Kari Steen-Johnsen

• Fladmoe, Audun; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard Louis (2022). Hvem deltar i den nye offentligheten? Aktive nettdebattanter og deres holdninger. In Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Ed.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. p. 76–94. doi: 10.18261/9788215051017-2022-04.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Fladmoe, Audun & Frøvoll, Gard Løken (2022). En endret offentlighet? Holdninger til og erfaringer med ytringsfrihet i 2013-2020. In Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Ed.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. p. 57–75. doi: 10.18261/9788215051017-2022-03.
• Wollebæk, Dag; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2022). Holdninger til ytringsfrihet i Norge: et nytt kart og kompass. In Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Ed.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. p. 33–56. doi: 10.18261/9788215051017-2022-02.
• Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Ihlen, Øyvind (2022). Right-wing ideological constraint and vaccine refusal: The case of the COVID-19 vaccine in Norway. Scandinavian Political Studies. 45(2), p. 253–278. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12224. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research has shown a correlation between votes for populist parties and the belief that vaccines are not important or effective. More recent investigations in the United States and France have similarly shown that attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine have been politicized. In this article, we show a similar pattern analyzing survey data from Norway, a country relatively mildly hit by the pandemic and characterized by high trust and a consensual political culture. We find that refusal to vaccinate is associated with right-wing ideological constraint, even when considering a wide array of control variables (e.g., lack of confidence, complacency), and sociodemographic characteristics. The results imply that vaccine refusal latch onto established political cleavages, particularly among the most ideologically consistent. Thus, polarization in the form of increasing ideological constraint may represent a mounting challenge for vaccine uptake, suggesting that vaccine communication should go beyond “explaining the science” and factor in ideology.

• Bergh, Johannes; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Ødegård, Guro (2021). Det politiske generasjonsgapet. In Ødegård, Guro & Pedersen, Willy (Ed.), UNGDOMMEN. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. p. 337–360. doi: 10.23865/noasp.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), p. 12–27. doi: 10.18261/issn.2535-2512-2021-03-02. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Artikkelen diskuterer narrativers betydning for befolkningens tillit til politikere etter terror, med utgangspunkt i angrepene i Oslo og på Utøya, i Barcelona og i Nice. I Norge så man etter 22.juli 2011 en sterk økning i politisk tillit, mens bildet for de to andre casene er mer sammensatt. Også etter angrepet i Barcelona i 2017 steg den politiske tilliten, mens den svekket seg fra et allerede lavt nivå etter angrepet i Nice i 2016. Mens myndighetene i Norge ser ut til å ha lyktes med å skape tillitvekkende og inkluderende narrativer i møtet med terroren, var det et tydelig fravær av samlende narrativer i Frankrike. Spania er en komplisert case, der katalansk selvstendighetskamp og mobilisering la viktige forutsetninger for hvilke narrativer som kunne formes, og befolkningen i Katalonia og i resten av Spania reagerte til dels på forskjellige måter. Vi argumenterer for at vellykkede narrativer styrker tiltroen til politikeres ærlighet og gode vilje, samt til den moralske og sosiale orden. Den politiske konteksten setter rammer for hvilke narrativer som kan formes og for hvilken gjenklang de finner.

• Karlsen, Rune & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Nyheter, sosiale nettverk og lokalpolitisk orientering i lokalvalgkamp. In Saglie, Jo; Segaard, Signe Bock & Christensen, Dag Arne (Ed.), Lokalvalget 2019: Nye kommuner - nye valg?. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. p. 117–142. doi: 10.23865/noasp.134.ch5. Show summary

  Denne antologien handler om de mange lokalvalgene som ble holdt rundt om i Norge 9. september 2019. Med utgangspunkt i velgerundersøkelsene som er gjennomført ved hvert lokalvalg siden 1995, tar boken gjennom ti kapitler for seg dels valg, velgeratferd, valgkamp og valgutfall, og dels politisk deltakelse og politisk tillit mellom valgene. Det er i kommunene flest innbyggere har anledning til å delta i politikkutformingen, og lokalnivået spiller ofte en viktig rolle i den enkeltes hverdagsliv. Hensikten med boken er derfor også å forstå hvordan lokaldemokratiet fungerer mellom valgene. Lokalvalget i 2019 var preget av høy valgdeltakelse, mobilisering og protest gjennom fokus på politiske saker som bompenger, klima og kommunereform. Kommunereformen var ikke bare valgkamptema, men en sentral rammebetingelse for lokalvalget i 2019. Kommunesammenslåing er derfor et gjennomgående tema i boken. Ett emne er hva innbyggerne mener om kommunereformen og dens mulige konsekvenser. Flere kapitler utforsker sammenslåingenes betydning for ulike sider ved lokaldemokratiet: lokale partisystemer, valgdeltakelse, personstemmegivning, partienes nominasjoner, og representasjon i kommunestyrene. Samlet sett er antologien en statusrapport for lokaldemokratiet i det første valget etter kommunereformen. Boken henvender seg til alle som er interessert i utviklingen av det norske lokaldemokratiet, men særlig til studenter, forskere, journalister og politisk aktive.

• Kaakinen, Markus; Oksanen, Atte; Kushner Gadarian, Shana; Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Herreros, Francisco & Winsvold, Marte Slagsvold [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (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. 42(6), p. 1019–1035. doi: 10.1111/pops.12732. Full text in Research Archive
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Winsvold, Marte (2021). Islamist terrorism, out-group trust, and motivation to control prejudice. International Journal of Public Opinion Research. 32(3). doi: 10.1093/IJPOR/EDZ014. 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
• Makkonen, Anna; Oksanen, Atte; Gadarian, Shana Kushner; Herreros, Francisco; Winsvold, Marte & Solheim, Øyvind Bugge [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (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
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Winsvold, Marte (2019). Global Terrorism and the Civil Sphere in Norway: Renegotiating Civil Codes. In Alexander, Jeffrey C.; Lund, Anna & Voyer, Andrea (Ed.), The Nordic Civil Sphere. Polity Press. p. 229–255. Full text in Research Archive
• Enjolras, Bernard; Gadarian, Shana & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Social Media Use and Fear Levels after the Paris 2015 Attacks: A Comparative Study. In Elman, Miriam F.; Gerard, Catherine; Golan, Galia & Kriesberg, Louis (Ed.), Overcoming Intractable Conflicts : New Approaches to Constructive Transformations. Rowman & Littlefield International. p. 107–122.
• Enjolras, Bernard; Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Herreros, Francisco; Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Winsvold, Marte & Gadarian, Shana [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2019). Does trust prevent fear in the aftermath of terrorist attacks? Perspectives on Terrorism (PT). 13(4), p. 39–55. Full text in Research Archive
• 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. p. 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
• 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
• Beyer, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2018). Nasjonale organisasjoners bruk av sosiale medier. Muligheter og barrierer for bruk. In Enjolras, Bernard & Eimhjellen, Ivar (Ed.), Fra kollektiv til konnektiv handling? Nye former for samfunnsengasjement og kollektiv handling i Norge . Cappelen Damm Akademisk. p. 235–270. doi: 10.23865/noasp.45.ch9.
• Enjolras, Bernard; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Beyer, Audun (2018). Forholdet mellom online- og offline-deltakelse i frivillige organisasjoner. In Enjolras, Bernard & Eimhjellen, Ivar (Ed.), Fra kollektiv til konnektiv handling? Nye former for samfunnsengasjement og kollektiv handling i Norge . Cappelen Damm Akademisk. p. 101–126. doi: 10.23865/noasp.45.ch4. 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), p. 336–366. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12127. Full text in Research Archive
• Eimhjellen, Ivar; Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Folkestad, Bjarte & Ødegård, Guro (2018). Changing patterns of volunteering and participation. In Enjolras, Bernard & Strømsnes, Kristin (Ed.), Scandinavian Civil Society and Social Transformations : The Case of Norway. Springer. p. 25–65. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-77264-6_2. Show summary

  This book aims at presenting a conceptual apparatus and empirical analysis of the ways Scandinavian civil society is affected by social transformations by focusing on the Norwegian case. The Norwegian empirical focus allows identifying processes and factors of change that are relevant outside this context and enable us to understand, on a more general basis, the relationship between social transformations and transformations affecting the voluntary sector. This book will make an original contribution to the field of comparative civil society studies both by increasing the available knowledge on the Scandinavian civil society model and by analyzing the societal transformations affecting civil society over time.

• 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
• Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Willingness to discuss the publishing of religious cartoons. Spiral of silence in the private and public spheres. In Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Ed.), Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. p. 77–108. Full text in Research Archive 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.

• 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 Oorschot, Wim van; Roosma, Femke; Meuleman, Bart & Reeskens, Tim (Ed.), The Social Legitimacy of Targeted Welfare: Attitudes to welfare Deservingness. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 281–296. doi: 10.4337/9781785367212.00031.
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Boundary-making in the public sphere: Contestations of free speech. In Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Ed.), Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. p. 13–43. Full text in Research Archive 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.

• Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). The digital transformation of the political public sphere: a sociological perspective. In Engelstad, Fredrik; Larsen, Håkon; Rogstad, Jon & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (Ed.), Institutional Change in the Public Sphere: Views on the Nordic Model. De Gruyter Open. p. 99–117. doi: 10.1515/9783110546330. Full text in Research Archive 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.

• Engelstad, Fredrik; Larsen, Håkon; Rogstad, Jon & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Introduction: The Public Sphere in Change. Institutional Perspectives on Neo-corporatist Society. In Engelstad, Fredrik; Larsen, Håkon; Rogstad, Jon & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (Ed.), Institutional Change in the Public Sphere: Views on the Nordic Model. De Gruyter Open. p. 1–21. doi: 10.1515/9783110546330-002. Full text in Research Archive 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.

• 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), p. 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.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2016). The Fear of Offending: Social Norms and Freedom of Expression. Society (New Brunswick). 53(4), p. 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 Alexander, Jeffrey C.; Breese, Elizabeth Butler & Luengo, Mariá (Ed.), The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered: Democratic Culture, Professional Codes, Digital Future. Cambridge University Press. p. 190–210. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781316050774.012.
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2016). The Limits of Free Speech in Multicultural Norway. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift. 33(1-2), p. 21–33. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-3053-2016-01-02-03. Show summary

  This article employs survey data and in-depth interviews to explore whether ethnic and religious minorities in Norway are granted access to the public sphere on terms with their majority peers. The survey data shows that minorities more often receive negative comments attributed to their religion and ethnic background and that these experiences make them more cautious in terms of future public engagement. However, the interviews demonstrate a variety of experiences and positions, and that interviewees born and raised in Norway experience the public sphere as more inclusive than the immigrant generation. These findings demonstrate the importance of assessing the dynamics of the public sphere empirically rather than assuming that core identity features like gender or ethnic background a priori lead to a certain type of feedback.

• Enjolras, Bernard & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2015). Democratic governance and citizenship. In Eynaud, Philippe; Laville, Jean-Louis & Young, Dennis (Ed.), Civil Society, the Third Sector and Social Enterprise: Governance and Democracy. Routledge. p. 191–204.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2015). Social Media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOS): Transformed Challenges for Governance. In Asencio, Hugo & Sun, Rui (Ed.), Cases on Strategic Social Media Utilization in the Nonprofit Sector. IGI Global. p. 237–260. doi: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8188-0.ch009.

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• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. 323 p. 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.

• Engelstad, Fredrik; Larsen, Håkon; Rogstad, Jon & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Institutional Change in the Public Sphere: Views on the Nordic Model. De Gruyter Open. 269 p. 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.

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• Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Hvem vil ta koronavaksinen? Institutt for samfunnsforskning.
• Fladmoe, Audun; Wollebæk, Dag; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Hva mener befolkningen om ytringsfrihetens grenser? Fritt ord. Full text in Research Archive
• Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Etterlevelse av smittevernråd. Betydningen av tillit og bekymring. Institutt for samfunnsforskning.
• Wollebæk, Dag; Enjolras, Bernard; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Tillit og bekymring. Hva avgjør om folk følger smittevernrådene? Institutt for samfunnsforskning og Senter for forskning på sivilsamfunn og frivillig sektor.
• Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Heidar, Knut (2019). Terrorism and Attitudes Toward Out-groups: A Political Perspective. University of Oslo. Full text in Research Archive
• Fladmoe, Audun; Sætrang, Synne; Eimhjellen, Ivar; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Enjolras, Bernard (2016). Nordmenns bidrag i flyktningsituasjonen 2015/2016. Senter for forskning på sivilsamfunn og frivillig sektor. 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. Fritt Ord og Institutt for samfunnsforskning. 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.

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• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Tillit til myndighetene ved store samfunnskriser Forutsetninger og konsekvenser.
• Karlsen, Rune; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Sundet, Vilde Schanke (2021). Digitalisering og medienes samfunnsrolle. Hovedfunn fra prosjektet Disruptive Change and New Media Policies: A Field Approach.
• Karlsen, Rune; Sundet, Vilde Schanke & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Slik er den nye digitale offentligheten. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Sosial og politisk tillit under pandemien. Et år etter at Norge stengte ned. [Radio]. NRK Nyhetsmorgen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Krenk? En samtale om unges ytringsrom i dag.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Hvordan vil sosiale medier prege valgåret 2021?
• 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 .
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Den digitale valgkampen 2021.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Populisme og politisk kommunikasjon - kommentar til Toril Aalberg.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Tillit.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Kampen mot koronatiltakene. [Newspaper]. Aftenposten.
• Ljunggren, Jørn ; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Andersen, Patrick Lie (2020). Social Inequality, Political Trust and Emotions.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Panelsamtale om det sosiologiske tillitsbegrepet.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Offentlighet og polarisering.
• Beyer, Audun; Karlsen, Rune & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Social Media News Consumption and Political Surveillance Knowledge:Adding Motivation and Ability to the Equation .
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Nyhetsinnslag om sosial tillit under koronakrisen. [Radio]. NRK Nyhetsmorgen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Innslag om hamstring og tillit under Corona-krisen. NRK Nyheter. [Radio]. NRK.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Pandemier har forandret verden før. Hva blir endringene denne gangen? [Newspaper]. Aftenposten.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Nyhetsmorgen. Innslag om politisk og sosial tillit i kriser. [TV]. NRK.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Skal forske på ytre høyre på nett: aldri noen enkel oppgave å klassifisere aktører. [Internet]. Resett.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Ytre høyre på nett og samfunnets motstandskraft.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Fladmoe, Audun (2019). Xenophobia and offensive speech targeting minorities. Evidence from two survey experiments in Norway.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Enjolras, Bernard; Winsvold, Marte Slagsvold & Solheim, Øyvind Bugge (2019). Bør vi blokkere sosiale medier etter terrorangrep? Morgenbladet.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Utfordringer for offentlighet og ytringsfrihet i dagens Norge.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Offentligheten som rom for frie uttrykk.
• Sundet, Vilde Schanke; Ihlebæk, Karoline Andrea & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). 20 år med digital mediekrise. Dagens næringsliv.
• Karlsen, Rune; Beyer, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Social Media News Consumption, News Finds Me Perceptions, and Political Knowledge.
• 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.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Polarisering, fragmentering og ekkokamre.
• Ihlebæk, Karoline Andrea; Sundet, Vilde Schanke & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Digitalization and diversity: A case study of policy incentives in the news sector.
• 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.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Boulianne, Shelley; Koc-Michalska, Karolina & Bimber, Bruce (2019). Digital media, networks, and offline volunteering: A comparative study.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Personvern, politikermakt og demokrati - innlegg i paneldebatt.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Mener mediene har «berøringsangst»: – Vi skal høre på folk når de er forbannet. [Newspaper]. Aftenposten.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Tillit og bevæpning av politiet. [Radio]. NRK P2 Desse dagar.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Stengning av sosiale medier etter terroren på Sri Lanka. [TV]. TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Sosiale medier i krisesituasjoner. [Radio]. NRK Nyhetsmorgen.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Facebook stopper vaksinemotstandere. [Radio]. NRK P2 Studio 2.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2019). Trenger kvinner beskyttelse? [Radio]. NRK P2 Kurér.
• 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 (2018). Folkemassene alene får ikke politikerne til å handle. [Internet]. TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
• Solheim, Øyvind Bugge; Steen-Johnsen, Kari; Enjolras, Bernard; Winsvold, Marte; Herreros, Francisco & Gadarian, Shana [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2018). Terrorism, emotion and trust in Muslims.
• 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.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2018). Media, misinformation and polarization.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Om toleransens förutsättningar och hållbarhet - en kommentar til Wallman Lundåsen och Trägårdh. In Lundberg, Erik (Eds.), Toleransens mekanismer : en antologi. Forum för levande historia. p. 100–114.
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Norwegian public debate - echo chambers, hate speech and polarization?
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2017). Disruption, Social Capital and Resilience. Innlegg ved avslutningskonferanse, SAMRISK II.
• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.
• Bjørgo, Tore; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorsen, Dag Einar (2016). Intervju om samfunnsmessige konsekvenser av terrorisme. [Radio]. Ekko, NRK P2.
• 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). 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). Åpne for krenkelser. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). p. 11–11.
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2015). Ytringsfrihet. Sosiologi i dag. 45(4), p. 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.

• 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.

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