Ongoing project

NORPOL – is Norwegian society being polarized?

The umbrella project NORPOL is a collection of researcher-initiated sub-projects. The aim is to analyse whether Norwegian society is being polarized – and, if so, how.

Project period January 2020–December 2024
Project employer Institute for Social Research
Project nr. 10435 / 10471

The project comprises polarization of various fields, including working life, democracy and the public sphere. Regarding the labour market, our research focuses on changes in the occupational composition. Employment in occupations at the top and bottom of the income distribution seems to be increasing, while employment is declining in the middle. This polarization is often linked to technological change, especially digitalization. A segregated labour market with regard to gender and ethnicity may also entail increasing polarization. In the political sphere, increased political polarization between citizens has received much attention in many Western democracies in recent years. The election of Donald Trump, Brexit, and a tougher public debate, often in social media, are often mentioned as examples. Common to the sub-projects is that they ask what polarization is and how it can be measured, and then test the assumptions about polarization in a Norwegian context. The projects will also discuss the normative aspects of polarization. For example, political polarization can cause distrust in the political system, as we have seen in the United States, but on the other hand, political conflict is also necessary in a healthy democracy.

Participants

Erling Barth Dr. polit. Research Professor +47 930 91 410 Send e-mail
Jan-Paul Brekke Dr. polit. Research Director, Equality, inclusion, migration +47 918 79 903 Send e-mail
Sara Cools PhD Research Professor +47 984 96 736 Send e-mail
Audun Fladmoe PhD Research Professor +47 924 82 023 Send e-mail
Anne Skevik Grødem Dr. polit. Research Professor +47 920 56 232 Send e-mail
Atle Hennum Haugsgjerd PhD Senior Research Fellow +47 930 58 583 Send e-mail
Rune Karlsen PhD Research Professor (20% position) Send e-mail
Ragni Hege Kitterød Dr. polit. Research Professor +47 950 50 375 Send e-mail
Marjan Nadim PhD Research Professor +47 916 09 108 Send e-mail
Julia Orupabo PhD Research Professor +47 976 66 787 Send e-mail
Jo Saglie Dr. polit. Research Professor +47 991 62 131 Send e-mail
Signe Bock Segaard PhD Research Professor +47 994 28 724 Send e-mail
Marte Strøm PhD Research Professor +47 408 85 333 Send e-mail
Mari Teigen Dr. polit. Research professor, Director CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality +47 482 07 137 Send e-mail
Janis Umblijs PhD Senior Research Fellow +47 925 27 810 Send e-mail
Marte Winsvold PhD Senior Research Fellow +47 930 33 752 Send e-mail
Dag Wollebæk PhD Research Professor +47 464 33 306 Send e-mail
Kjersti Misje Østbakken PhD Research Director, Work and Welfare +47 991 62 556 Send e-mail
Marte Mangset
Tags: Working Life, Welfare, Gender Equality, Migration and integration, Elections and Democracy, Civil Society
Published Jan. 17, 2020 11:37 AM - Last modified Jan. 23, 2023 1:15 PM