018). “We have a Chrisis. Again!” How Norwegian Media Industry Players Talk about Media Change and the Need for Media Policy Actions.
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Utstøting og selvsensur truer ytringsfriheten i Norge. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). Show summary

  En fungerende offentlighet er sannhetssøkende, bygger på utveksling av rasjonelle argumenter og er åpen for kritisk meningsbrytning. Men fungerer offentligheten slik i praksis, eller bidrar trusler, stigmatisering og selvsensur til en fattigere felles offentlighet, der bestemte grupper og synspunkter forsvinner? Etter over fire års empirisk arbeid i prosjektet Status for ytringsfriheten i Norge er vår konklusjon at den norske offentligheten ikke lever opp til slike idealer. Utstøting og selvsensur er to sentrale mekanismer som regulerer hvem som deltar og hva som ytres i norsk offentlighet.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Disruption, Social Capital and Resilience. Innlegg ved avslutningskonferanse, SAMRISK II.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Norwegian public debate - echo chambers, hate speech and polarization?.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Om toleransens förutsättningar och hållbarhet - en kommentar til Wallman Lundåsen och Trägårdh, I: Erik Lundberg (red.),  Toleransens mekanismer : en antologi.  Forum för levande historia.  ISBN 978-91-86261-61-0.  4.  s 100 - 114
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Sundet, Vilde Schanke (2017). "Digitalization, globalization and the condition for national media policies - a field perspective". Show summary

  This paper aims to develop a theoretical perspective fit to study the conditions for media policy formation in times of change, using an organizational field approach in combination with theories of policy development. The theory of Strategic Action Fields (SAF) offers a meso-level view of how organizations and actors in media fields interact, and how their respective opportunities for influencing policy are structured by the state of the field and their respective positions. This view of the organizational interaction is linked to the Multiple Streams Approach (MSA) to policy making, that maintains that change occurs when policy entrepreneurs are able to couple problem, policy and politics streams. Both approaches stress how certain cognitive models or frames, are crucial to social and political change and to the influence of different actors. The authors argue that this combined theoretical framework fills an analytical gap in the media policy literature by providing a systematic and holistic view of policy change through organizational interaction, with an explicit theory of power and strategic action.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Winsvold, Marte Slagsvold (2017). Islamic terrorism, out-group trust and the motivation to control. Show summary

  In this article we use survey experiments from a Norwegian population study (N=1512) to examine the relationship between terror threat and out-group trust, focusing on the effects of the motivation to control prejudice and of emotional responses to a hypothetical terror threat. In the survey, respondents were exposed to a news story that described an ISIS threat scenario, involving a specific terrorist threat against public buildings in Oslo. We analyze how the terror threat scenario affects the respondents’ trust in Muslims in general and whether the effect of the threat is contingent on their motivation to control prejudice and on the emotions generated by the news story. The analysis shows that contrary to expectations, exposure to the news story makes respondents report higher levels of trust in Muslims. Motivation to control prejudice has a strong positive effect on trust, and the effect is stronger with the respondents who get most scared by the news story.

• Bjørgo, Tore; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorsen, Dag Einar (2016, 05. april). Intervju om samfunnsmessige konsekvenser av terrorisme. [Radio].  Ekko, NRK P2.
• Enjolras, Bernard; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Gadarian, Shana (2016). Social media use and fear levels after the Paris 2015 attacks. A comparative study.
• Fladmoe, Audun; Sætrang, Synne; Eimhjellen, Ivar; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2016). Nordmenn stiller opp når det trengs. NRK Ytring.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Fladmoe, Audun & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2016). Hvor går ytringsfrihetens grenser?. Vox publica. Show summary

  Ett år etter angrepene mot Charlie Hebdo stiller mange spørsmålet om ytringsfriheten i Norge trues av selvsensur og en polarisert offentlig debatt. I en ny rapport studerer vi hvordan befolkningen vurderer grensene for hva som kan og bør ytres i Norge. Avhen­ger for eksem­pel tak­høy­den for kritikk av reli­gion av hvil­ken form den har og hvil­ken reli­gion kri­tik­ken ret­tes mot? Og er det for­skjell på kri­tikk av reli­gion og kri­tikk av kon­krete grup­per av tro­ende, som mus­li­mer eller kristne? Dette er noen av spørs­må­lene vi stilte da vi høs­ten 2015 gjen­nom­førte en ny befolk­nings­un­der­sø­kelse om hvor gren­sene går for hva som kan ytres og ikke ytres i norsk offentlighet.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Fladmoe, Audun & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2016). Sommes-nous Charlie?. ReligionGoingPublic. Show summary

  Publisering av karikaturtegninger har det siste tiåret formet globale debatter om ytringsfrihetens grenser. Angrepet på Charlie Hebdo i 2015 satte igjen karikaturspørsmålet på medienes dagsorden.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Fladmoe, Audun & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2016). Åpne for krenkelser. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).  s 11- 11
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2015). Ethnic boundaries and the public sphere: Minority experiences with public debate in multicultural Norway. Show summary

  A major challenge in liberal democracies is to preserve the fundamental principle of freedom of speech while simultaneously protecting ethnic and religious minorities from hate speech, racism and discrimination. Often, studies related to freedom of speech in multicultural contexts employ a normative-legal perspective, discussing the constitutional and legal limits to public speech and the extent to which such limits are justifiable in light of the principles of liberal democracy. This paper offers a more sociological approach, drawing on two complementary data sources: First, we use survey data to study differences in the access to and the experiences with the public sphere in Norway among the white majority population and in a subsample of the ‘non-Western’ immigrant population. Second, we use qualitative interviews with 17 media-experienced individuals with different ethnic and religious minority backgrounds to explore more in depth the personal costs of participating in public debates. The survey data reveal that non-Western migrants tend to receive negative comments attributed to their race, religion and ethnic background, while the white majority report that negative comments are mainly based on the content of their argument. Further, while 19 per cent in the majority sample hesitate to participate in the public sphere again if they have had negative experiences, the same goes for 36 per cent of the minority sample. Focusing on the access to the mediated public sphere as well as the experiences with and the consequences of public engagement, the qualitative data provides more nuances to this picture: Minority interviewees born and raised in Norway tend to experience the public sphere as more inclusive than the immigrant generation. And although all interviewees report having negative experiences, the gravity of these experiences seems mediated by their gender, the topics they usually debate, and their positions in controversial issues. We use theories of ethnic boundary-making and particularly Alba’s (2005) distinction between bright and blurred boundaries in order to discuss the implications of these findings. The fact that many descendants of immigrants in Norway today participate in public debates and posit a range of different political, religious and ideological positions, is in itself a token of a changing ‘mainstream’ and contributes to blur ethnic boundaries. Still, all interviewees have experiences in which their belonging and loyalty to Norway are questioned. This demonstrates that seemingly blurred boundaries may turn bright in specific situations and that the power to draw lines of inclusion and belonging ultimately is held by the white majority.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2015). Ytringsfrihet. Sosiologi i dag.  45(4), s 5- 10 Show summary

  Ytringsfrihet er en grunnleggende rettighet i liberale demokratier. Som juridisk prinsipp skal den beskytte individer mot statlig inngripen, det det vil si mot statens eventuelle bruk av maktmidler for å sensurere uønskede meninger. Foruten en grunnlovfestet juridisk beskyttelse av ytringsfriheten, har et velfungerende demokrati også en ytringsfrihetskultur som fremmer den enkeltes selvstendige meningsdannelse og som gir rom for et mangfold av ytringer. Forskningen på ytringsfrihet har hatt som hovedanliggende å diskutere hvor grensene for ytringsfriheten skal og bør gå – og om det skal være noen grenser overhodet. Dette er diskusjoner som har vært dominert av juridiske og etisk-filosofiske perspektiver. Selv om det er liten tvil om at ytringsfrihet som prinsipp, både rettslig og normativt, egner seg godt for juridiske betraktninger og filosofisk refleksjon, er det etter vår oppfatning imidlertid også nødvendig med sosiologiske tilnærminger. Å vurdere den reelle ytringsfriheten til borgerne i et samfunn handler ikke bare om ytringsfrihetens juridiske prinsipper og håndhevelse, også om hvilke uformelle forhold som avgjør hva som ytres, og hvordan. Hva er rommet for offentlig meningsmangfold i et pluralistisk samfunn, og hvilke mekanismer definerer grensene? Hva regulerer den enkeltes bruk av ytringsfrihet? Hvor trekkes ytringsfrihetens grenser – i praksis? Når det er sagt mener vi selvsagt ikke at sosiologien skal og bør fortrenge perspektiver fra andre fagfelt. Ytringsfrihet er et forskningsområde der det er spesielt sterkt behov for å trekke på juridiske, filosofiske, medievitenskapelige og sosiologiske innsikter parallelt, blant annet fordi vilkårene for ytringsfriheten dannes i ulike samfunnssfærer, og fordi empiriske studier av hvordan ytringsfriheten virker i praksis kan gi næring til fornyede normative diskusjoner om hvor ytringsfrihetens grenser bør trekkes. At ytringsfrihet som akademisk felt er og skal være genuint flerfaglig, understrekes av dette temanummeret av Sosiologi i dag, der filosofer, retorikere, sosiologer og antropologer er representert med viktige bidrag. Til sammen består nummeret av fire forskningsartikler og tre bokanmeldelser.

• Enjolras, Bernard; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2014). Det du ikke skriver om på nett. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Enjolras, Bernard; Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Staksrud, Elisabeth; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Trygstad, Sissel Charlotte; Utheim, Maria; Sætrang, Synne & Gustafsson, Maria Helena (2014). Ytringsfrihet – men ikke om jobben. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2014). Digital transformations of the political public sphere.
• Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2014). Frykten for å støte som begrensning. Hvilken betydning har sosiale normer for ytringsfriheten?, I: Bernard Enjolras; Terje Rasmussen & Kari Steen-Johnsen (red.),  Status for ytringsfriheten i Norge: Hovedrapport fra prosjektet.  Institutt for samfunnsforskning.  ISBN 978-82-7763-453-1.  Kapittel 2.  s 33 - 51
• Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2014). Ytringsfrihet og sosiale medier, I: Bernard Enjolras; Terje Rasmussen & Kari Steen-Johnsen (red.),  Status for ytringsfriheten i Norge: Hovedrapport fra prosjektet.  Institutt for samfunnsforskning.  ISBN 978-82-7763-453-1.  Kapittel 8.  s 168 - 182
• Enjolras, Bernard; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Rasmussen, Terje (2014). Status for ytringsfriheten i Norge: Våre konklusjoner, I: Bernard Enjolras; Terje Rasmussen & Kari Steen-Johnsen (red.),  Status for ytringsfriheten i Norge: Hovedrapport fra prosjektet.  Institutt for samfunnsforskning.  ISBN 978-82-7763-453-1.  Konklusjon.  s 227 - 235
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2014). Skremmes minoriteter bort fra debatten?. NRK Ytring.

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